IAUPR

[TheRealOD2014]

the 70% to pass i'm surprised hasn't been fully implemented by now as after I finished first yr they implemented it. I will give that some profs are over it but there is a big disconnect between what type of students will actually succeed in optometry school (any school) and the school just trying to fill seats. Last year the basically accepted everyone, they asked multiple professors to interview a certain student and they all declined bc the student had gone to community college and taken the prerequisites more than once with multiple failures and was taking management classes at KFC. I kid you not. and the profs are upset bc they know they let in too many students that are not good enough to get in any school and have no chance of making it yet the school gives them that chance. Each class gets worse (in the profs perspective, NOT MINE please understand I don't feel this way, its what ive heard straight from the horses mouth) and the school is letting in too many beyond subpar students that don't have a chance in hell and the school is pretty much filled with students who didn't get in anywhere else, that the classes of 2019, 2020, 2021 are lazy, complain too much (not about electric or water issues I mean strictly academic) that many students can't or wont even follow dress code showing up to clinic looking like they just Rolled out of bed. I have seen some of this maybe not to the extreme they say. But I can tell you I sat there and had a second yr last yr show up to clerkship in jeans and tennis shoes hair wild as ever and then other students refusing to shadow upper classman and fighting NOT to see patients. This makes them angry and so the really P.I.A profs feel like if certain students aren't giving their all then they aren't going to lift a finger to help. I will admit some of the underclassman really are lazy but they (as they said to at least us during orientation) treat the class as a whole and if one person or even just a few students aren't doing well but also don't show up to class dress crazy and are disrespectful to the profs then everyone suffers. Im not saying its fair or right but, at least our class, was warned up front and from the beginning that this is how they operate so we did our best to try and keep our class in line. ***Keep in mind that no other school gives you the chances this school gives, other schools one C or failed lab/class and you are gone! they don't give you a chance at all**

All good and accurate points, especially about the fact that they will accept anyone with a pulse. I know someone who got in with a 220 OAT score (the scoring is 200-400 for those that don’t know). It would frustrate me if I was a professor as well. The bigger issue is with the new standards set forth by the AOCE they need to maintain a certain % of students graduating and working as ODs within 6 years from enrolling. Something that will be impossible given the caliber of students they are accepting. I heard from several people in the class of 2019 that they lost 20 students from their original class out of a group of 60. Most were dismissed and the rest were held back a year or even two. The school has been know to fail over 1/2 the class in certain subjects so that they can teach them in the summer and charge 6000 to each student to retake it. The professors get a decent chunk of this as well so they are motivated to fail us. This has never happened to me personally but I have seen it happen to countless students.

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[London22]

Hey so I double checked and the school is in Haiti. They actually just opened. If you google it, it comes right up. Apparently there are only 3 ODs on the island so they are in great need of vision services as you stated. Looks like it’s a 5 year program with a class of only 16. Not sure if it will ever become an accredited school but still interesting nonetheless. Puerto Rico isn’t that far off from how you described Haiti. I’ve seen most of those things here. It’s really sad actually. Several students including myself have reported the issues at the school to the AOCE, that’s how I know the school is under review. Their website mentions schools that have preliminary accreditation, accreditation or that are accredited with conditions. They don’t list schools under review which is why people aren’t able to find it.

That's good to hear. However you're right and wrong. I just looked it up, and they only plan on graduating 16 optometrists per year but it's a 5 year bachelor program not a doctorate, and also mainly french creole. Optometrists do not require doctorate level in Haiti because of the extreme poverty. I assume these optometrists will be solely dedicated to service work for the rest of their lives, and taken lots of humanities and service work for acceptance.

I also wouldn't compare PR to Haiti despite difficulties the island is going through. I've been to both and nowhere are they even similar. Even just looking at stats, Haitis average income per person is only $500 per year, PR is well over $20k. You guys aren't living in extreme poverty. Maybe more poverish than poor parts of US, but not top 10 poorest country in the world.

Personally I would divert energy into helping IAUPR and the community after graduation if I were in that situation.

