I stayed on campus for two and a half days as a prospective freshman earlier this year (March, I think) and liked it, so I can tell you a little more. I almost decided to go, but then I chose to go to the University of Toronto instead. Yeah, really similar, aren't they?
-It's a beautiful campus.
-It's
really small. It's a tiny liberal arts college with a really different feel from a larger university.
-It's not that far from Los Angeles and also not too far from multiple beaches and Pasadena, but you need a car (or a friend with a car) to go anywhere interesting unless you want to wait for a designated shuttle day.
-The attitude seems to be pretty laid-back, but that doesn't mean the people there don't take studying seriously.
-There aren't very many Asians at Oxy, especially compared to other schools in California. There are more of other minorities, though, and Oxy places a lot of emphasis on social awareness when it comes to race, gender, socioeconomic class, etc. On the other hand, though, there were some incidents last year and racial tension.
-The students I met generally seemed to be enjoying their college experience and they seemed pretty relaxed.
-All of the classes were pretty small and very interactive. Students get a lot of interaction with the professors and their classmates, so they get to know each other much better than at a big school like mine.
Sorry, I can't really tell you much more than that. I eventually decided not to go because it's such a tiny school and I wanted more science course choices. That, and also Eagle Rock didn't appeal to me much since it's a suburban area. I like being in the middle of the city here in Toronto. You might like the small size and suburban location, though.
Thank you so much for your help
joogrlpekaun, It seems like the Oxy site doesn't provide me as much information as you
Actually I love big urban cities and large schools (that's why I fell for USC^^), but large universities really offer little aid for international students, or very limited. I've researched on the financial aid recently, and I think the liberal arts provide us more. I know there're some schools that offer huge aid packets...the Ivy League
but I don't dare to dream of those!
I've always asked why almost all students in my country choose liberal arts while the big universities are more interesting in both academics and social life. But now I can anwser why, the reason is only and forever financial aid^^ (you know only 4 Vietnamese students study in Harvard, 1 in MIT, 2 in Stanford, I'm talking about the guys who receive full aid...so rare...but you can't count at kinds of Bates, Colgate, Connecticut and Lafayette^^)
The biggest reason for me to choose Occidental is: I love LA and want to go to the Hollywood land. I've always wanted to make films, so I don't mind its size and location^^. Just know that Oxy is a great school, in LA...gives me enough love^^.
P/S: After reading your post I really worry about the racial discrimination, maybe I have to learn about Oxy more carefully, especially on this issue, really complex...
But the coolest is we can take free waiver 
SAT I, II 
there are not so many people in my nation studying in Oxy (only 3 exactly), but I can never find a contact 
)
I don't want to hear sarcasm about my studying when everyone is outside cheerful in a party 
