I didn't apply for SCCO, but I am Canadian!
I got accepted to PCO. I am choosing PCO over UW because frankly, I want to move away from Canada for a bit since I plan to settle down in Canada, but I just explore the world a bit. PCO might not be located in NYC or Chicago or Boston-like city (still waiting for NECO and ICO), but I figured I could travel (if I have time) around the states. I also talked to a few Canadian PCO students and they are quite happy there. Also, my boss (an opto) he strongly recommended I go to the states over UW instead for curriculum reasons though he didn't specify what specific issues when I asked him to write my recommendation letter (and he kind of hinted he would prefer that I go to the states if I wanted to come back to become an associate for him when I graduate - so a possibility of a little future job security was a factor). He might also be biased cause he went to the states for school though.
But my main reason is that I feel like I would get more exposure to different ocular diseases during clinic hours in the states since their health care / insurance plans are not as comprehensive (or more expensive) as Canadian ones. I feel like this exposure will give me more confidence when I graduate and start practising since I would have seen certain ocular conditions before hand. Also from what I hear between my friends at UW and PCO and NECO, the two american schools start clinic much earlier than UW. I feel that clinic experience is super important, because in essence that is what you are studying to do. I know if you go UW, you can do externships in the states. I applied to the states cause I figured UW would be too competitive.
