idad

S2 is planning to apply to Oxy and I am wondering what the intellectual climate is on campus. S1 is at UChicago where it is very intellectually intense and challenging. I am wondering if S2 would find a somewhat similar environment? Is there a continuation of argument and inquiry outside of class? Are courses demanding? Do those who attend feel challenged?

404Jeff

I am an OXY grad. It is a so-so school. Not terribly intellectual at all. No comparison to Chicago. The area around the campus is blighted- if you go a mile or so south you are in Highland Park which is gang-banger city. While I was there a clerk at the AM-PM at the bottom of the hill from OXY was shot to death in a robbery. Yuo have to go pretty far- Pasadena- to reach any kind of decent area.

They try had there- I went because I was poor and they gave me a full ride. On the other hand, if you want to go to med or law school and do well there, you will get in. We had 2 guys go to Harvard Law from my class, and all my friends who were pre med made it.

So--- that is the scoop on it. Eagle Rock, and LA in gerneral, is a pretty crappy place to live.

idad

Thanks for the appraisal.

thrillergirl7

I am a current student, and I could not disagree more with the previous poster. I regularly discuss my studies with other students outside of class. Just last Friday while on our way to a event he and I argued in the car about that day's material in our psycholinguistics class. Classes are very demanding, I feel challenged in all of my classes. I also can go to my professors ample office hours and discuss topics that interested me in class that day, and they will talk further about them with me. This is a situation where you get out what you put in. If you pick courses that interest you then you will work hard and be challenged and want to discuss studies with others. If you do not engage in the class then of course you will not get much out of it.

As for Eagle Rock, I personally quite like the area. Yes, it's Los Angeles, so it's not the safest city in the world. However, I feel comfortable walking alone to houses off campus at night (I'm a girl, by the way) as long as it is not too far. And when I don't feel comfortable, Campus Safety provides Safety Escorts so that students don't have to walk somewhere alone. On Friday nights there is the Eagle Rock Farmer's Market, with fresh fruit, vegetable, and honey stands, clothes, food being barbecued or otherwise prepared, including food I've never heard of in my life. Some Saturdays I walk to the supermarket and stop at the fruit stands on the way and get delicious cut up fruit spiced with chili powder and lime. We just had the Eagle Rock Music Festival just a few blocks from our campus with tons of bands and stuff to do. And if you are considering bars, within walking distance on York there are at least three bars for nightlife. All of that without even leaving a mile radius. Even without a car the school organizes the Bengal Bus and gives free rides to Old Town Pasadena, Dodger games, days out in Hollywood, the beach, China Town, and many other places. If you want to get out of LA, San Francisco is a popular destination for fall break, San Diego is only 2-3 hours away, and lots of people go to Cancun for spring break. There is plenty to do, and if someone is bored in Los Angeles, I would think the problem would be with them, not with the city. And once you add in that we live in pretty much a perpetual summer, it's hard to find something to dislike.

On campus, there are dances, movie screenings, guest speakers, trivia nights, concerts (we just had Gym Class Heroes play last week), cultural weeks with special presentations, and lots and lots of free food at various events.

I'm a senior, and overall I love Oxy. No, it's not perfect, but I feel that the picture that 404Jeff painted of Occidental and Los Angeles is incredibly unfair. And if you are trying to get into grad school, it's a great undergraduate college to attend.

lunitari

My daughter is an Oxy freshman, and just about every communication I get from her could be summed up as "Yay Oxy!" She's interested & challenged in her classes, she has a rich & varied social life even though she was painfully shy in high school, and she's finding that there are student organizations for just about every extracurricular passion she could want to pursue. She is ridiculously happy there.

She has expressed no great fears about the neighborhood. Granted, she and her friends travel in a pack, but they're girls and they've been out at 2 a.m. looking for taco trucks, so obviously they aren't feeling too nervous. Yes, it's a big city; yes, there are neighborhoods you ought to steer well clear of, and caution about personal safety is warranted. But that'd be the case in Boston, New York, D.C. or Chicago, too.

