Occidental College

Overview

Rankings

• #17 Best Biology Colleges in California
• #18 Best Computer Science Colleges in California
• #18 Best Data Science Colleges in California
• #21 Best Colleges in California
• #24 Best Bachelor's Programs in California
• #24 Best Master's Programs in California
• #32 Best Colleges in Far West
• #32 Best Colleges in Pacific Northwest

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Occidental College? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a private institution in Los Angeles, California, Occidental College reviews applications selectively. The acceptance rate runs near 44%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,452. The graduation rate is roughly 83%.

Acceptance Rate

44%

Retention Rate

90%

SAT Average

1452

ACT Midpoint

32

SAT Range

1380–1520

ACT Range

31–34

Full-Time Faculty

75%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$12,349

Student–Faculty Ratio

9:1

Diversity Index

0.72

First-Gen Students

18%

Applicants

6,305

Admitted

2,484

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2025-26

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Occidental College is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds.

Submitted SAT

25%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

8%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Occidental College? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Occidental College is $66,274, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $38,263. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $20,705 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $23,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$66,274

Out-of-State

$66,274

Avg Net Price

$38,263

Median Debt

$23,000

Pell Grant Rate

17%

Federal Loan Rate

37%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Occidental College — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Occidental College Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Occidental College earn a median of $75,951, well above the national average for bachelor's degree holders.

6 Years After Entry

$52,209

8 Years

$64,002

10 Years

$75,951

Debt-to-Earnings

0.3x

Earning > $25K

68%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Occidental College Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Occidental College is a genuine engine of upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 3.34%, among the highest in the country. About 8.5% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 39.1% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $122,400, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

3.34%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

39.1%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

8.5%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$166,299

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Occidental College? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Occidental College. Its economic connectedness score is 1.85, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.00), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 13% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.85

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.00

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

12.9%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Investment Income

$-1,525,006

Top Programs

The fields Occidental College awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Social Sciences 29% $65,443 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 13% $30,854 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 11% $32,002 early-career
• Psychology 9% $35,702 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 5%
• Physical Sciences 5%
• English & Literature 2% $41,385 early-career
• Mathematics & Statistics 2% $68,105 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.