 

[rubeyco2018]

All good and accurate points, especially about the fact that they will accept anyone with a pulse. I know someone who got in with a 220 OAT score (the scoring is 200-400 for those that don’t know). It would frustrate me if I was a professor as well. The bigger issue is with the new standards set forth by the AOCE they need to maintain a certain % of students graduating and working as ODs within 6 years from enrolling. Something that will be impossible given the caliber of students they are accepting. I heard from several people in the class of 2019 that they lost 20 students from their original class out of a group of 60. Most were dismissed and the rest were held back a year or even two. The school has been know to fail over 1/2 the class in certain subjects so that they can teach them in the summer and charge 6000 to each student to retake it. The professors get a decent chunk of this as well so they are motivated to fail us. This has never happened to me personally but I have seen it happen to countless students.

Yes I know, I had to retake a summer course, the 6000 was a huge hit. The school is trying to act like a real school with its standards but still not accepting the right caliber of students. The school is actively trying to move towards accepting more native students then state students. I think the 2018 class about to graduate has the most Puerto Ricans in a long time and they were given free range to do whatever it takes to pass and graduate. the blatant cheating and admin/profs doing absolutely nothing about had the 2018 and 2019 class really upset, one student was academically dismissed bc they were caught cheating but then the whole group of now 4th yr natives have been openly cheating since day one and get nothing but a pat on the back. literally met with Dr. Cabello and they all came out laughing and told everyone that cabello said to hide it better. They have double standards for sure which sucks but I knew that going in and its none of my business.

 

[TheRealOD2014]

That's good to hear. However you're right and wrong. I just looked it up, and they only plan on graduating 16 optometrists per year but it's a 5 year bachelor program not a doctorate, and also mainly french creole. Optometrists do not require doctorate level in Haiti because of the extreme poverty. I assume these optometrists will be solely dedicated to service work for the rest of their lives, and taken lots of humanities and service work for acceptance.

I also wouldn't compare PR to Haiti despite difficulties the island is going through. I've been to both and nowhere are they even similar. Even just looking at stats, Haitis average income per person is only $500 per year, PR is well over $20k. You guys aren't living in extreme poverty. Maybe more poverish than poor parts of US, but not top 10 poorest country in the world.

Personally I would divert energy into helping IAUPR and the community after graduation if I were in that situation.

I along with several others will be diverting my energy into shutting down IAUPR once I graduate. As it should be. I have no desire to help an institution that does not put paying students first. Frankly they can’t even help themselves. Too many years of poor and selfish leadership are finally adding up. The professors there wouldn’t be able to get a job at a preschool in the states, so once the school closes they’ll be out of luck and doing refractions on the side of the road. I wasn’t comparing the poverty in Puerto Rico to Haiti, although it is the most impoverished in the US, it’s still not anywhere as bad as Haiti I’ll give you that. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets that bad someday though. Not sure if you’ve been recently, but the homeless population is staggering. You can’t walk or drive 2 feet without being asked for money. People literally throw themselves at your vehicle at every traffic light, even in tourist areas. Even on the highways people are wandering begging for money. Certain areas look like a scene out of the walking dead. Crime was always an issue and it’s only gotten worse. Rival gangs have shootouts in the streets and gunshots can be heard quite often. It’s really become unsafe, I have 2 close friends who were mugged recently and they were minding their own business in a non sketchy area. Anyway I was comparing PR to Haiti more so with the lack of water and electricity in many areas, the burning of trash in the streets and that no MDs are willing to go there to help out. MDs native to the island are leaving daily at an alarming rate just when they are needed the most. It’s really a shame. It takes several months just to get a routine Drs appointment now. I’ve lived here for four long years now, so I can say with some certainty that the conditions in general here are really bad and are no way conducive to a student pursuing a Doctorate degree. The enormous hardships you will have to face here are simply not an issue at any school on the mainland.

 

[eyeeyecaptain12]

So my ex was really hoping I’d choose IAUPR so that she could sit on the beach all day... thankfully I didn’t listen to her and thankfully she’s my ex lol

 

[London22]