And Old Pasadena isn't "pretty far"--it's minutes away by car, and Oxy regularly runs a free Bengal Bus there and many L.A. destinations too. Lots of students have cars, so it seems to be no problem to find somebody who can drive a group to the beach or out for sushi or to concerts, or to San Francisco on a break (all of which my daughter has done in her first 2 months). You'd have to really work at being bored there.

I think the atmosphere might be more laid-back than UChicago, but that's partly just hte west-coast vibe. And the previous poster is right, to a large extent you get out of it what you put in, wherever you go to college.

Edited to add: Also, I notice that Jeff is not exactly a recent grad; judging by the birthdate on his profile, he went there about 30 years ago. Any more recent grads want to chime in?

idad

Lunitari: Thank you for your thoughtfull reply. S2 really liked the school when he visited. It is high on his list, and it looks like it will remain so.

jums89

Hello, my dad is an Oxy alum and while I was accepted to Oxy, I ultimately decided on another school. However, I'd like to share my experience when I visited Occidental. My dad and I arrived at Oxy in the morning and we decided not to do the traditional Admissions Talk--> Campus Tour route. Rather, my dad walked me through the buildings where he took classes and introduced me to some professors who taught him! The professors were really warm, accommodating and spoke to me quite a bit. In our discussions, more time was spent getting to know me as a person rather than which colleges I was applying to etc. I was invited to sit in on an game theory class. It was truly an eye-opening experience for me. The professor who was teaching the class was teaching through a board game! Because the class was so small, everyone got in on the act and I participated as well. The Oxy kids were very warm and welcoming and I fit in the class seamlessly.

This is just a small story but I think it tells a lot about Occidental College. It is truly a fine institution and I'll say that it IS NOT lacking in the intellectual department. Kids are definitely bright and many go on to do great things. Oxy is a school that is a fantastic stepping stone to success. It was tough for me to turn Oxy down but I'd recommend it to anyone who is thinking of applying. I hope this helps.

idad

This very good to hear. Thank you thrillergirl7 & jums89.

jums89

No worries. Also, one thing I'd like to add is that Oxy really does keep in close contact with its alums. My dad receives a lot of mail from Oxy and recently attended his Class's 25th Reunion. I feel this contact is important because it always makes you feel connected to the school somehow.

404Jeff

Lunitari

I grew up in Altadena and certainly know where Old Town is. I was shopping there when all there was were thrift shops and boarded up buildings.

It is about 7 minutes from campus to the 134/210, then 8-10 minutes - 4 exits to Fair Oaks, then 5 minutes to Old Town, so 20-25 minutes. "pretty far" vs. "minutes"- who knows but it is not around the corner and certainly a markedly different neighborhood.


Thriller Girl

I really do think you should reconsider your attitude toward wandering around at night and bar hopping on York Blvd. Seriously-



Re the current state of affairs and crime:


I got online with LAPD. The area has a high incidence of property crimes, burglaries, grand theft auto, auto burglaries, aggravated assaults, robbery from person and several violent- (weapons and injury) robberies

In the last month, the last 30 DAYS, within 3/4 of a mile of OXY the following crimes were reported, these with a *** are on campus or within a few blocks.

35 felonies in 30 days. Misdemeanors are not reported in crime stats...eg drug possession, petty theft, domestic assault, drunk in public, DUI etc.

