Current Students at ICO, CCO(midwest), ACO(midwest), WesternU and PCO

[8eyeyeye8]

Hello. I am interested in following schools.
I was wondering how do you guys like your school? Things that you like/don't like about your school?
So far I went on the interview for Salus PCO and ICO. I liked both schools and waiting on other schools for interviews.
I have friends from ICO and PCO, they seemed to like their school overall, except for their clinical skills classes and the policy for retaking practicals. I would like to know how each school is different.
I would appreciate your responses! You can PM if you'd like. Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MayaPCO]

I am currently a second year student at PCO. While there are ups and downs, I am happy that I chose Salus. Looking back at my past semesters, I will definitely say that I was overwhelmed at times. First year consists tons of material in a short amount of time, frequent exams, along with a few small practicals that seemed like they were the end of the world at the time. The hardest class for me during my first semester was Anatomy. First year spring consisted of learning about all of the health systems and furthering our optics knowledge on top of a 35-minute refractive practical. The hardest class for me my second semester was Cardiology. That semester was stressful because some of our professors did not post their syllabus until a few days prior to our final exam. However, I was on class council last year and was able to speak to the Dean about this, and she immediately addressed our concerns. The summer was not horrible course wise, but we did have our first practical of a series of 11 or 12 practicals that would continue in 2nd year fall. I would say that was the hardest time for me because we also had exams to study for, and you really had to figure out how to balance your schedule. I really do enjoy the challenge of optometry school, and I understand why PCO makes us retake practicals that we failed. It helps us grow as clinicians and improve our skills. Unlike other schools that do not allow students to retake practicals, PCO does not overlook imperfect clinical skills. All of the extra practice we get definitely pays off as you can see per our P3 board scores. The most frustrating part about the practicals was not retaking them, it was that not passing could be the result of simply missing one thing on a checklist of 10 things or having a picky preceptor or a bad patient. In my opinion, for the skills I retook, preceptors were very understanding and encouraging the second time around. Everyone wants to help you to succeed and see you do well. This semester (2nd year spring) is much better because although we have 14 or so exams this semester, we are in clinic seeing patients 2-4 times per week. Overall, I love the early clinic exposure PCO provides us with and I think that it sets us apart from other schools. Furthermore, I greatly respect our faculty who are absolutely brilliant Optometrists and physicians. Sometimes I feel as though I am in the presence of a celebrity because some of our lecturers have done such amazing things in the field. I appreciate that Salus really cares about its students and listens to their suggestions. PCO has newly renovated classrooms and a modern clinical skills lab. I believe Salus will continue to evolve for years to come! If you have any questions for me please feel free to message me.