Current SCCO and Pacific Students

[aopto]

Hi,

I was just wondering if any current SCCO or Pacific students have any opinions on the pros/cons of quarter vs semster systems. I have been accepted at both of these schools and am having a very difficult time deciding between the two. Do you think that the work load at Pacific is more difficult because it is on the semester system?

Also, are you generally happy with your decision? Is there anything I should know about either school before I make my decision?

Thank you in advance for all of your help!

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[alferec]

I'm at SCCO, so I can only speak of the quarter system...

Pros:
- Sometimes I feel like I'm more productive with a busy schedule
- If you don't like the class or professor, you'll be done with it in about 10 weeks anyway
- I would imagine that semester system has massive finals compared to the quarter system (i.e. 15 weeks of material vs 10 weeks)

Cons
- 1-2+ exams per week can be tiring
- You start exams much sooner (as soon as 3 weeks into school)
- Less free time

Definitely no regrets with choosing SCCO. I can easily see why this school puts out excellent clinicians because they drill the techniques like there's no tomorrow. We also have a pretty diverse breadth of training, with stuff that isn't covered in many other schools e.g. ocular prosthetics, lots and lots on RGPs, etc

 

[thanotoriousfob]

I'm at SCCO, so I can only speak of the quarter system...

Pros:
- Sometimes I feel like I'm more productive with a busy schedule
- If you don't like the class or professor, you'll be done with it in about 10 weeks anyway
- I would imagine that semester system has massive finals compared to the quarter system (i.e. 15 weeks of material vs 10 weeks)

Cons
- 1-2+ exams per week can be tiring
- You start exams much sooner (as soon as 3 weeks into school)
- Less free time

Definitely no regrets with choosing SCCO. I can easily see why this school puts out excellent clinicians because they drill the techniques like there's no tomorrow. We also have a pretty diverse breadth of training, with stuff that isn't covered in many other schools e.g. ocular prosthetics, lots and lots on RGPs, etc

Alferec,

What courses would you say are the most difficult or "dreaded" at SCCO?
How was the first quarter like at SCCO? Thanks.

 

[Penguin2012]

As far as the first quarter, SCCO starts off generously. That is, they ease you into the school system and living in Fullerton in general so the classes are not too strenuous.

 

[alferec]

thanotoriousfob - IMHO here are what I think were the hardest courses:
- All of the Ocular Disease courses
- Visual Psychophysics and Sensory Vision
- Neurophysiology
- Both Strabismus courses (conceptually difficult, but you can excel if you pay attn to the key points closely)

First quarter is super easy - it's a lot of busy work but the material is basically like undergrad, just a little more in volume.

 

[thanotoriousfob]

I was told during my interview day that the first quarter would be an easy transition. I also heard about psychophysics. What exactly are you learning in that course?

Thank you both for your insight!

 

[eyegal2010]

Pacific definitely does NOT ease you into the first semester but they were very up front about this during my interview. My first semester we took 8 courses altogether with 4 labs (~23 semester credits). The second semester was very similar & we had the entire summer following first year off. They are continually adjusting the curriculum due to the move of part I NBEO exams to the end of third year.

 

[alferec]

I was told during my interview day that the first quarter would be an easy transition. I also heard about psychophysics. What exactly are you learning in that course?

Thank you both for your insight!

In psychophysics, you'll learn all sorts of things about the limitations of our vision (e.g. the tiniest speck you can resolve with your eyes), how the amount of light affects visual acuity, how our vision changes in light and dark...so many things basically relating perception with vision. I know it sounds vague but it's just hard to put a finger on one definition for this class...

 

[xenopsyllus]

My transition to the semester system at Pacific was a rough one. I did six years of undergrad (yes, I changed majors) at college with ten week quarters. I found that I burned out about 12 weeks into the semester. It took about a year to adjust my study habits, but the more relaxed time table kind of grows on you. It's nice not having all your midterms over a two week period and having the flexibility to move them if they overlap.

On the downside, I find I am more easily distracted from studying and projects in the semester system. I guess I just work better with an imminent deadline, not just for personal scheduling, but, well, I kind of like the pressure.