need advice about IAUPR

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Hello All, I'm a long time viewer first time posting

I am really interested in going to optometry school in puerto rico, mainly because the emphasis on billingual education.
My spanish skills are not the most advanced, I really want to learn and i can conversate but I don't know if i could follow a lecture in spanish.
So does anyone know if students with minimal spanish skills do pretty well in puerto rico? What is the retention rate? Are any lectures or labs in english?

Originally Posted by nikkivale

Hello All, I'm a long time viewer first time posting

I am really interested in going to optometry school in puerto rico, mainly because the emphasis on billingual education.
My spanish skills are not the most advanced, I really want to learn and i can conversate but I don't know if i could follow a lecture in spanish.
So does anyone know if students with minimal spanish skills do pretty well in puerto rico? What is the retention rate? Are any lectures or labs in english?

I graduated from IAUPR. I'd say less than half the students are at all proficient in spanish. About half the classes are taught in spanish. They are pretty good about having someone that is bilingual take notes in spanish for those classes that are taught only in spanish.

Originally Posted by jchod

I graduated from IAUPR. I'd say less than half the students are at all proficient in spanish. About half the classes are taught in spanish. They are pretty good about having someone that is bilingual take notes in spanish for those classes that are taught only in spanish.

Thanks for the info. despite what "ranking freaks" may think, I think IAUPR has the best advantage of them all because the bilingual focus is very important to US health care ,there is such a need.

Were you fluent in spanish before you attended?

I'll be honest, the "ranking freaks" can get bent. They don't know what they're talking about. NOBODY CARES where you went to school, they care why they should hire you. Why you are better than the next guy/girl.

While I was in school in P.R. I had the mentality the entire time that I had to be and "A" student to measure up to a "C" student at the "other" schools. After I graduated I did a residency, one of the single best decisions I've ever made, I proctered several interns from several other schools. I wasn't impressed. They didn't know any more than I did, in fact the contrary. You will get out of school whatever you put into it. Thats true regrdless where you go to school.

IAUPR does, however, give you several things other schools cannot. You will leave being, to some extent, bilingual. You will be better clinically, other schools cannot provide you with the amount and extent of pathology in the Puerto Rican population.

After I finished the residency I was hired in a group practice consisting of several ophthalmologists and an OD. They hired me because I had something to offer them that other OD's didn't. Spanish, and a great deal of clinical experience from both school and the residency. Do whatever will make you a better doctor for the patient.

Again, you will get exactly what you put into your education, be that here or there. I felt I'd have more to offer having gone "there". And I'd do it again in a second.

Originally Posted by nikkivale

Hello All, I'm a long time viewer first time posting

I am really interested in going to optometry school in puerto rico, mainly because the emphasis on billingual education.
My spanish skills are not the most advanced, I really want to learn and i can conversate but I don't know if i could follow a lecture in spanish.
So does anyone know if students with minimal spanish skills do pretty well in puerto rico? What is the retention rate? Are any lectures or labs in english?

i think you'll do fine in purto rico

Originally Posted by jchod

I'll be honest, the "ranking freaks" can get bent. They don't know what they're talking about. NOBODY CARES where you went to school, they care why they should hire you. Why you are better than the next guy/girl.

While I was in school in P.R. I had the mentality the entire time that I had to be and "A" student to measure up to a "C" student at the "other" schools. After I graduated I did a residency, one of the single best decisions I've ever made, I proctered several interns from several other schools. I wasn't impressed. They didn't know any more than I did, in fact the contrary. You will get out of school whatever you put into it. Thats true regrdless where you go to school.

IAUPR does, however, give you several things other schools cannot. You will leave being, to some extent, bilingual. You will be better clinically, other schools cannot provide you with the amount and extent of pathology in the Puerto Rican population.

After I finished the residency I was hired in a group practice consisting of several ophthalmologists and an OD. They hired me because I had something to offer them that other OD's didn't. Spanish, and a great deal of clinical experience from both school and the residency. Do whatever will make you a better doctor for the patient.

Again, you will get exactly what you put into your education, be that here or there. I felt I'd have more to offer having gone "there". And I'd do it again in a second.

from what i have heard and seen puerto rico looks like a lovely place. are you still in puerto rico?
Does anyone know if there is a great need for optometrists in puerto rico? is the salary comparable to the continental US?

Originally Posted by nikkivale

from what i have heard and seen puerto rico looks like a lovely place. are you still in puerto rico?
Does anyone know if there is a great need for optometrists in puerto rico? is the salary comparable to the continental US?

I graduated and left P.R. about a year and a half ago. ODs dont make much there. Maybe 30-40k. They don't have therapeutic licenses nor diagnostic licenses. So, outside the school, they are very limited.

Hi to anyone who got interviewed by IAUPR...

what sort of questions do they asked you, so I can be prepared.. because I feel like they would throw some tricky questions at you like for example "Say a few things in Spanish" ..I would be like..."Hola" .......lol so please let me know so I can feel fully prepared for the interview..thanks. and good luck

dont worry about the spanish portion. i think even the questions can be found somewhere on the website. its not a stressful interview at all...so dont stress it

My interview was very laid back. It was done by a graduate practicing by my hometown. All he went over was my transcript, OAT scores and my willingness to learn Spanish. You don't have to know the language when you arrive, but you're expected to do an exam in spanish by your 3rd year, which is not hard at all.

I love me some Caribbean sun, but man have I heard some complaints about this school.