College · Private nonprofit · Los Angeles, CA · City
Occidental College
Los Angeles, CA
Admit rate44%
6-yr median pay$52k
Net price / yr$38k
Undergrad size1,877
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $38k/yr for a shot at a $52k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 44% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1452 · ACT 32.
If you get in
1,877 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $85k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $38k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$339k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$153k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$186k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.9x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $66.3k
- Room & board
- $19.3k
- Books & supplies
- $1,250
How students pay for it.
Pell grants17%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans37%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
Graduation · 6 yr81%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$52k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$76k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out11%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 1,877
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
- Also known as
- Oxy
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White46%
- Hispanic18%
- Asian16%
- Two or more races10%
- International5%
- Black4%
- Unknown1%
First-gen students18%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time1%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$76k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 31
What you can study.