Private nonprofit · College

Occidental College

Los Angeles, California · Large city

44.2%
Admit rate
$38,263
Avg net price
81%
Graduation rate
$75,951
Median earnings

Occidental College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Los Angeles, California (large city setting), enrolling 1,877 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 1,877 undergradsLarge citySelective · 44% admitNCAA Division III without footballNear the coast

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against Occidental College's admitted students.

Admit rate
44.2%
SAT (mid 50%)
1380–1520
Avg GPA
3.64

Enter a test score to see where you land against Occidental College's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Occidental College's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. The historic center of Tongva power in the region was the settlement of Yaanga (Tongva: Iyáangẚ), meaning "place of the poison oak", which would eventually be the site where the Spanish founded the Pueblo de Los Ángeles. Iyáangẚ has also been translated as "the valley of smoke". Los Angeles is often billed as the creative capital of the world because one in every six of its residents works in a creative industry and there are more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city at any other time in world history. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
To the ocean
18 miles
Nearest airport
10 miles to Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope (BUR) · major hub

How Occidental College compares

Selectivity44.2%

More selective than 87% · #29 most selective of 107 in California

SAT average1452

Higher than 93%

Graduation rate81%

Higher than 90% · #29 of 122 in California

First-year retention90%

Higher than 86%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$75,951

Higher than 88% · #41 of 130 in California

Average net price$38,263

Cheaper than 6% · #95 cheapest of 118 in California

Median debt at graduation$23,000

Lower than 53%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 83%

Undergraduate enrollment1,877

Larger than 56%

Percentiles compare Occidental College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

1,877undergrads
  • Women1,09758%
  • Men78042%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White46%
  • Black4.4%
  • Hispanic18%
  • Asian16%
  • Other or multiracial16%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,877
Student–faculty ratio
9 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
17%
First-generation students
18%
Students over 25
0%
Median family income
$76,004
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$111,141
Endowment
$654,297,483

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 532 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From California37%
  • Other U.S. states56%
  • International7.5%

A national draw — only 37% of first-years come from California; 56% arrive from other states.

8% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
44.2%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
1380–1520
SAT average
1452
SAT reading
690–750
SAT math
690–770
ACT composite
31–34
Average GPA
3.64

Cost

In-state tuition
$66,274
Room & board
$19,252
Books & supplies
$1,250
Total cost of attendance
$84,800
Average net price
$38,263

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
81%
Graduated on time (4 years)
68%
First-year retention
90%
Transferred to another college
11%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$52,209
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$75,951
Median debt at graduation
$23,000
Students with federal loans
37%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
84%

About 13% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
68%
Low-income (Pell)
86%
First-generation
82%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
1,650
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
88%
Housing charge (year)
$10,338
Meal plan (year)
$8,794
Application fee
$70
Athletics
NCAA Division III without football
Varsity athletes
414 (210 men · 204 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (11)

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)103
Soccer60
Baseball44
Water Polo40
Basketball36
Swimming and Diving (combined)32
Golf22
Tennis22
Lacrosse21
Softball17
Volleyball17

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
D
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
5.8 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
18
Property offenses (2022–2024)
15

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,881 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

11reported offenses a year
6.0 violent a year5.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
3.7
Burglary
3.0
Fondling
2.0
Motor vehicle theft
1.7
Statutory rape
0.3
Arson
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$20,705
$30–48k
$17,655
$48–75k
$21,468
$75–110k
$28,033
$110k+
$54,959

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$91,084

$21,468/year × about 4.2 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

77%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$31,213
average award, among those who get one

Occidental College discounts heavily: 77% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $31,213. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 531 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$75,951
Typical debt at graduation
$23,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
30%
Out-earn a HS grad
68%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.0 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$75,384
Men
$78,512

Men out-earn women by $3,128 (4%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
91°F
Winter low
45°F
Annual rain
20.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Pasadena, CA US station (4.1 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Occidental College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Occidental College side by side →

Colleges near Occidental College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.