Family/Medical Leave During Optometry

[JennyJet]

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Hi,

I'll be starting UCBSO this coming fall. My mother who has heart problems and lives in Los Angeles has been hospitalized often this past year, and I foresee having to go down to L.A. quite a bit. I also have other family issues that may make being a traditional 4 year optometry student difficult. 😕

Have you (or know of other students) that have gone to optometry school but didn't complete in exactly 4 years due to extenuating circumstances? Is it possible to defer a semester/year or is that looked down upon? (Specific information about UCBSO policy would be appreciated.)

I am truly dedicated to becoming an optometrist and am an excellent student. However, life takes its twist and turns, and I want to plan accordingly as much as possible.

Thanks in Advance,
Jenny

 

[rpames]

Deferring a semester is not an option in a set program like optometry. Unlike undergrad, the same courses are not offered every semester. Everyone in your class takes the same classes at the same time. You can defer a year due to personal issues. I know of a couple people at ICO that left for a year b/c they had a child. In situations like that, they completed the year and just returned one year later. Others had emergencies come up and they left in the middle of the year. The school then allowed them to get credit for the quarters they completed, and pick back up with the quarter they left in. I know of one student in my class who's mother died last year (very unexpectedly). He was gone for 2 weeks and then returned and made up what he missed. I would guess that 2 weeks is close to the max that you would be able to miss and still return in same academic year.

In short, by leaving, you would be put on hold for 1 full year.

 

[smith351]

Deferring a semester is not an option in a set program like optometry. Unlike undergrad, the same courses are not offered every semester. Everyone in your class takes the same classes at the same time. You can defer a year due to personal issues. I know of a couple people at ICO that left for a year b/c they had a child. In situations like that, they completed the year and just returned one year later. Others had emergencies come up and they left in the middle of the year. The school then allowed them to get credit for the quarters they completed, and pick back up with the quarter they left in. I know of one student in my class who's mother died last year (very unexpectedly). He was gone for 2 weeks and then returned and made up what he missed. I would guess that 2 weeks is close to the max that you would be able to miss and still return in same academic year.

In short, by leaving, you would be put on hold for 1 full year.

I was just wondering...why did a couple people you know left for a year because they had a child? Was school too demanding and stressfull that it was nearly impossible to be pregnant? AND what about when they returned to school? It seems to me that it would be more difficult to take care of an infant and go to school at the same time rather than just being pregnant and going to school.

 

[rpames]

They were pregnant while in school, them left for a year after they had the kid so they could raise the child. Being a mother with a new born and a full time student would be pretty tough...at least I would imagine it would be. Being pregnant would just make it hard to sit in class for an hour.

 

[JennyJet]

Thanks for the advice! I figured it would be possible to leave for 1 year. Rpapmes, was the school pretty understanding to those who had to defer a year, or were those students "penalized" in some sort of way?

 

[JennyJet]

Oops sorry rpames, didn't mean to misspell your name.

 

[scott McGregor]

Hi,

I'll be starting UCBSO this coming fall. My mother who has heart problems and lives in Los Angeles has been hospitalized often this past year, and I foresee having to go down to L.A. quite a bit. I also have other family issues that may make being a traditional 4 year optometry student difficult. 😕

Have you (or know of other students) that have gone to optometry school but didn't complete in exactly 4 years due to extenuating circumstances? Is it possible to defer a semester/year or is that looked down upon? (Specific information about UCBSO policy would be appreciated.)

I am truly dedicated to becoming an optometrist and am an excellent student. However, life takes its twist and turns, and I want to plan accordingly as much as possible.

Thanks in Advance,
Jenny

Dear Jenny
I was one of these students. During my second year, my wife and I had a Down Syndrome child. (She graduated from high school this week at age 22--so no sad story). But, her neo-natal care at birth was over $9,000. and hospital would not wait years for me to repay. So, I took a year off, worked as an optician (had optician license before school) and paid down bill. School (SCO) was unbelievable, very helpful, including financial help. But, I did have to finish one year behind my entering class. No big deal. You will be okay, you just may be a year behind in the number of your graduating class. After 20 years of practice, I can say it made no difference in the grand scheme of things. Good luck.

 

[JennyJet]

Dear Jenny
I was one of these students. During my second year, my wife and I had a Down Syndrome child. (She graduated from high school this week at age 22--so no sad story). But, her neo-natal care at birth was over $9,000. and hospital would not wait years for me to repay. So, I took a year off, worked as an optician (had optician license before school) and paid down bill. School (SCO) was unbelievable, very helpful, including financial help. But, I did have to finish one year behind my entering class. No big deal. You will be okay, you just may be a year behind in the number of your graduating class. After 20 years of practice, I can say it made no difference in the grand scheme of things. Good luck.

Thanks Scott for the advice. Congratulations on your daughter's graduation! You must be one proud papa. 😛

I'm not too concerned about being behind in the number of my graduationg class since I've waited until 30 to do optometry school. I was just worried about school policies and such. I'll be going to UCBSO, and they only admit 60 students a year. I didn't know if deferring a year midway through school would screw up class sizes/capacity. Plus I worried about maintaining scholarship eligibility if there is a break.

Well, thanks again for sharing your experience. 🙂

 

[scott McGregor]

Thanks Scott for the advice. Congratulations on your daughter's graduation! You must be one proud papa. 😛

I'm not too concerned about being behind in the number of my graduationg class since I've waited until 30 to do optometry school. I was just worried about school policies and such. I'll be going to UCBSO, and they only admit 60 students a year. I didn't know if deferring a year midway through school would screw up class sizes/capacity. Plus I worried about maintaining scholarship eligibility if there is a break.

Well, thanks again for sharing your experience. 🙂

Jenny,
I can't answer for today nor another school but we had a student that had to drop a year for chemo treatments. Once you've been admitted, the college really does want you to finish. The real world is very different from the ivy-tower of education. They know that. As long as you are reasonable in your requests, you shouldn't have any problem. Now, that said, you must also accept the responsibility to accomplish everything during your year off and come back ready to "roll". Also I "audited a class to keep my fingers in the pie during my year off. Then retook for credit later. Don't abuse it with 25 one-two week absences then 2 months off for long term recovery. Just take a year, resolve everything, then come back strong. Also, knowing this is coming, keep good lecture and clinic grades before you go--they'll be less concerned about your "ability" to return that way. My best wishes for your success.