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So I was accepted to ICO, Western and NECO. I have already turned down NECO and basically am trying to decide on going to Western vs ICO. I know the majority of people will automatically start bashing on Western, and I don't want this to be a bash Western thread so please read on before coming to a conclusion. I talked to a newly graduated optometrist today who graduated from SCO in 08 and he shed his own perspective on going to ICO vs Western.
I am a native Californian and I know I want to practice back in Cali. I live about 10 minutes from Western but I was offered a scholarship at ICO which basically to me means money is going to be the same regardless of where I go, give or take a couple thousand. Now, what he said that going to SCO, although providing him with a great education, made it more difficult securing work back in California because of the lack of networking opportunities. He did say that the benefit of being a California resident in an out of state school is that you may have priority in choosing rotations in Cali, which is some of the best networking opportunities he was able to acquire. As a recent graduate he told me finding work directly out without knowing a large amount of people proved to be difficult and that having that solid network would have made things a little easier to not only find work but also to find an office that he would potentially want to buy and take over.
One of the biggest things against Western is the risk of unknown statistics, but at the same time a good number of their staff had come from SCCO and are great professors. After asking former SCCO students they can all vouche for that.
I know the education at ICO is amazing, especially the clinical aspect, but if I want to practice in California what would be the best path to choose?
I am a native Californian and I know I want to practice back in Cali. I live about 10 minutes from Western but I was offered a scholarship at ICO which basically to me means money is going to be the same regardless of where I go, give or take a couple thousand. Now, what he said that going to SCO, although providing him with a great education, made it more difficult securing work back in California because of the lack of networking opportunities. He did say that the benefit of being a California resident in an out of state school is that you may have priority in choosing rotations in Cali, which is some of the best networking opportunities he was able to acquire. As a recent graduate he told me finding work directly out without knowing a large amount of people proved to be difficult and that having that solid network would have made things a little easier to not only find work but also to find an office that he would potentially want to buy and take over.
One of the biggest things against Western is the risk of unknown statistics, but at the same time a good number of their staff had come from SCCO and are great professors. After asking former SCCO students they can all vouche for that.
I know the education at ICO is amazing, especially the clinical aspect, but if I want to practice in California what would be the best path to choose?