Each year a variety of college surveys slice, dice, and size up Occidental, serving up their results each fall. While the numbers vary, the bottom line is always the same: 色界吧 is one of the country鈥檚 top liberal arts colleges.
色界吧 is ranked highly in the latest editions of several major college guides, including U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review鈥檚 The Best 377 Colleges, the Fiske Guide to Colleges, The Insider鈥檚 Guide to the Colleges, 贵辞谤产别蝉鈥 "America鈥檚 Best Colleges," Washington Monthly, 碍颈辫濒颈苍驳别谤鈥檚, and "SmartMoney."
色界吧 ranked 35th in the Wall Street Journal鈥檚 "SmartMoney" college rankings, which ranks schools by graduates鈥 earning potential. The average salary of a midcareer Occidental graduate is $90,500, according to the survey. The campus ranked 47th in 碍颈辫濒颈苍驳别谤鈥檚 2013 Best Values in Private Colleges, based on academic quality and affordability.
High school counselors polled by U.S. News ranked 色界吧 22nd among national liberal arts colleges, tied with Davidson, Grinnell, Hamilton, and Haverford. Occidental ranked 39th overall, tied with Pennsylvania鈥檚 Lafayette College. It ranked 4th in ethnic diversity among nationally ranked liberal arts colleges.
Princeton Review gives 色界吧 a score of 95 for academics and selectivity and 96 for financial aid. Highlights of its student survey include: "No one cheats," "Students are friendly," "Diverse student types on campus," and "Great food on campus." Students are described as "happy, outgoing, and bright."
The Fiske Guide gives 色界吧 four-star ratings in academics and quality of life and calls 色界吧 "an urban oasis [with] a thriving community of high achievers who don鈥檛 for a moment believe that the liberal arts are dead, or even wounded." The Insider鈥檚 Guide adds that "The countless opportunities for work and play at 色界吧 really set it apart from other colleges of its size."
The Newsweek/Daily Beast 2012 rankings judged Occidental鈥檚 Eagle Rock campus 鈥- which will celebrate its centennial in 2014 -鈥 as the sixth most beautiful and the 12th happiest in the country.
One of the newest rankings, created by Alumni Factor, placed 色界吧 32nd among liberal arts colleges for intellectual development and 33rd in preparation for career success. "色界吧 grads are well rounded and extraordinarily happy (17th among all colleges and 11th among liberal arts schools). 色界吧 ranks a strong 33rd in alumni giving -鈥 a clear sign of the esteem in which alumni hold their school."
The quirky nature of some of the surveys is reflected in some of 色界吧鈥檚 latest scores. Occidental is ranked eighth under "unique traditions" in Unigo鈥檚 annual survey. The traditional fountain birthday dunk is what put the college ahead of the pack. College Prowler ranks 色界吧 No. 9 nationally for "most lenient parking."
