Colleges of Optometry, 2009

[Commando303]

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It looks as if three new schools of optometric have opened recently, and I wonder, of the twenty-something options now available to prospective eye doctors, are there any that are generally held in higher regard than others? In lower regard?

I'm not inquiring as to "difficulty of admission" as much as I am to quality of education, perhaps to quality-of-life on campus.

Thanks, all.

 

[od2013]

There are 20 schools to choose from. some have very small classes, some large classes, some have newer clinics in a heavy pathology area, some have older clinis in a mainly healthy neighborhoods, some are research-oriented, some are student-oriented, some have an old school faculty, others have a good mix of current and older faculty, some have performed better on national boards than others some are very bureacratic, some are very streamlined, some have a good-sized low vision or pediatric clinics, others have a minuscule presence in those areas but large ocular disease clinics.

My understanding is that every college has several different attributes and every school continues to try and get better every year.

I have shadowed Ods who graduated from 5 different schools and all are very competent and caring. All schools are well respected and produce solid practitioners.

My 2 cents

 

[jc812]

Each individual is different, so you need to decide this for yourself.

Where is the school located? Can you picture yourself living there? Compare monthly living expenses, such as rent. You want to minimize your student debt.

Take a look at their curriculum. Are the classes/clinics well rounded?

Is the school affiliated with other health professional schools? Some don't mind sharing classes with med students, but I would rather pass. Just preference.

Look over board passing rates. I know that students are the ones ultimately performing on the exam, but the faculty and school structure play big roles, too.

 

[IndianaOD]

I would assume all the new ones are crap unless proven otherwise.

There is no way they have good clinical sites set up.