I along with several others will be diverting my energy into shutting down IAUPR once I graduate. As it should be. I have no desire to help an institution that does not put paying students first. Frankly they can’t even help themselves. Too many years of poor and selfish leadership are finally adding up. The professors there wouldn’t be able to get a job at a preschool in the states, so once the school closes they’ll be out of luck and doing refractions on the side of the road. I wasn’t comparing the poverty in Puerto Rico to Haiti, although it is the most impoverished in the US, it’s still not anywhere as bad as Haiti I’ll give you that. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets that bad someday though. Not sure if you’ve been recently, but the homeless population is staggering. You can’t walk or drive 2 feet without being asked for money. People literally throw themselves at your vehicle at every traffic light, even in tourist areas. Even on the highways people are wandering begging for money. Certain areas look like a scene out of the walking dead. Crime was always an issue and it’s only gotten worse. Rival gangs have shootouts in the streets and gunshots can be heard quite often. It’s really become unsafe, I have 2 close friends who were mugged recently and they were minding their own business in a non sketchy area. Anyway I was comparing PR to Haiti more so with the lack of water and electricity in many areas, the burning of trash in the streets and that no MDs are willing to go there to help out. MDs native to the island are leaving daily at an alarming rate just when they are needed the most. It’s really a shame. It takes several months just to get a routine Drs appointment now. I’ve lived here for four long years now, so I can say with some certainty that the conditions in general here are really bad and are no way conducive to a student pursuing a Doctorate degree. The enormous hardships you will have to face here are simply not an issue at any school on the mainland.

That's such a shame. I really hope things get better for you all and PR. You'd think the school would provide a more positive experience that way you're all able to help the island. You're right it definitely sounds like they aren't running for the right reasons.

That's so strange how they aren't officially marked on a warning yet? Even MCPHS is marked on accreditation deficit warning, the only school out of like 23 to have the warning too. I was accepted to 4 schools and declined 1 other interview invite with an average overall GPA/science GPA, not high at all, yet MCPHS offered me a merit scholarship which I didn't feel I truly deserved and didn't receive at any other schools. The tuition was way too high compared to some of the others I was accepted to even after scholarship.
I wonder how a school finally gets put on warning? Especially since MCPHS was put on it so quickly whereas IAUPR isn't even officially marked on it yet.

 

[rubeyco2018]

I along with several others will be diverting my energy into shutting down IAUPR once I graduate. As it should be. I have no desire to help an institution that does not put paying students first. Frankly they can’t even help themselves. Too many years of poor and selfish leadership are finally adding up. The professors there wouldn’t be able to get a job at a preschool in the states, so once the school closes they’ll be out of luck and doing refractions on the side of the road. I wasn’t comparing the poverty in Puerto Rico to Haiti, although it is the most impoverished in the US, it’s still not anywhere as bad as Haiti I’ll give you that. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets that bad someday though. Not sure if you’ve been recently, but the homeless population is staggering. You can’t walk or drive 2 feet without being asked for money. People literally throw themselves at your vehicle at every traffic light, even in tourist areas. Even on the highways people are wandering begging for money. Certain areas look like a scene out of the walking dead. Crime was always an issue and it’s only gotten worse. Rival gangs have shootouts in the streets and gunshots can be heard quite often. It’s really become unsafe, I have 2 close friends who were mugged recently and they were minding their own business in a non sketchy area. Anyway I was comparing PR to Haiti more so with the lack of water and electricity in many areas, the burning of trash in the streets and that no MDs are willing to go there to help out. MDs native to the island are leaving daily at an alarming rate just when they are needed the most. It’s really a shame. It takes several months just to get a routine Drs appointment now. I’ve lived here for four long years now, so I can say with some certainty that the conditions in general here are really bad and are no way conducive to a student pursuing a Doctorate degree. The enormous hardships you will have to face here are simply not an issue at any school on the mainland.

whats scary is that they want to expand their scope of practice and take patients AWAY from ophthalmologists....the Puerto Rican house of representatives should know whats going on at the school before they pass any laws given this school extra rights....and these docs want to do surgery of all things!!! (info at camaraderepresentantes punto org).....they can be sent a msg at


tell your classmates they can write directly to the those that have power

 

[FuturaOptometrista]

whats scary is that they want to expand their scope of practice and take patients AWAY from ophthalmologists....the Puerto Rican house of representatives should know whats going on at the school before they pass any laws given this school extra rights....and these docs want to do surgery of all things!!! (info at camaraderepresentantes punto org).....they can be sent a msg at


tell your classmates they can write directly to the those that have power

I can’t access that web page but are we talking just permitting foreign body removal or legit surgery?

