Quad

Head-to-head

Pitzer
Occidental

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Pitzer's yield is 18 pts higher than Occidental's

    Yield rate
  2. 2

    Occidental costs about $8.9K less per year on average than Pitzer ($57,431 vs. $66,360, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  3. 3

    Occidental's grants cover 32% of its full price on average, vs. 23% at Pitzer

    Aid generosity
  4. 4

    Occidental grads earn $6.4K more ten years out than Pitzer's ($75,951 vs. $69,512)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  5. 5

    Occidental has 6 pts more Pell recipients than Pitzer (17% vs. 11%)

    Pell Grant recipients
  6. 6

    Occidental has 1.5× as many undergrads as Pitzer

    Undergrads

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Hollow dots at the center mean that measure isn't reported.

Who's hardest to get into

Pitzer admits 34%, Occidental 44%; Pitzer's yield is higher, at 36%.

Acceptance rate
Pitzer34%
Occidental44%
Quad's selectivity
  • PitzerVery selective
  • OccidentalVery selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1300–1600
PitzerTest-blind
Occidental
1380–1520
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • PitzerGPA and school record required
  • OccidentalRigor and GPA very important

Who's on each campus

Occidental has 1.5× as many undergrads as Pitzer and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Pitzer1.2K
Occidental1.9K
Pell Grant share
Pitzer11%
Occidental17%

Majors and faculty

Environmental Science leads at Pitzer, and Econometrics and Quantitative Economics at Occidental; Occidental has 9 students per faculty member to Pitzer's 10.

Students per faculty member
Pitzer10 to 1
Occidental9 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • PitzerEnvironmental Science11%
  • OccidentalEconometrics and Quantitative Economics12%

What each costs

Occidental costs about $8.9K less a year than Pitzer on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Pitzer$66.4K
Occidental$57.4K
Aid generosity
Pitzer23%
Occidental32%

What each pays off

Occidental's former students earn more, a median $76K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 80% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Pitzer$69.5K
Occidental$76K
Graduation rate
Pitzer87%
Occidental83%

How each has changed

Applications held steady at Occidental but fell at Pitzer; Pitzer got less selective while Occidental held steady.

Applications, 10-year change
  • PitzerShrinking−20%
  • OccidentalSteady+6%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:Pitzer College (Fall 2026), Fall 2026;IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;Occidental College Common Data Set 2023–24, Fall 2023About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why