Good News

[eyedream82]

Hey hey,

I just got back from my NEWENCO interview today. I gotta say, when you're in Boston, you don't want to go back home. This is all i can say: omigod, it's so beautiful. The interview was the shortest of all the ones i've been to, only lasted like 30 minutes. Dr. Frankel interviewed me, he's a really nice guy. There were about 20 of us coming from out of states to Boston that day, it's like a beauty pageant thing where everyone introduced themselves and what state they're from that day

I also got a letter from ICO today: I'M IN The thing is now that i got Boston in my mind, hmm...I really don't know about Chicago. I really want to go to Boston. But still, my first choice is SCO because it's close to home and the cheap tuition and everything. I dunno, decisions, decisions. Well, I'm still waiting for NEWENCO and SCO's decisions anytime now. I don't think I'm going to my next 2 interviews though (PCO and Ohio), I guess i'm just going to re-schedule the interviews to a later day in December and hopefully by then I'll hear something from SCO and NEWENCO. Any suggestions?

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[HighlyFanatic]

good to hear, i hope you get into your school of choice (SCO). congrats on the ICO acceptance, did you already write the OAT?!

n forget NEWENCO, go ICO! lol, just do whats best for you

Tony

 

[r_salis]

Congrats on on your ICO acceptance!

 

[cpw]

really decide if 150k of debt is worth all that "beauty" in Boston. It's THE most expensive OD school.


CONGRATS ON YOUR ACCEPTANCE TO ICO!!

 

[TPMOH]

If you are looking for pure "beauty", NOVA is the place to go.

 

[eyedream82]

Great suggestions you guys, I think I know where i want to go.

 

[r_salis]

Originally posted by TPMOH
If you are looking for pure "beauty", NOVA is the place to go.

The beach is pretty far from the library, from what I remember about Nova.

 

[Simisn]

Congrats on ICO

 

[eyedream82]

Thanks everyone for the kudos.

I got a question for everyone: Is Nova an accredited school? From what I heard, and I could be wrong here, Nova isn't accredited. Does this mean that you only practice in Florida and not elsewhere? Also, I heard the Optometry License for the state of Florida is very impossible. So what's the point of being in debt after 4 years and don't get to practice? Well, I could be very wrong, so if anyone knows anything about their accredited system, practice your freedom of speech

 

[Hodori]

congratulations, eyedream82! i am really happy for you.

 

[cpw]

Originally posted by eyedream82
Thanks everyone for the kudos.

I got a question for everyone: Is Nova an accredited school? From what I heard, and I could be wrong here, Nova isn't accredited. Does this mean that you only practice in Florida and not elsewhere? Also, I heard the Optometry License for the state of Florida is very impossible. So what's the point of being in debt after 4 years and don't get to practice? Well, I could be very wrong, so if anyone knows anything about their accredited system, practice your freedom of speech

yes, NOVA is an accredited school. But, they've only been accredited like five years or so.

Their board pass rate isn't that great... (for the NBEO)

And yes, Florida boards are probably some of the hardest in the country to pass. But, it means there are more jobs in Florida since many people won't move there because of it.

 

[eyedream82]

Another question for cpw and the others,

1. At the end of your 2nd year, you take NBEO I. Then at the end of 3rd year you take NBEO II. Finally at the end of 4th year, you take NBEO III. Am I right so far?

2. So after you passed all 3 NBEO, will you have to take a separate Licensing exam to practice in a certain state you want?

3. Who writes the national board? You said that Nova's (Florida's) national board is hard to pass, does that mean that only the people in the state of Florida write those questions and is that why they want to make it hard? Does each state write their own board for the students? This I'm not quite clear yet.

I think i'm confused between the national board and the state licensure. Does everyone get the same exam for the NBEO?

 

[Richard_Hom]

Originally posted by eyedream82
Another question for cpw and the others,

1. At the end of your 2nd year, you take NBEO I. Then at the end of 3rd year you take NBEO II. Finally at the end of 4th year, you take NBEO III. Am I right so far?

2. So after you passed all 3 NBEO, will you have to take a separate Licensing exam to practice in a certain state you want?

3. Who writes the national board?

1. The National Boards I and II are written only exams and parallel a state's written examinations. NBEO III is clinical and parallel a state's clinical examination.

2. Depending upon the state board laws, a state may accept a candidate's NBEO I,II,III scores in lieu of the parallel portions of their state board exam. Note that some states may require additional testing/examination beyond NBEO I,II, and III. Some states also accept passage of NBEO I,II,III in lieu of the state examinations. There is a fourth examination called the "TMOD" which is also given in the last year.

3. The NBEO is written by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry which are members of the faculty of most, if not all of the optometry schools. Each faculty submits questions to the board which is then consolidated for the state examination.

4. It has been several years since I've taken the National Boards but I would strongly advise taken all of them (I,II,III, and TMOD (if needed). This will position you for obtaining future licensure in other states.

5. Remember that our society is mobile and having career mobility is a necessity these days. Having multiple licenses will help a lot in this. Optometry is not quite where medicine is in terms of reciprocity or licensure by endorsement. You will need to consult with those state boards that you're interested in for exact details.

Regards,
Richard Hom, OD,FAAO
San Mateo, CA

 

[eyedream82]

Thanks Dr. Hom, that sure does help clear things up for me.