Occidental College's wording, checked October 26, 2026“Why are you applying to Occidental? Why do you think Occidental is the right place for you to pursue your interests?”
How to approach it
- 1Name your interests first, through something you have done.
- 2Name specific Oxy opportunities that fit them; check them on its site.
- 3End on what you would do there.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1Your interests, through one experience.
- 2The Occidental opportunities that fit them.
- 3Why that makes Oxy the right place, in your words.
Where the 250 words go
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| Your first, most specific reason | about 90 |
| A second reason, tied to your experience | about 90 |
| What you would do or add there | about 80 |
Mistakes to avoid
- Los Angeles weather as a reason.
- Praise that fits any liberal arts college.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Occidental answers, this answer is read against these 5 areas. Each comes back Met, Partly or Missing with a quote from your draft as evidence, and together with the 250 words limit they set its readiness verdict.
| Area | What a reader looks for |
|---|---|
| Answers the question | The opening sentences answer what was asked, plainly, before background or a hook; every part of a multi-part question is answered. |
| Specific to this college | It names at least two concrete things that exist at this college (a program, course, research group, tradition, place, way of teaching) and could not survive a swap of the college's name. |
| Connected to you | Each thing named is tied to something the applicant has done, asked or wants, so the reader sees why it matters to THIS student, not why the college is good. |
| What you would do there | It shows how the applicant would use those things and what they would add (join, start, research, contribute), not only what they would receive. |
| Occidental's ask | Says why Occidental is the right place to pursue the applicant's interests, with specifics. |
Check your Occidental answers
Paste this answer (and any other Occidental answers you have). One report covers all of them: the checklist above for each, a note on every sentence, coaching questions and a revision plan. Half a token, or your first review free. We never write a word of it.
Check your college supplemental essays
Your first full review is free. Every answer reviewed in one report.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Common App or any college.
Open the picker and search for a college to see its 2026–27 supplemental questions.
No card needed · one free full review per student · we never write your answers
Questions
More on Occidental and this kind of question
- Harvard: How you will use your Harvard education · 150 words
- Columbia: Why Columbia · 150 words
- Brown: Your approach to the Open Curriculum · 150-250 words
- Dartmouth: Why Dartmouth · 100 words
- Cornell: CALS: what draws you to CALS · 350 words
- Cornell: Engineering: why Duffield · 200 words