Everyone who is getting accepted...

[mystro]

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Are you 3rd or 4th yr? And if you could please tell us if you repeated a low pre-req or not, AND if you have done the OAT once or twice. Thanks! I'm sure this would help a lot of us in tight positions.

Oh, and also your GPA if you don't mind 🙂

 

[stompy]

I've only been conditionally accepted to ICO so far.
I'm a 4th year.
Recieved a D in metabolic biochem, retook it and got a C+
I took a W in second quarter ochem, retook it and got a A-
Took the OATs once.

 

[CarolinaKid21]

I have received offers from SCO, Houston, and NOVA.
I'm a Senior!!!
I receive an F (eeeesh I know) in Organic II.
I retook it and came back to receive an A-
I took the OAT twice...I got a 310 the first time and a 360 on this past October test!!!

 

[Katalio]

Man... my school wont' let us retake unless you fail...

 

[meb302]

I did pretty good in my pre-req classes, mainly B's, some A's, and only two C's. I also took the OAT three times. I took the test twice my junior year, and the last test given this past October. Currently, I am a senior. I did good on the OAT everytime, I was just trying to up my score some so I could be more competitive for a possible scholorship. Taking it a couple times doesn't hurt! As of right now, I plan on attending OSU next fall.

 

[meb302]

Oh, and my GPA is a 3.48. Been accepted to SCO, OSU, and IU. Good luck to everyone.

 

[scraders]

i graduated in may, but i still have a couple of prereqs to complete before august. i've done pretty well in school....3.7 gpa...never had to retake a class...took the OAT's only once... i've been accepted to ICO, the only school i applied to...i live five minutes from the school...

i talked to a representative from ico, and he said that they take into account your school's reputation along with your numbers and the interview.

hope this helps a little...

 

[chester]

Are you 3rd or 4th yr? And if you could please tell us if you repeated a low pre-req or not, AND if you have done the OAT once or twice. Thanks! I'm sure this would help a lot of us in tight positions.

Oh, and also your GPA if you don't mind 🙂

I graduated after my 5th year. Currently NOT in school; i'm taking a year off, working in an ophthalmology clinic. Cumulative gpa: 3.1. Last 45 semester hrs: 3.3. OAT first time: 280. Second time: 300 (average). I re-took a general chem class in which i got a C-, then after retaking the class got a B. Also, I was an NCAA division I athlete all five years of college. ALSO, this is my second application process. Last year I applied to So Cal college of optometry, Pacific. Intervied at SCCO, but not pacific due to travel expences. told each school i wanted to take a year off.
In November, I was accepted to Southner cal college of optom, and am waiting to hear back from Pacific and Berkeley. Hope this helped. email me if anybody has questions b/c I dont' check back that often!

 

[polkadot]

I graduated in May...1997. I think that makes me an 11th year now. 😛
My gpa is 3.0-ish; I did have some pretty terrible grades in undergrad: CD (halfway btwn C and D) in OChem II and Biochem, and quite a few C's in prereqs, but did not have to retake anything. The only prereqs I hadn't done yet and had to take this year were stats, psych, micro, and anatomy.
I took the OAT once, this last October (trust me, reviewing OChem after 10 years was not cool at all).

I was accepted to SUNY and have an interview at SCCO. I have since declined my interview at ICO. Crossing my fingers for UCB.

-p.dot

 

[akwong44]

p.dot...if u don't mind me asking what was ur OAT score..just askin b/c i have a similar gpa so i was curious...thanks

 

[polkadot]

380 acad. avg/390 tot. science

but I studied A LOT (4-8 hrs per day/5 days per week/Jan-Oct)

 

[310bruingirl]

Congrats P.dot on SUNY!

 

[kgrabar]

I've only been conditionally accepted to ICO so far.
I'm a 4th year.
Recieved a D in metabolic biochem, retook it and got a C+
I took a W in second quarter ochem, retook it and got a A-
Took the OATs once.

I would like to know what the ICO interview was like. Did they throw out random or scary questions? Did they seem to have a format ready, or did they tailor the interview to your credentials? Anything throw you off? Wish you would have practiced or researched something in particular? Thanks for your input!

 

[od2b77]

I would like to know what the ICO interview was like. Did they throw out random or scary questions? Did they seem to have a format ready, or did they tailor the interview to your credentials? Anything throw you off? Wish you would have practiced or researched something in particular? Thanks for your input!

They do taylor it to your situation. For example I did worse during one of the semesters than others and they asked me to explain that. But most questions were expected. Except that I was asked what am I more interested in: Optics or Pathology. I said optics. Well, turned out that my interviewer teaches pathology 😱 But you can't win as another person who was interviewing the same day got an optics teacher and you are entitled to your own opinion, but it would be better if I said pathology 🙂 I didn't really like my interviewer, he seemed really straight-faced and did not say much until I asked a direct quesion when he had to talk 🙂 . I basically knew everything I wanted to say at some point during the interview, no matter what questions I get. And all of it was to prove that
1) I have the intellectual power to do it.
2) I know what I'm getting myself into
3) My past experiances have sufficiently prepared me for Optom school.
So in some way I led the interview a bit, like I'd get asked 1 question, I'll answer it, but then take it into a different direction that is favorable for me. Anyway, that turned out well for me, I got accepted to ICO.
Good luck!

