Occidental College
Los Angeles, California · Private · 1,877 undergraduates · oxy.edu
Test policy (fall 2027)
Test optional
Sending scores is your choice
Admit rate
45%
of 7,490 applicants
SAT (middle 50%)
1400 to 1510
of enrolled freshmen
Annual cost (2027-28)
$99,180Est.Estimate
before aid
Your chances and merit aid at Occidental College
See where you stand for admission, how much merit aid you could get, and what you'd pay after it.
We started you at a typical enrolled freshman here. Move the sliders to match you.
Your admission chances
45% of applicants admitted
Target
Your SAT is inside the range where the middle half of enrolled freshmen scored, and your GPA is in the middle half of freshmen's.
Estimated merit aid
a year
Your cost after merit aid
$99,180
a year in 2027-28, from a $99,180 sticker price
What to do with your 1460
Send your score
About 69% of freshmen here didn't send a score. We estimate their typical SAT at about 1340, and yours is above it.
Reach, target and likely are a rough guide from your test score and how selective the college is. Admissions also weigh your courses, grades, essays and activities. Merit aid figures are estimates, before any need-based aid.
Admissions
Test policy for fall 2027
Test optional
You choose whether to send an SAT or ACT score. If you send one, it's considered.
- Superscores: it combines your best section scores from different test dates.
- You can type your scores into the application; official reports come later.
Source: Test Optional Admission Policy | Occidental College · Checked October 17, 2026
Application deadlines
- Nov1Early Action · November 1, 2026Apply early and hear early. Not binding.
- Nov1Early Decision · November 1, 2026Binding: if admitted, you commit to enroll.
- Jan10Early Decision II · January 10, 2027A second binding round, after Early Decision.
- Jan10Regular Decision · January 10, 2027The standard deadline.
Who gets in
45%
of applicants were admitted: 3,359 of 7,490 for fall 2025.
Early Action
Not binding. Apply by 11/1, hear by Mid-January.
Early Decision
Binding.
Wait list
969 students were offered a spot; 72 were later admitted.
Test scores of enrolled freshmen (fall 2025)
The shaded part shows the middle half of enrolled freshmen who sent scores: a quarter scored below it and a quarter above. 25% of them sent SAT scores and 8% sent ACT scores.
SAT total 1400 to 1510
Reading and Writing 700 to 760
Math 670 to 760
ACT composite 31 to 34
How enrolled freshmen scored on the SAT
- 1400 to 160077%
- 1200 to 139923%
- 1000 to 11990%
- 800 to 9990%
- 600 to 7990%
- 400 to 5990%
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
High school GPA of enrolled freshmen
Average GPA: 3.64
- 4.06%
- 3.75 to 3.9937%
- 3.50 to 3.7429%
- 3.25 to 3.4918%
- 3.00 to 3.248%
- 2.50 to 2.992%
- Below 2.500%
Cost and financial aid
The sticker price is what a year costs before any aid. Most students pay less after grants and scholarships.
Sticker price for 2027-28Estimate
$99,180
a year
- Tuition$73,310
- Fees$640
- Food and housing$21,860
- Books and supplies$1,340
- Transportation and other$2,030
Occidental College published $95,365 for 2026-27. Its 2027-28 prices aren't out yet.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
What families actually pay
What a year cost on average after grants and scholarships, for freshmen who got federal aid in 2023-24, by family income.
- $0 to $30,000$20,797
- $30,001 to $48,000$10,724
- $48,001 to $75,000$25,027
- $75,001 to $110,000$23,892
- Over $110,000$53,785
Financial aid
100%
of a student's financial need is covered, on average
$56,023
average need-based grant to freshmen, money you don't repay
37%
of freshmen got merit aid without financial need, $17,481 on average
- FAFSA
- Required for need-based aid. It's the free federal aid form.
- CSS Profile
- Required. It's a second, more detailed aid form some colleges use for their own grants.
- Aid priority date: 1/10
- Send your aid forms by this date to be first in line for the college's grant money.