11-4 2200 blk Yosemite violent robbery
10-30 2600 Colorado robbery
10-31 4600 westdale grand theft auto
11-2 4400 york blvd theft from person

10-28 4300 Eagle rock Blvd violent robbery
10-27 4700 Eagle ROck Blvd Burglary
10-23 Eagle Rock & Colorado grand theft auto
**10-22 4600 Alumni Auto burglary
10-23 5100 Almadon violent robbery
**10-24 4700 Ellenwood aggravated assault
**10-15 1500 Hazelwood auto burglary
**10-17 4900 Stratford grand theft auto
10-22 1400 N Ave 47 grand theft auto
**10-15 7500 Woodrow theft from person- robbery
10-17 5400 York Blvd burglary
10-21 5400 York Blvd grand theft auto
10-10 1600 N Ave 46 theft
10-9 5200 Stratford grand theft auto
10-13 5600 Fallston grand theft auto
10-12 1500 N Ave 46 auto burglary
10-13 2300 Merton burglary
******on campus*** 1600 Campus Road Theft from person (robbery)
**10-13 4500 Corliss grand theft auto
10-1 4600 York grand theft auto
*** 10-5 Eagle Rock and York robbery- violent
** 10-7 4300 York auto burglary
10-2 1000 N Ave 51 Burglary
10-1 5500 York Aggravated assault
10-7 4100 York auto burglary
***10-6 2600 Ridge Road grand theft auto
**9-25 2000 Ridgeview auto burglary
10-1 4600 York grand theft auto
9-28 4400 Eagle ROck Blvd auto burglary
***9-30 5000 Coringa burglary
9-28 1700 Yosemitie burglary

thrillergirl7

Hey 404jeff, welcome to a big city. Seriously, I don't know what you have against Oxy, but you evidently hold some sort of grudge against the school to be on a college discussion board badmouthing it years after you have graduated. Serious crime happens all around the world, especially in big cities. I'm not going to let that keep me from going out. I'm not an idiot, I don't go out on my own at 2 AM, but traveling in groups is totally fine. If everyone avoided everything that wasn't 100% safe we would never do anything. I have a feeling you are just going to post back with more of the same, so all I really have to say here is to prospective students: Come to the campus, get a feel for the area and if an urban city area is what you want. If it's not, then Oxy isn't for you. But if it is, it is a great school in a great town. I love my neighbors. I have nothing against them for being "Hispanic working class", which evidently is a bad thing according to 404jeff. Be smart, go out in groups, don't carry obvious valuables and keep your wits about you. Oxy is a great place, and I hope that no one is being turned off to the school because it's in Los Angeles.

RAM

To 404jeff: It is curious that you have decided to troll this college website and post very inflammatory comments about your alma mater ("so-so school; not terribly intellectual at all"). Obviously, your experience there was not a happy one and you spend a great amount of time bashing Oxy and the surrounding Eagle Rock neighborhood. Occidental's reputation as a strong liberal arts college won't be shaken by one bitter grad, fortunately. I live in West Pasadena right off Colorado Boulevard and less than 3/4 mile from Eagle Rock. By the way, the nearest exit off the freeway from Eagle Rock is NOT 4 exits away at Fair Oaks. It is San Rafael, which is only ONE exit beyond the Figueroa exit. Less than 5 minutes. I strongly disagree with your negative comments about the city. It is not blighted. You can serve up all of the scary crime statistics from LAPD that you want to deter prospective students from attending. Have you ever visited the area surrounding Yale University and NYU?? I have. Why don't you check out their crime statistics? That doesn't deter students from attending . The AM/PM incident occurred decades ago, since you are now approaching 50 years of age. I am also an SC grad and I had no problems during my 4 years when I lived off campus. My oldest daughter is currently attending SC and is not "afraid" of the working class surroundings there. Likewise, my younger daughter loves OXY and wants to apply. Fortunately, neither she nor I will be swayed by your one-sided statements.
I assume you no longer live in LA County since you state that "it is a pretty crappy place to live." Unbelievable.

idad

S2 and I visited and liked the school and the surrounding neighborhood. Oxy has risen to one of S2 top choices. He has the numbers to consider an Ivy, we visited some, but he prefers Oxy so he is not bothering to apply. He has decided to limit his applications, with some exceptions, to the southern CA area.

RAM

That is wonderful news. I wish your son all of the best!