 

[rubeyco2018]

I can’t access that web page but are we talking just permitting foreign body removal or legit surgery?

they want to do lasik, yag, laser procedures,PRP corneal sutures, lid sutures bc "its not that hard its just pushing buttons on a big machine that does all the work for you" it doesn't let me post links yet.... you can go to oftalmologia pr punto organization and write them or tu camara pr punto organization and under information you click on comparte tus ideas let me know if you understood this I had to write it differently

 

[rubeyco2018]

I can’t access that web page but are we talking just permitting foreign body removal or legit surgery?

btw that was an email address I was putting but I don't know if that is the best place to write although I would say the more info they have the better

 

[FuturaOptometrista]

btw that was an email address I was putting but I don't know if that is the best place to write although I would say the more info they have the better

Thanks for the info. That is disturbing. I mean, I understand the reasoning behind it with the main point regarding scarcity of ophthalmologists particularly in remote areas. Not the first time I’ve heard motions like this attempted across the US. However, it is pretty scary considering the quality of education and issues at the university. They should be focusing on teaching the fundamentals and getting that right before throwing something more complicated and risky into the mix. I’m definitely going to try to access that site.

 

[rubeyco2018]

they want to do lasik, yag, laser procedures,PRP bc "its not that hard its just pushing buttons on a big machine that does all the work for you" it doesn't let me post links yet.... you can go to oftalmologia pr punto organization and write them or tu camara pr punto organization and under information you click on comparte tus ideas let me know if you understood this I had to write it differently

Thanks for the info. That is disturbing. I mean, I understand the reasoning behind it with the main point regarding scarcity of ophthalmologists particularly in remote areas. Not the first time I’ve heard motions like this attempted across the US. However, it is pretty scary considering the quality of education and issues at the university. They should be focusing on teaching the fundamentals and getting that right before throwing something more complicated and risky into the mix. I’m definitely going to try to access that site.

yeah the thing is the ophthalmologists know that there are issues and are trying to keep them from even dilating or even doing basic procedures (SB 991 is the name of the bill I believe) but the house of representatives has no idea and they sent a few members once put on a big production literally people were given "parts" to place reps only spoke to native students (who are basically the lowest gpa and OAT scores of all students) who of course lied about the education quality and we were FORCED, yes thats right forced to sign a petition fighting for their cause people tried to say they weren't going to sigh the petition and the outrage was a ridiculous. one current forth yr filmed a student being berated for not wanting to sign and contacted the ACOE. mind you my time is coming to and end ill be an OD and already have a job lined up and will get extra training when I get out bc I lack in clinical skills.

 

[EyeDOCGyal]

Anyone a part of IAUPR class of 2022? I have been accepted but still waiting on responses on other schools. Would like to get some feedback on IAUPR.

Hey! I’m a first year student at IAUPR and I can definitely vouch that my 8-9 months here so far have been quite an experience. Despite us hitting a hard hurricane, the school was able to make such a great comeback and it was quite unbelievable how within 30 days the student body and all the administration was able to come back and classes were up and running. I don’t think any other school could have done this and honestly it makes me have more respect for the faculty here and this school. Every schools have good and bad profs - this is the same for EVERY SCHOOL. I personally love this school and the administration and I’m so happy I ended up choosing this school. We have power and AC and water 24 hours a day. All of the businesses here in Puerto Rico are functionable and open! There’s no damage to the school - everything has been completely renovated. It’s amazing to see this school and island bounce back and the student body come together. They give you the tools you need - and honestly I feel coming out of this school you will be a better prepared doctor than any other optometrist. This school teaches you hard work, dedication to your goals. People that are being salty about this school are completely using false accusations about the school and the island. These things are not entirely true. Im speaking as someone who is currently in this program post hurricane. I wouldn’t tell you anything false. I’m saying this because I truly love this school and I honestly would not have wanted to go anywhere else. Hope this helps and Hopefully we see you this coming class!

 

[classof2021iaupr]

I feel sad that there are people who genuinely had a bad experience at this school but I can tell you this 100% is not the majority, I am currently a first year and I am relatively close with the other students in my class and although there are a few people struggling with the challenges of a rigorous doctorate program and being away from home, mostly everyone I know is really enjoying the experience because it truly is a once in a life time opportunity. As for the power outages I’m not sure where some of the people in this thread live but I am in the dorms and since the hurricane we have been doing great we have generators that power every light/electronic/appliance in the dorm and when the power goes out it takes no more than 4 minutes (the time it takes a person to walk to the generator) to turn it on. I have never not had water other than the one week immediately after the hurricane but we just had a schedule of when we could use it. That hasn’t been the case for months now, if you’re concerned about mold get a dehumidifier you live in the Caribbean... I don’t have one however and haven’t had mold on anything but bread that I left out too long. I have never been asked by any administration to say anything nice about the school and I will say there is definitely frustrations that come with some of the professors and the exam averages being low however many professors will curve (at least with my experience first year) THE CLASSES ARE DOABLE. I wasn’t a straight A student in undergrad but I work really hard and I earn the grades I deserve on the exams. You get out what you put in as in any school it’s a doctorate program it’s not designed to be easy and let anyone through. I feel I have learned a lot in my first year and I have friends at other schools to compare what I know and I have not felt behind in any subject. The other complaint I would have is the internet can be slow which is frustrating to study with but I use my hotspot which works well in those cases and it’s also not all the time. As for clinic we begin first year every week practicing to build your skills in the clinic, and clerkship begins in your second year.

