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Occidental College: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

95 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
44% Acceptance Rate

Occidental College is a private not-for-profit institution in Los Angeles, California enrolling 1,877 undergraduates. It accepts 44% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 81%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #265 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 5%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is Occidental College Ranked?

Occidental College ranks #265 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 5%.

#265 Best Colleges in Nation
#51 Best Colleges in CA
Occidental College ranking badge

2027 Rankings

College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.

Occidental College was awarded 95 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Oxy is ranked #265 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.

Within the state, Oxy holds the #51 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

See all of the rankings for Occidental College.

Is It Hard to Get Into Occidental College?

44% Acceptance Rate
47% Of Accepted Are Women
20% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

Occidental College has an acceptance rate of 44%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for Oxy.

Average Test Scores

About 20% of students accepted to Oxy submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 690 and 750. Math scores were between 690 and 770.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Occidental College  ( 690 to 750 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Occidental College  ( 690 to 770 )
200
800

Oxy received ACT scores from 8% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 31 and 34.

ACT Composite Scores for Occidental College  ( 31 to 34 )
1
36

Learn more about Occidental College admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Occidental College?

9 to 1 Student to Faculty
75% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

At Oxy, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 9 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at Occidental College is 75%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  75 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Occidental College?

90% Freshmen Retention
81% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

Occidental College has a freshmen retention rate of 90%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  90 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Oxy the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 81%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  81 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Occidental College.

How Diverse Is Occidental College?

1,877 Undergraduate Students
48.2% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
59.1% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 1,877 undergraduates at Oxy.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Occidental College.

How Much Does Occidental College Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
37% Take Out Loans
$24,236 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Oxy is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for Oxy

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$20,705 $17,655 $21,468 $28,033 $54,959

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Oxy, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Oxy, approximately 37% of students took out student loans averaging $6,059 a year. That adds up to $24,236 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.2%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Occidental College.

How Much Do Occidental College Graduates Earn?

$75,951 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Occidental College make around $75,951 per year during the early years of their employment. That’s great news for Occidental College students since it is 54% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Occidental College Graduates

See which majors at Occidental College make the most money.

Where Is Occidental College Located?

California State
1,877 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

Occidental College is an private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Occidental College.

Location of Occidental College

Get in touch with Occidental College are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: 1600 Campus Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90041-3392
Phone: 3232592500
Website: www.oxy.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occidental_College

What Majors Does Occidental College Offer?

16 Majors With Completions
1,090 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 16 majors graduated from Occidental College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 545 NA
Economics 70 $46,544
Child Development & Psychology 46 NA
International Relations & Security 42 $38,329
General Biology 39 $25,035
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 31 NA
Computer Science 30 NA
Political Science & Government 24 $42,360
Linguistics & Literature 23 NA
Music 23 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at Occidental College along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Want to see how other colleges compare to Oxy? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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