CCO vs ICO vs NECO

[Amelie@School]

Hi all,
I am new here, and though I have read through similar topic threads, I believe there is not much info on CCO. Plus, NECO has changed a lot recently adding a lot to their clinic which I think should be considered.

I have got acceptance from all three schools. While I'm very grateful for having such opportunities, I am having a hard time making a decision. Based on my interview experience, I got the most positive feeling at CCO of Midwestern University. Their clinic is beyond comparable to other clinics of the schools I interviewed at. They have EVERYTHING you can possibly think of at their clinic! The area the school is located at is nice and quiet, and yet it's close enough to the city. The only issue is the partial accreditation which won't be completed until the first class is graduated. So there is no info on their NBEO, etc.

ICO is a very established school, true, but! from what I felt during the interview day, they hadn't put much effort impressing us as much as other schools did. To me it felt like they maybe take students for granted a little bit?.. They didn't provide any breakfast, the day wasn't planned well and we had to wait around a lot, the lunch was awful. The school is located in a not very safe neighborhood.

NECO to me seems like a school that is trying to stay up-to-date with technology and changes happening in healthcare. They made sure we all had a great experience during the interview day. Their clinic was nice and seemed like they had added a lot of new equipment and technology recently. The clinical experience starts during the first semester, which is not the case for CCO nor ICO. From what I heard most students end up practicing in states other than MA.

I would appreciate any comment or feedback from recent interviewees, graduates or current students at either of these schools. Thank you! 🙂

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[Purkinja]

Feeling important is nice but past and present board passage rates win the day.Simply,CCO needs more time and NECO recent dip is a concern.

 

[Amelie@School]

Feeling important is nice but past and present board passage rates win the day.Simply,CCO needs more time and NECO recent dip is a concern.

I don't know about NECO's recent dip. Would youplease tell me more about that?

 

[optsuker]

https://optometriceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ASCO-Report-2016-2017-1.pdf
Here's the latest numbers. Some are horrendous.
I'm the advisor for our local university's pre-opt club and these are stats that MUST be considered before choosing a school.
Unless you have an extraordinary reason, any school that is not fully accredited should be last.

IMO, Part I pass rate is most important. It's the toughest test and reflects on the overall education you're getting Part III reflects the clinical, hands-on experience, and Part II, a blend.

I'd shy away from any school under 75-80% for part I, 90% for part II, and 80-85% for part III.
Realize how miserable it is to retake these tests and choose wisely.

This is probably one of the biggest decision you've made at this point in your life:
Use your head, not your heart to decide.

 

[Purkinja]

Great link Optsuker.So the link shows that 9% of all board takers NEVER PASS BOARDS!

Actually it’s not that bad as younger schools haven’t had the chance to test all areas the 6x limit.

However,the difference in the top half of schools and the lower half is even more dismal to where one could say that the lower 1/3 has a 15% NEVER PASS rate.

Now if we give credit (again) to the younger schools for the lack of multiple takers then it would still be fair to say the 1/3 of schools will have 1/8 NEVER PASS rate.

My point is only that if you are a marginal student
,schools will take your money and board passage is not a given .I couldnt imagine after all the work and money never passing boards but it is happening.Know who you are before starting a program

 

[Amelie@School]

Thank you Optsuker for the pdf. I had actually bumped into it a few days ago. I wish there was more data on previous years, and the results for 2018 step one for all schools as well. Especially because a lot can change within a year or two, but it's helpful to notice a trend if it exists.

"Use your head, not your heart to decide." At every single interview I have had, students at the school I was interviewing at told us "just pick the school you feel comfortable with!", aka use your heart. Not sure which is true...but I think I should just use my head again this time 🙂

 

[pnw256]

Thank you Optsuker for the pdf. I had actually bumped into it a few days ago. I wish there was more data on previous years, and the results for 2018 step one for all schools as well. Especially because a lot can change within a year or two, but it's helpful to notice a trend if it exists.

"Use your head, not your heart to decide." At every single interview I have had, students at the school I was interviewing at told us "just pick the school you feel comfortable with!", aka use your heart. Not sure which is true...but I think I should just use my head again this time 🙂

Many schools have already posted the last part I scores. ICO smashed the average at 86.1%. Idk what happened in '16 that caused them to dip down to 77

 

[pnw256]

what I know is 1/3 students didn't pass part 1 in 2017/2018 for the regular program. senior faculty of many key courses left. ~ 20% class 2018 students were dismissed or withdrawal for various reasons, tuition has been raised in a yearly base. Dean was changed almost every year, no laser or mini-surgical course provided, treatment or management is not allowed.
Boston is a nice place, but too many famous medical schools and hospitals, the ophthalmologist is extremely strong and powerful, the optometrist is very weak and almost no room to practice like a real doctor.