 

[OptoIAUPR]

I would like to start off this post by saying no one from administration has asked me to make this post or come on SDN and make our school look better than it is. I am doing this because I am surprised that someone attending IAUPR, would go out of their way to make IAUPR sound like the worst place you could possibly be. Having been at this school for almost a year now, and coming back post Maria, I’m truly astonished by our faculty and staff and how fast things were up and running post Maria. Don’t get me wrong, the first couple weeks back were tough.. but we were not without power for more than a couple hours and for one week we had to be on a schedule for water. After that we have had water and power constantly(aside from the couple times the power goes out and is back in minutes thanks to the generators we have at school). Most of us in the dorms don’t know that there is an island wide power outage unless something pops up on our Facebook newsfeed because it really doesn’t affect us on campus. Business are up and running, and traffic is the same as it was pre Maria. Now to talk about the school itself. This is a graduate program. It is not supposed to be easy. It’s not supposed to be a walk in the park. You’re supposed to feel challenged with the material. I agree that sometimes it is hard to understand professors with heavy accents... but you would be lying to yourself if you said that not one of your professors in undergrad didn’t have an accent and spoke perfect English. Once you get over that fact, the professors ARE NOT BAD. There’s no such thing as a bad school.. like it has been said in previous posts.. you get what you put in. If you put in the effort to go to your 8am classes, study an adequate amount, and take your professors seriously there is no way you can do bad. The exams are not easy.. they definitely challenge you but I would say for the most part they are fair. Being at such a small school, there bound to be drama, but what school doesn’t have drama? I think the advantage of being at this school is that you get to know all faculty and staff on a personal level and it makes the school feel more like home than like school. I genuinely feel bad for the handful of people commenting on here that have had a miserable experience. But if you come into this school with the mindset that you have been set up to fail.. what else do you expect? You’re going to be miserable. I am so happy that I chose to come to IAUPR and hope that students considering this school don’t make their decision based on opinions of people who seem to just be miserable people. There are plenty of students here that love it and are extremely happy with how things are run at this school. Please feel free to message me with any questions you may have!

 

[iauprstudent12]

I'm a student at IAUPR and seeing my fellow classmates defending this school is honestly laughable.

this school is a joke. if you went to a respectable school in the states or Canada, you will probably regret coming here. I earned all A's and B's my first semester here but i can tell you it was because I learned how the professors write exams and the style of questions they ask - I have no confidence that I will pass boards because what professors teach us is wrong, outdated, and not tested on boards (hence our embarrassingly low boards passing rate.) Not to mention, the entire curriculum is so unorganized, there are typos in every lecture and you spend time decoding the actual notes before memorizing them.

This school treats us with such disrespect, its unbelievable. The professors are easily offended and vindictive. We only get 2 pre-clinic hours a week which is not nearly enough time to master our skills. It makes me feel so helpless to know that I'm not getting the education I deserve. I honestly don't think I'll be a good optometrist because NO ONE TEACHES CLINICAL SKILLS PROPERLY.

Bottom line: my biggest regret is wasting my loan money, my time and my efforts at IAUPR. The worst part is that no other optometry school will accept transfers from this school. The best advice I can give is to REAPPLY... I wish I had taken another year off to boost my application. My experience here has affected me both mentally and emotionally, and its not because school is "hard." I honestly don't think that this program is that hard -- learning from these horrible professors is hard. Dealing with the challenges of living in Puerto Rico is hard. Constantly trying to be positive and preserve my mental health throughout all of these unnecessary hardships is HARD. Luckily, i'm a self-teacher and I learn on my own, so I get good grades. But if you can't teach yourself, then you're screwed.

if you do decide to come here, have very very low expectations. This is not a respectable program by any means.

