Occidental College vs La Sierra University

Occidental College and La Sierra University, two distinct institutions with unique offerings, stand ready to shape your academic journey. Occidental, a liberal arts college nestled in Los Angeles, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on social justice. La Sierra, a private Christian university located in Riverside, emphasizes a faith-based education and boasts a tight-knit community. With acceptance rates of 34% and 65%, respectively, these institutions cater to different levels of academic competitiveness. While Occidental's popular majors include social sciences, humanities, and arts, La Sierra's strengths lie in nursing, biology, and business. Explore the detailed comparison table to uncover further distinctions in student demographics, graduation rates, and more, and make an informed decision that aligns with your academic aspirations and personal values.

	La Sierra University	Occidental College
Overview
Location	Riverside, California	Los Angeles, California
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	72.0%	92.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	66.1%	38.2%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $60
SAT range	880 - 1140	1340 - 1490
ACT range	18 - 28	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	25.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	2.0%	22.0%
Total number of applicants	2,726	6,495
Total number of admissions given out	1,801	2,484
Admitted students who chose to enroll	287	535
Yield rate	15.9%	21.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$59,289	$77,878
Average net price	$25,230	$43,047
Tuition	$33,228	$57,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,740 Meal plan: $4,050	Room/dormitory: $9,512 Meal plan: $8,090
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $20,812	100.0% Average amount $29,715
Students receiving federal student loan	59.0% Average amount $4,980	31.0% Average amount $4,603
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,020	17.0% Average amount $6,554

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,351 Men 41.2% Women 58.8%	1,964 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%
Graduate students	387 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	62.5%
International students	14.1%	6.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	850	1,650
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California Washington New York Illinois Mississippi

Academics
Popular study areas	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Health Professions Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Multidisciplinary Studies Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	44.9%	82.9%
Dropout rate	20.1%	4.1%
Transferred out	34.7%	12.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,771 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $56,649 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,359 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $41,100 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,044 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,771 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,215 Year 2: $16,478 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,179 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: N/A Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,431 Year 2: $29,751 Year 3: N/A	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,544 Year 2: $55,078 Year 3: $63,231 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,360 Year 2: $37,779 Year 3: $49,843 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,329 Year 2: $36,132 Year 3: $45,083 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,948 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $43,488 Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $33,877 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $31,152 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,035 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $31,095 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,916 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $30,729 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,793 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: N/A

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