For first year students....

[Dena1342]

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I'm just curious in hearing first year students' opinions on optometry school a couple of months in.

Is it what you thought it would be?

Is it harder/easier than you were expecting?

What study habits have you picked up/left behind in learning information that you will need the rest of your career (or at least until you pass Part I boards)?

Besides taking certain prep courses, what do you wish you had done or experienced before going to optometry school?

Feel free to give your general opinion, you don't have to stick to the questions by any means.

Thanks!!

 

[optstudent2012]

It's pretty much exactly what I expected -- in school all day long, very busy, but I love it. It's by no means easy, but if you space out the studying it's easily workable. That's the biggest adjustment, studying every night instead of cramming. Also, learning for the sake of actually learning the information instead of just learning to a test that I will forget upon walking out. Remember, this really is information you need to know for the rest of your life!

The first year is actually a lot more oriented toward vision than I though it would be. I thought it would be a lot of basic classes that weren't very applicable, and of course we do have anatomy and all that stuff, but they always link everything back to the eyes and why we actually need to know it, and that helps me a lot.

 

[eyepoker]

yeah, really need to study every night simply bc of the volume, we will start anatomy and neuro-anatomy next wk, it will be even more interesting.....not in a fun way....

but it's definitely very nice to social with ppl that share same interests as you, I always thought that in undergrad it was kind of different. The social/or lack of social aspect is interesting too. There are definitely people who party all the time....but I wouldn't do that even if I have photographic memory....

I know it's early, but has anybody start to think about what their first (free) summer going to be? taking vacations?

 

[optstudent2012]

Yeah I don't think it's smart to party all the time, but once in a while you need to unwind. This Saturday our midterms end and I know we are all planning on going out and I wouldn't miss that for the world.

Next summer... well we only have 2 months off since they told us at orientation that we have to be back in the beginning of August for a new class!

 

[JMU07]

It's what I expected as far as work load, but I think it's a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be. You DEFINITELY have to keep up with studying in all of your classes, it's extremely difficult to do well if you study from test to test (as I have found out).

As far as studying techniques, gone are the days of making flash cards. They just don't work for me anymore. What helps me the most is studying with a friend or two and going through the material out loud. Hearing other people explain concepts helps a ton.

 

[captainnerd]

I am not in optometry school yet but plan on going next year. I started an at home business that requires about 2-3 hours of work per day and I plan on doing it to fund optometry school. How feasible is it to squeeze in 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time at home/dorm/apartment?

Thanks for any answers. Also, are there students who work while studying?

 

[drbizzaro]

I am not in optometry school yet but plan on going next year. I started an at home business that requires about 2-3 hours of work per day and I plan on doing it to fund optometry school. How feasible is it to squeeze in 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time at home/dorm/apartment?

Thanks for any answers. Also, are there students who work while studying?

there will be days where you will not have 2-3 hours because you'll have too many exams coming up the next day...

does this business deal with selling clothes online? if it's just a buy and sell operation, can't you just put in less than 30 minutes per day?

 

[optstudent2012]

It really depends on your school. My school we only have midterms and finals so there are not tests most days. But, if you don't keep up on your work, then you're screwed. I'd say some days you MIGHT have 2-3 hours but definitely not every day.

 

[Absolute Vision]

My friend who is now a practicing OD recently told me that when she was attending optometry school she had to juggle between being married with a 5 year son and expecting another child during her 3rd year with optometry school work. She recommended that students should definitely develop good time management skills and a routine that works for him/her...also be very efficient with school work...for instance, some basic science classes she would just study from the class notes rather than attend the lectures. Also, she mentioned that it's also important to properly balance your family life/social life with school life...study when you need to study but leave yourself some time to just relax, exercise, and interact with your friends and family.

 

[captainnerd]

there will be days where you will not have 2-3 hours because you'll have too many exams coming up the next day...

does this business deal with selling clothes online? if it's just a buy and sell operation, can't you just put in less than 30 minutes per day?

No, I arbitrage in toys. Not kidding. It is not so simple. It requires researching market conditions in several countries, currency conditions, etc. It also requires a lot of debt leveraging (I hope to leverage student loans to expand some of the business). With a complex inventory, it requires at least 1 hour a day of constantly surfing the internet and keeping up with conditions. The other hour is packaging and wrapping and driving to post office, etc.

Oh, and I am okay with skipping one or two days a week if required.

Thanks for all your answers. I guess I can try to simplify my inventory and have shorter time horizons. Thanks again.

 

[eyepoker]

I personally think that it's just easier to go to lecture and focus on what the teacher says, because after all you've paid the tuition, why not use the resource ? We have the transcript service at SUNY, but the quality of the transcript isn't always the best, it depends on the transcriber (everybody takes turn to transcribe), so not always a reliable source.

Maybe look into different scholarships bc they are the fastest way to "make money"--gives you less loan, but if you are already in a private school/school that doesn't have a lot of scholarship money, then maybe do some work study, because money is money no matter how small the amount is.

I am still thinking about the possibility of work outside of school, but with the amount of study/practice that needs to be done, I really don't see where I can find time and energy to do it without affecting my grades...