If you're an IAUPR student defending this school, just know that people DESERVE to know the honest truth. We obviously attend the worst optometry school. I urge you to make friends at other schools and have an honest discussion with them to realize what a legit school looks like compared to ours. Yeah its cheap in terms of tuition, but you get what you pay for. if i had read this thread last year, I would have never in a million years accepted my admission and I regret that every day. I wish that there were current students on orientation committee or something who were honest about their opinions -- upper years didn't tell me the truth about how things work here until it was too late. So let people speak their truths in hopes that it saves another potentially-great doctor from making the same mistake. If you love this school, thats honestly great, I wish i felt the same way -- but don't discredit the legitimate feelings of other students and alumni. Our concerns and complaints are 100% valid.

 

[2020sight]

Anyone a part of IAUPR class of 2022? I have been accepted but still waiting on responses on other schools. Would like to get some feedback on IAUPR.

Honestly, if you get into another school, obviously go there because life in PR is definitely different, but not like described here, and not everyone can handle the change.
The things said on here are so horrible and it is honestly the belief of only a handful of students. Yes, there is power loss and occationally no water, but we have a generator and water tank. The school really does try to take care of us, after the hurricane the school provided us all with free groceries and water that lasted us for 2-3 weeks when many of the teachers still had no power or water at their homes.
The teachers are proud, but that is due to the culture, and honestly they demand respect because they worked hard to become Doctors. Some of the students here are so extremely disrespectful and they are the same ones always complaining about everything.
Objectively, your typical first year would be like this:
They try to reserve a place at the dorms for every incoming 1st year, and I would recommend staying at the dorms because even if the city doesn't have power, we always have power at the dorms due to generators. Any issues with mold you may have, the housing takes care of it 100%. Life is over all easier if you are at the dorms. Moreover, you feel very much so involved if you stay on campus. The one disadvantage I could think of is that it will eventually feel like you're stuck in 1 place because the dorms are only 5 mins from the classroom and if you don't go out often, it seems like jail.
1st semester consists of Optics 1(4hrs), Pharmacology 1(3hrs), Anatomy(2.5hrs), Principle Practice of Primarycare Optometry (2hrs), systemic biomedical sciences (4hrs), human development and aging (2), cultural competency (2) and spanish (if you can't test out they make you take spanish 1hr).

OPTICS: The study of lenses, taught by Dr. Morales. This is one of the harder classes, consists of Math, basically the optics portion of Physics. He is a good teacher, but he is mean, he thinks most students don't give a **** about the class and it makes him really frustrated, show him you actually care by showing up to class, asking qs. And he will make sure you understand the subject thoroughly.

Pharm 1: Another difficult class, taught by Dr. Diaz (systemic) and Dr. Rodriguez (ocular). This is pure memorization, make tables of the drugs and their components.

Anatomy: Dr. Gil (pronounced Hill) this is one of the easier classes, she is an amazing teacher. She is an Ophthalmologist and the school doctor. Genuinely cares for the students and will try to help you out as much as possible.

PCO: Dr. Mercado, this is your bread and butter, she will teach you Optometric skills that you will use everyday at the office. There is a lab portion taught by Dr. Conde.

SBS: taught by Dr. Diaz, this is the easiest SBS, its not an easy class, but if you read the material, focus on the highlighted portions in the ppts. an A is very achievable.

HDA: Dr. Trinidad, she is a licensed psychologist, it's a little difficult to understand her due to the accent, but an easy class.

Cultural Competency: Dr. Santiago, an amazing, kind and brilliant man. He is extremely smart, he respects students as doctors, he is one of the gems we have at our school, but unfortunately he may retire soon.

Spanish: this is a pass fail class, taught by Adriana Santiago, shes young, funny, can be a little abnoxious. Show her that you are tryijng and you will mostly pass. There were some students who didn't even show up for class and didn't try to learn the language at all, failed everything and complained. I don't understand how these characters expect any one to pass them with their lack of effort.
Keep in mind that this will be one of your easier semesters, so try to do well. The program is to become a Doctor. If this is the field you really want to do, and if you put forth an effort, you can excell at IAUPR. This school believes in second chances and does care for their students. The problem arises because 1 or 2 admin are corrupt and they give the students a very hard time.
In my over all opinion, if you do not get in anywhere else, and you KNOW Optometry is the field for you, come to IAUPR. Expect the culture shock, expect to have to study a LOT. Things can get unfair when it comes to lab practicals and clinic due to the different clinicians who all grade differently. But you CAN become a Doctor here, it has been done many, many times before. Just expect it to be tougher than wjat you are used to. But then again, expect that from any Doctorate program.

