If you want to experience the charms of the liberal arts college experience within the hustle and bustle of a major metropolitan area, then Occidental College is for you. This Los Angeles-based private liberal arts college recently admitted its Class of 2030. And while most of the data on this newly admitted cohort is still forthcoming, a glance at the historical acceptance rate reveals the admissions trends at play this time around. Read on to learn more about how the most recent Occidental admissions cycle went down and what your next steps should be if you were waitlisted this year.

Occidental College Admissions Statistics (Class of 2030 – Class of 2022)

Occidental College Class Year	Total Applications Received	Total Applications Accepted	Overall Acceptance Rate
Class of 2030	7,904	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Class of 2029	7,490	3,359	44.85%
Class of 2028	6,461	2,854	44.17%
Class of 2027	6,573	2,854	43.42%
Class of 2026	6,305	2,484	39.40%
Class of 2025	6,495	2,484	38.24%
Class of 2024	6,939	2,838	40.90%
Class of 2023	7,501	2,752	36.69%
Class of 2022	7,281	2,716	37.30%

Occidental Class of 2030 Statistics in Historical Perspective

According to The Occidental, campus’s student-run newspaper, this year’s cycle came on the heels of some turmoil in the Oxy admissions office. As Zumyna Kabir reports, “This admissions cycle comes as Occidental deals with an estimated 15 percent dip in enrollment for the class of 2029. In a May 2025 message to the campus community, Occidental President Tom Stritikus wrote that the significantly smaller incoming class reflects enrollment trends affecting private liberal arts colleges nationwide.”

Looking at the chart above, the dip in enrollment flagged by Occidental leadership is evident in the larger cohorts of students admitted in recent years (and the resulting higher acceptance rate). The Class of 2029, for example, saw 3,359 students admitted, a record-high number. Occidental admissions offices must admit more students to counteract the lower yield rate, or the decreasing proportion of admitted students who enroll. 3,359 may sound like a large number, but if only 10% of these students actually enroll at Occidental, the admissions office would be in hot water. One can expect a similar scenario to play out this year if Occidental is already projecting enrollment declines.

Profile of Occidental College Admits to the Class of 2030

We don’t yet have much to dissect about the Class of 2030, other than the fact that Occidental is targeting an enrollment of 535 students, according to The Occidental’s reporting. As far as the racial, socioeconomic, academic, and geographic origins of this year’s cohort, you’ll just have to wait until this info is published in the 2026-2027 Common Data Set to receive the answers you’re looking for.

Ivy Coach’s Occidental Waitlist Assistance

If you were waitlisted to Occidental this year, there’s no sense in losing hope. You still have a shot at admission, but swift action is necessary to set this process in motion. So where should you begin?

Start by filling out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form. We’ll then be in touch to delineate our services, including our go-forward service for waitlisted candidates led by our team of former elite college admissions officers. The sooner you contact us, the greater our ability to optimize your odds of admission.