Merely one year ago I was logging into Student Doctor Forum to find ANY info I could on IAUPR because with my lower OAT and lower GPA I was looking at a short list of possible acceptances.
I noticed most of the threads about the school were negative. This was very discouraging and when I originally thought I would love to attend IAUPR and live on an island in the caribbean, I very quickly started to have doubts.
In the end, I was left with no other option and after speaking to a recent graduate (friend of mine) and another friend who was currently in the program, I decided to go for it.
Anyways.. Here are my impressions..
I am an average student, because I choose to be. I decided that this first year is the "easiest" one so I was going to take advantage and have fun with it. Yes I attend classes, I study, and I pass all of my classes. But I am by no means, an "A" student. And honestly, I think that's what has kept me sane in optometry school so far.
This is the truth with any program in the country. Yes there are some things, I think they can be doing differently and it is probably more self-taught than some other schools who hand out perfect PDFs. Here you have to put in your own work. You must go to the book and supplement info. But isn't that what learning is about?
I am a very relaxed person, I can handle all of the things that are "different" from my home. But I am embracing this adventure with open arms. I love that I wake up everyday and there is no winter, I love going to the beach every week. I love going to small coffee shops and studying and just immersing myself in the culture ( Puerto Rico has amazing coffee and art. Art is huge here, if that's your thing). We often take day trips to different areas of the island. Puerto Rico is beautiful!
And yet, I have classmates that HATE it here. Everyday they are mad about something. They are stressed, they are away from home, and they are closed off in their mind about Puerto Rico. They hate the island, they hate the professors, they hate the school, they hate studying, they hate... everything. You think I am exaggerating?? I am not. They are the ones writing those negative posts on here, giving the school a bad name. Don't get sucked into this nonsense!
I am glad I got accepted and decided to go to IAUPR, I was able to start learning and advancing my career (and getting a tan while doing it.) This first year has flown by!! I know the next 3 will too.
Hope this helped!
If you have any other questions about the program, feel free to message me. I will respond as soon as I can.
I noticed most of the threads about the school were negative. This was very discouraging and when I originally thought I would love to attend IAUPR and live on an island in the caribbean, I very quickly started to have doubts.
In the end, I was left with no other option and after speaking to a recent graduate (friend of mine) and another friend who was currently in the program, I decided to go for it.
Anyways.. Here are my impressions..
I am an average student, because I choose to be. I decided that this first year is the "easiest" one so I was going to take advantage and have fun with it. Yes I attend classes, I study, and I pass all of my classes. But I am by no means, an "A" student. And honestly, I think that's what has kept me sane in optometry school so far.
- I live off campus, so I commute to school everyday. I live 1 block from the beach because I decided to live in the more popular area. And I love it. (The school is located in Bayamon which is a smaller town)
- They tell the students they don't "need" a car, but I STRONGLY recommend one. Buy one used or off another student here because everyone drives a rinkydink car, anyways. Everything is too far from each other to walk or take a cab. You'll end up spending more money in your first year renting cars and using taxi services.
- Island Time is a real thing, ya'll. Everyone and everything is SLOW. Have you noticed how long it takes them to reply to your emails and phone calls? Yea well that's because of Island Time. Get used to it. People in the states live life too fast anyways. So consider this your taste of "European lifestyle" everyone likes to talk about so much. Ex. buying groceries takes forever, getting a driver's license takes forever.
- "Puerto Rico is so americanized. People hardly speak spanish there" LIESSSSS! Most people, especially adults, won't speak english. But many people will understand some of it. If you are in the tourist areas, yes, everyone speaks english. But once you get 20 minutes into the island (like in Bayamon where the school is) You must try to communicate in spanish.
- Take advantage and Learn Spanish people! You are getting a very unique experience. You get to dive headfirst into a language. Many of my classmates are stubborn and have the "I don't need to learn Spanish" mentality. It's unfortunate, because I personally, don't see anything wrong in learning a new language..
- I don't think they tell you this directly, but the whole 4 year curriculum is up on their website, and we do have to take a summer class 1st year in Summer (June) so keep that in mind.
- Classes... Is the program good? Do you actually learn? Will I pass my boards? Will I be a good doctor?
This is the truth with any program in the country. Yes there are some things, I think they can be doing differently and it is probably more self-taught than some other schools who hand out perfect PDFs. Here you have to put in your own work. You must go to the book and supplement info. But isn't that what learning is about?
- If you are a very "Type A" personality... this may not be the school for you. If everything in the world pisses you off easily, you may want to reconsider this school. If you like for everything to be perfectly presented and everything to go perfectly as planned... this may not be the school for you.
- Everything is so chill here. Tests are done on a computer.. and sometimes they don't start on time because things happen. Professors are sometimes late because that's a Latino culture thing (Island time)..Mispellings in Lecture notes due to the language barrier.. Our professors have accents, because they're mostly Puerto Rican.
I am a very relaxed person, I can handle all of the things that are "different" from my home. But I am embracing this adventure with open arms. I love that I wake up everyday and there is no winter, I love going to the beach every week. I love going to small coffee shops and studying and just immersing myself in the culture ( Puerto Rico has amazing coffee and art. Art is huge here, if that's your thing). We often take day trips to different areas of the island. Puerto Rico is beautiful!
And yet, I have classmates that HATE it here. Everyday they are mad about something. They are stressed, they are away from home, and they are closed off in their mind about Puerto Rico. They hate the island, they hate the professors, they hate the school, they hate studying, they hate... everything. You think I am exaggerating?? I am not. They are the ones writing those negative posts on here, giving the school a bad name. Don't get sucked into this nonsense!
I am glad I got accepted and decided to go to IAUPR, I was able to start learning and advancing my career (and getting a tan while doing it.) This first year has flown by!! I know the next 3 will too.
Hope this helped!
If you have any other questions about the program, feel free to message me. I will respond as soon as I can.
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