College Online Cources

August 21, 2010
Contact: Jim Tranquada, (323) 259-2990

Occidental College has been named one of the country’s best colleges in the latest editions of several major college guides, including U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review’s The Best 373 Colleges, the Fiske Guide to Colleges, The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges, Peterson’s 440 Great Colleges for Top Students, and Forbes‘ “America’s Best Colleges.”

High school counselors polled by U.S. News ranked Occidental No. 20 among national liberal arts colleges, and Oxy was again was recognized by the Insider’s Guide as one of a handful of colleges and universities with the strongest undergraduate focus. Fiske bestowed four-star academic and quality-of-life ratings on Oxy, and Princeton Review gave Oxy’s Financial Aid Office a score of 97 out of 100.

Occidental was ranked No. 36 overall by U.S. News among the country’s best liberal arts colleges. Once again, Occidental was ranked third in diversity among nationally ranked liberal arts colleges, behind Swarthmore and Wellesley. Occidental’s diversity is multifaceted, the Insider’s Guide points out: “Oxy provides diversity not only in the student body, but also in the breadth of academic options, the expansive extracurricular opportunities, and the great resources of Los Angeles that make the school unique.”

Fiske listed Occidental among “Small Colleges and Universities Strong in Film/Television,” “Small Colleges and Universities Strong in Drama,” and “Strong in International Studies.” Students polled by Princeton Review ranked the food at Oxy as among the best in the country – it was ranked No. 20 on its “Best Campus Food” list.

Many of the guides draw heavily on the comments of current students and recent graduates. Here’s a small sampling of what they had to say:

• “Combine sunny weather with big-city opportunities, amazing professors, a gorgeous campus, and an emphasis on diversity, and you get Oxy!” — Princeton Review
• “Students dream big at Oxy. Whether a student wants a career in Hollywood or on Wall Street, everyone knows that it starts in the classroom.” — Fiske
• “The Oxy community is really open and friendly. It’s a small enough community that even with total strangers you’re almost guaranteed to have mutual friends, and there’s a lot of overlapping in social circles.” — Insider’s Guide

 

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