 

[kgrabar]

They do taylor it to your situation. For example I did worse during one of the semesters than others and they asked me to explain that. But most questions were expected. Except that I was asked what am I more interested in: Optics or Pathology. I said optics. Well, turned out that my interviewer teaches pathology 😱 But you can't win as another person who was interviewing the same day got an optics teacher and you are entitled to your own opinion, but it would be better if I said pathology 🙂 I didn't really like my interviewer, he seemed really straight-faced and did not say much until I asked a direct quesion when he had to talk 🙂 . I basically knew everything I wanted to say at some point during the interview, no matter what questions I get. And all of it was to prove that
1) I have the intellectual power to do it.
2) I know what I'm getting myself into
3) My past experiances have sufficiently prepared me for Optom school.
So in some way I led the interview a bit, like I'd get asked 1 question, I'll answer it, but then take it into a different direction that is favorable for me. Anyway, that turned out well for me, I got accepted to ICO.
Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. On a different note, have you heard anything unfavorable about ICO faculty being unsupportive? My OD and others I have observed say that in the late 80s-90s the faculty did not care if you succeeded or failed, they were unfair, and the school seemed like it just wanted your tuition. Of course, its now 2004...and times change. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

[od2b77]

Thanks for the reply. On a different note, have you heard anything unfavorable about ICO faculty being unsupportive? My OD and others I have observed say that in the late 80s-90s the faculty did not care if you succeeded or failed, they were unfair, and the school seemed like it just wanted your tuition. Of course, its now 2004...and times change. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

I think that success 90% depends on the student. Moreover, I don't believe that its in schools interest to "weed-out" students. Lets say a student left the program after the second year, they can't fill his/her place easily as students don't transfer between Optometry schools very often. And where would the school get another second year student from? That means that they will lose the $ from that students tuition for the other 2 years. Moreover, I've checked ICO's website and their boards passage rate is consistently higher than national. That tells me that ICO is above average school. Also I had a chance to speak with some students other than during the interview and they all feel that the majority of faculty are readily available to help. Right now my only issue with the school is that its in a ghetto and I can't imagine where would I live so that its not too far from the school if I'll go there (residence hall is not an option for me, because I'm married)

 

[Katalio]

so is ICO in a very bad neighbourhood and stuff? Have any optometry students ran into some accidents before? I heard ICO has a great program, but on the other hand, it's a pretty rough place to be in .

 

[od2b77]

VERY bad and scary 🙁 Stepping off the campus is not an option basically. I saw a lot of broken windows in the buildings while driving there that looked like projects to me. There is a lot of security on campus, on the other hand during the interview they show you the room with like 50 tv screens monitoring every inch of the campus, so the campus itself seems relatively safe.

 

[Katalio]

No offense to anyone who's attending iCO, but if ppl were to attend ICO, wouldn't that be like...4 yrs in a place where u dont' go out of the campus?
so everything from food to laundry to entertainment all lies within the campus!?!?

 

[od2b77]

No offense to anyone who's attending iCO, but if ppl were to attend ICO, wouldn't that be like...4 yrs in a place where u dont' go out of the campus?
so everything from food to laundry to entertainment all lies within the campus!?!?

There are plenty of things to do, just not within walking distance from campus. Downtown is about 15 minutes away and there is any kind of entertainment that you can imagine. Not sure how much time I'd for that through 🙄

 

[Katalio]

Oh boy, sounds pretty scary!! Seems like once you step out of the campus line, you are in danger or something.. heh.. why would a college be establish there? But most of those who live in res. won't have a car or anything rite? so are the public transportation good in ICO? (or is it also dangerous to ride on public transport?) -__-

 

[DrIsh]

I'm a medical school student so I hope no one minds me being here 🙂

In any case, I'm a Chicago native and my girlfriend is a student at ICO. I visit her frequently and, frankly, I don't see ANYTHING wrong with the area. Yeah, there's a crappy looking house out front but the surrounding area is actually pretty nice. There are MANY institutions of learning in the area and, consequently, tons of places to eat and have coffee at. I've never heard a gun go off nor do I expect to when I'm there. I've never felt like I've been in danger and nor has she. Rush Medical school is a 10 minute drive, as is the whole medical district. Point being, if you DID get shot, we'd be here to help you 🙂 .

All kidding aside, it's a great place to live and study IMHO!

Best of luck,
DrIsh

 

[cpw]

we don't mind at all 🙂 welcome DrIsh 😀

 

[kgrabar]

...Right now my only issue with the school is that its in a ghetto and I can't imagine where would I live so that its not too far from the school if I'll go there (residence hall is not an option for me, because I'm married)

I feel the same about the ghetto location issue...I visited the campus, saw the building, residence halls, and surroundings. I agree you would feel safe ON the campus...but where to live?! I am not 18 yrs old anymore and do not want to live in a dorm, and any aptartments near downtown or the Lincoln Park area are going to rip you off more so than ICO tuition. Driving during Chicago rush hour is not an option if you want to have time to sleep or study, but at least taking public transportation (the "L") is a viable option. It is a great school located in a great city, but if only it would move to a nicer area!

 

[J.opt]

.. why would a college be establish there?

I think optometry schools often are located in low-income areas because that gives them access to lots of low income patients, who usually have more pathology than say, people living in the suburbs.
When I interviewed at SCO they told us that they looked into moving to a nicer location when one of the major hospitals in the area relocated. But they decided to stay and serve the low-income community, which has also given them a lot of support from the local government.