Take everything this account posts with a grain of salt. He/she spreads misinformation and is heavily biased against NECO for some reason. I'm actually very unhappy with NECO too for how they handled my interview and application but this person is taking it too far. He/she's done this before
NECO vs ICO?

 

[Amelie@School]

Take everything this account posts with a grain of salt. He/she spreads misinformation and is heavily biased against NECO for some reason. I'm actually very unhappy with NECO too for how they handled my interview and application but this person is taking it too far. He/she's done this before
NECO vs ICO?

Thank you for the heads up. I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience with NECO.. My experience really good, and I really felt comfortable there.
I think I've made my decision. Thank you all for your help and feedback 🙂 At the end of the day, we all are going to be qualified optometrists and we can only be best at what we do by trying our hardest and putting in 100%.

 

[Purkinja]

This is hilarious.My board scores comments were aimed at the lower tier schools NOT NECO lol.NECO IS ACTUALLY DOING A GOOD JOB!

I didn’t preface my comments very well earlier but NECO small dip is okay compared to a lot of schools .I simply went my the numbers I had seen earlier (optsuker link).Anyway,wasn’t attacking NECO specifically at all.

Please post any misinformation I have ever spread and I will refrain from commenting ever

 

[pnw256]

This is hilarious.My board scores comments were aimed at the lower tier schools NOT NECO lol.NECO IS ACTUALLY DOING A GOOD JOB!

I didn’t preface my comments very well earlier but NECO small dip is okay compared to a lot of schools .I simply went my the numbers I had seen earlier (optsuker link).Anyway,wasn’t attacking NECO specifically at all.

Please post any misinformation I have ever spread and I will refrain from commenting ever

I wasn't talking about you brah, look at who I quoted lol

 

[contactspecs2020]

I was in your situation ICO vs NECO. I liked both schools but ended up going with my 'heart' to ICO. I used to be part of the interview tour group at ICO and I'm surprised that it didn't seem as well organized as the schedule is normally pretty on time.

May be biased but also keep in mind OD's in Boston can't prescribe glaucoma medications and a NECO friend of mine didn't feel as comfortable with it as I feel like the general ICO student does (ICO has a heavy glaucoma patient base).

Link is dated (2015) but shows the differences of being in Boston vs elsewhere:
https://www.optometrystudents.com/event/legislated-profession-practicing-optometry-massachusetts/

 

[deleted936320]

Where did you end committing OP?

 

[Andesha]

Hi all,
I am new here, and though I have read through similar topic threads, I believe there is not much info on CCO. Plus, NECO has changed a lot recently adding a lot to their clinic which I think should be considered.

I have got acceptance from all three schools. While I'm very grateful for having such opportunities, I am having a hard time making a decision. Based on my interview experience, I got the most positive feeling at CCO of Midwestern University. Their clinic is beyond comparable to other clinics of the schools I interviewed at. They have EVERYTHING you can possibly think of at their clinic! The area the school is located at is nice and quiet, and yet it's close enough to the city. The only issue is the partial accreditation which won't be completed until the first class is graduated. So there is no info on their NBEO, etc.

ICO is a very established school, true, but! from what I felt during the interview day, they hadn't put much effort impressing us as much as other schools did. To me it felt like they maybe take students for granted a little bit?.. They didn't provide any breakfast, the day wasn't planned well and we had to wait around a lot, the lunch was awful. The school is located in a not very safe neighborhood.

NECO to me seems like a school that is trying to stay up-to-date with technology and changes happening in healthcare. They made sure we all had a great experience during the interview day. Their clinic was nice and seemed like they had added a lot of new equipment and technology recently. The clinical experience starts during the first semester, which is not the case for CCO nor ICO. From what I heard most students end up practicing in states other than MA.

I would appreciate any comment or feedback from recent interviewees, graduates or current students at either of these schools. Thank you! 🙂

I am in the same boat today and I was wondering what was your final decision, could you please share your first year experience?