Occidental College: Narrative Description

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OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE U-19

1600 Campus Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041-3314
Tel: (323)259-2500; 800-825-5262; Admissions: (323)259-2700; Fax: (323)341-4875; E-mail: [email protected]; Web Site: http://www.oxy.edu/

Description: Independent, comprehensive, coed. Awards bachelor's and master's degrees. Founded 1887. Setting: 120-acre urban campus. Endowment: $230.1 million. Research spending 2002-03: $2 million. Total enrollment: 1,858. Faculty: 206 (135 full-time, 71 part-time). Student-undergrad faculty ratio is 11:1. 4,513 applied, 44% were admitted. 59% from top 10% of their high school class, 87% from top quarter, 100% from top half. 19 class presidents, 13 valedictorians, 68 student government officers. Full-time: 1,823 students, 58% women, 42% men. Part-time: 17 students, 59% women, 41% men. Students come from 45 states and territories, 24 other countries, 32% from out-of-state, 1% Native American, 15% Hispanic, 7% black, 12% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 4% international, 70% live on campus, 3% transferred in. Retention: 91% of 2003 full-time freshmen returned. Academic areas with the most degrees conferred: social sciences and history; business/marketing; visual/performing arts. Core. Calendar: semesters. Services for LD students, advanced placement, accelerated degree program, self-designed majors, honors program, independent study, double major, summer session for credit, internships. Off campus study at California Institute of Technology, Art Center College of Design, Morehouse College, Spelman College. Study abroad program. ROTC: Army (c), Naval (c), Air Force (c).

Entrance Requirements: Options: Peterson's Universal Application, Common Application, early admission, early decision, deferred admission. Required: essay, high school transcript, 2 recommendations, SAT I or ACT. Recommended: interview, SAT II: Subject Tests, SAT II: Writing Test. Entrance: very difficult. Application deadlines: 1/10, 11/15 for early decision. Notification: 4/1, 12/15 for early decision.

Costs Per Year: Application fee: $50. Comprehensive fee: $36,126 includes full-time tuition ($27,734), mandatory fees ($572), and college room and board ($7820). College room only: $4300. Room and board charges vary according to board plan and housing facility. Part-time tuition: $1156 per credit. Part-time mandatory fees: $179 per term.

Collegiate Environment: Orientation program. Drama-theater group, choral group, student-run newspaper, radio station. Social organizations: 104 open to all; national fraternities, local sororities; 5% of eligible men and 11% of eligible women are members. Most popular organizations: Asian-Pacific Islander Alliance, community service, Inter-Faith Student Council, Black Student Alliance, MECHA/ALAS. Major annual events: spring concert, Da Getaway, homecoming. Student services: legal services, health clinic, personal-psychological counseling, women's center. Campus security: 24-hour emergency response devices and patrols, late night transport-escort service, controlled dormitory access, lighted pathways and sidewalks; whistle alert program. College housing designed to accommodate 1,300 students; 1,320 undergraduates lived in college housing during 2001-02. Freshmen guaranteed college housing. On-campus residence required in freshman year. Options: coed, women-only housing available. Mary Norton Clapp Library plus 2 others with 481,822 books, 1,135 serials, an OPAC, and a Web page. Operations spending 2002-03: $1.9 million. 131 computers available on campus for general student use. A campuswide network can be accessed from student residence rooms and from off campus. Staffed computer lab on campus.

Community Environment: See University of California Los Angeles