- Aid deadline: 1/10
- The last day to send aid forms.
- Also asks for
- Non-Custodial PROFILE (listed under Other)
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
Merit scholarships
Awards for grades and scores, on top of need-based aid. You don't repay them.
National Merit Scholarship (Occidental)
$2,000 a year
National Merit
Deadline: Name this college your first choice with NMSC.
Details
Compare awards across colleges with the merit aid calculator.
AP credit
AP exams that earn credit can replace college courses, so you pay for fewer of them and may graduate sooner.
AP exams that earn credit
40 of 40
Earn credit with a score of 3
None
You need a 4 or 5 for credit here.
A 3-credit course is worth
about $7,330Est.Estimate
at 2027-28 tuition
Credit for each AP exam
| Exam | Score needed | Credits | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-D Art and Design | 4 | 4 | |
| 3-D Art and Design | 4 | 4 | |
| African American Studies | 4 | 4 | |
| Art History | 4 | 4 | |
| Biology | 4 | 4 | |
| Calculus AB | 4 | 4 | MATH 110 |
| Calculus BC | 4 | 4 | MATH 120 |
| Calculus BC: AB Subscore | 4 | 4 | MATH 110 |
| Chemistry | 4 | 4 | |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 4 | 4 | CHIN 102 |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 4 | 4 | |
| Computer Science A | 4 | 4 | COMP 131 |
| Computer Science Principles | 4 | 4 | |
| Drawing | 4 | 4 | |
| English Language and Composition | 4 | 4 | |
| English Literature and Composition | 4 | 4 | |
| Environmental Science | 4 | 4 | |
| European History | 4 | 4 | |
| French Language and Culture | 4 | 4 | FREN 102 |
| German Language and Culture | 4 | 4 | GERM 102 |
| Human Geography | 4 | 4 | |
| Italian Language and Culture | 4 | 4 | |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 4 | 4 | JAPN 102 |
| Latin | 4 | 4 | LATN 102 |
| Macroeconomics | 4 | 4 | Students who have received a score of 5 on both the AP Microeconomics test and the AP Macroeconomics test will be allowed to skip ECON 101 and ECON 102. Students who have received a score of 4 on both the AP Microeconomics test and the AP Macroeconomics test, or a score of 4 in one and 5 in the other, will be allowed to skip ECON 101. |
| Microeconomics | 4 | 4 | Students who have received a score of 5 on both the AP Microeconomics test and the AP Macroeconomics test will be allowed to skip ECON 101 and ECON 102. Students who have received a score of 4 on both the AP Microeconomics test and the AP Macroeconomics test, or a score of 4 in one and 5 in the other, will be allowed to skip ECON 101. Students who have an AP Microeconomics score of 5 may be allowed to skip ECON 101 after consultation with the economics department. |
| Music Theory | 4 | 4 | |
| Physics 1 | 4 | 4 | |
| Physics 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 | 4 | |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 | 4 | |
| Psychology | 4 | 4 | PSYC 101 |
| Research | 4 | 4 | |
| Seminar | 4 | 4 | |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 4 | 4 | SPAN 102 |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 4 | 4 | |
| Statistics | 4 | 4 | COMP 146 |
| United States Government and Politics | 4 | 4 | |
| United States History | 4 | 4 | |
| World History: Modern | 4 | 4 |
Source: AP credit policy
After college
Graduate within 6 years
79%
Come back for a second year
90%
Typical earnings
$79,660
a year, 10 years after starting here
- Occidental College$96,498
- All colleges$89,628
Median yearly earnings of graduates five years after finishing a bachelor's in this major. 8 majors here have earnings data.
Keep exploring
Figures marked Estimate are our estimates, not numbers the college published. Check each college's own site before you apply. SAT is a trademark of College Board, and ACT is a trademark of ACT, Inc. Sharp is not affiliated with either, or with Occidental College. The Occidental College logo is a trademark of the college.