Cheapest Optometry school for Canadians & Scholarships

[ronzroyce97]

Hi I'm a 4th year Canadian student and I've applied to NECO, ICO, Indiana, and Salus. I've gotten interviews from all schools, and have already attended Salus' interview. I want to know which schools are cheapest for Canadians, and if there is cheaper schools not on my list please list them as well. I know tuition rates and living allowance is all listed, but I'd like some firsthand experience. I also know that schools offer scholarships, the only schools I could actually find information on was ICO and Indiana. My top choices are ICO and NECO. I know some of the scholarships are merit based. These are my stats: 3.64 GPA, 340AA, one year of optometric assistant experience, 60 hours of shadowing. Any feedback/advice is greatly appreciated!

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[ronzroyce97]

bump

 

[startlearn]

bump

same question. I am also Canadian student.

 

[Harry_OD]

Hi, if you're considering schools that are relatively cheaper than others, definitely take a look at the Michigan College of Optometry, its probably one of the cheapest schools, but has a really good rep also. Plus, the area itself is relatively cheaper to live in. They accept about 38 ish students every year, but it wouldnt hurt to apply!

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

I also need this haha, the numbers I've seen seem a little terrifying

 

[faneyes]

Does anyone have experience with how much Canadian student loans help out?

 

[OD2023]

Does anyone have experience with how much Canadian student loans help out?

I think that your first option would be get as much from the provincial loans that you can because it doesn't accumulate interest until after you graduate. I know that OSAP (Ontario) provides approx. 7000 per year! Then, the majority of your loans would be a student line of credit and that depends on which bank you decide to go with - i think that TD and RBC have the best ones but I would double-check!

 

[ronzroyce97]

So what I've been told what most Canadian students do to pay for OD school is:

1. Student loans from the government, for me personally I never touched these loans in undergrad since I had an RESP and scholarships. I talked to student aid I was told I can loan a maximum of 20k/year for 80k for 4 years. I live in AB btw.

2. You can get professional school lines of credit from banks, RBC, scotiabank, TD, CIBC.

3. If you own a house or your parents own a house, taking out a house equity loan.

4. Getting scholarships, I actually got accepted to Salus a week ago, with a 5k/yearly scholarship for 4 years total 20k USD. I'm gonna wait on chicago and boston and see what they offer me and make my decision from there.

5. Just be filthy rich LOL, not the case for many of us sadly.

 

[yetbun12]

Cheapest optom school for a Canadian student is Waterloo, right here in Canada! Tuition is under $20,000 CAD per year!