 

[123DoctorToBe]

So, as a current student I would like to add my input to this rather angry post and I am going to give you my honest opinion. I have lived off campus since first year, and I was without power for several months. I studied with flashlights, I ate out for every meal most days, I slept without AC, and I sat on campus most days until I was tired enough to come home and pass out. Did I sign up for a Cat 5 hurricane? Did the school, students, or faculty sign up for a Cat 5 hurricane? No. Do Cat 5 hurricanes cause damage? Uhh yes. Did I want to quit and move back home and give up everything I had worked for? Yes, I did, but I realized that I signed up to be a DOCTOR and that nothing about this program would be easy or handed to me. I knew that there would be a language barrier, I knew I would have to learn Spanish (one of the main things that attracted me here), and I knew that it was going to be a struggle everyday to live away from family and friends. But to me all these struggles were worth it to become an OD. I read forums too and saw what other people said about the school, but I didn't let it ruin my time here and I took every day with a grain of salt and made the best out of my experience. Do I get frustrated with professors and sometimes their teaching styles? All the time, but what I think is more important is overcoming those challenges. Nothing is this program is going to be handed to you, things will get tough and you'll be stressed out to the max, but this isn't high school or undergrad. I chose to live off campus since day 1 and I had my own battles to face outside of school living without power because that's what I chose. My friends let me shower at their place, they cooked meals for me, I studied at their dorms. When I came back after Maria the school gave me food as well as water and I had numerous staff members ask about my living situation and if I needed anything. This experience is what you make of it. I know several doctors that went through this program, new and old, and passed their boards with no problem. It's your determination and your work ethic as to how well you're going to do in this program. I have friends in other programs and their schools have their own problems and there's professors they don't like either. PR is a beautiful place with so much history and wonderful beaches. I think you should highly consider IAUPR minus the negativity from others, you have to make your own decision and do what's best for you! Good luck!

 

[rubeyco2018]

Hey! I’m a first year student at IAUPR and I can definitely vouch that my 8-9 months here so far have been quite an experience. Despite us hitting a hard hurricane, the school was able to make such a great comeback and it was quite unbelievable how within 30 days the student body and all the administration was able to come back and classes were up and running. I don’t think any other school could have done this and honestly it makes me have more respect for the faculty here and this school. Every schools have good and bad profs - this is the same for EVERY SCHOOL. I personally love this school and the administration and I’m so happy I ended up choosing this school. We have power and AC and water 24 hours a day. All of the businesses here in Puerto Rico are functionable and open! There’s no damage to the school - everything has been completely renovated. It’s amazing to see this school and island bounce back and the student body come together. They give you the tools you need - and honestly I feel coming out of this school you will be a better prepared doctor than any other optometrist. This school teaches you hard work, dedication to your goals. People that are being salty about this school are completely using false accusations about the school and the island. These things are not entirely true. Im speaking as someone who is currently in this program post hurricane. I wouldn’t tell you anything false. I’m saying this because I truly love this school and I honestly would not have wanted to go anywhere else. Hope this helps and Hopefully we see you this coming class!

you realize the news in the states says otherwise, correct? businesses leaving the island, economic crisis. MANY on the island don't have power. there were outages all last week. I live on the island and being truthful is never salty. ill agree there are good and bad professors everywhere and that is the case for really any school. I would beg to differ that no one could have done a better job bc really any other place in the states would have probably recovered faster& better than IAUPR/Puerto Rico simply due to all the corruption on the island and mismanagement of money though I do think they did the best they could. There are many hard working natives but many take advantage of the system which is sad for the island to be honest. I mean, like someone said there are many like Adriana the Spanish teacher who openly admitted to lying about her financial situation in order to get free government assistance. There are way too many like her. The school probably has more issues than most optometry programs especially if you have students on here saying they are dedicated to shutting the school down (which is extreme and nothing comes of it so I don't see what the point is not to mention it delegitimizes your own degree) just the fact that students are willing to say that speaks volumes.... sad to be honest

 

[rubeyco2018]

I'm a student at IAUPR and seeing my fellow classmates defending this school is honestly laughable.

this school is a joke. if you went to a respectable school in the states or Canada, you will probably regret coming here. I earned all A's and B's my first semester here but i can tell you it was because I learned how the professors write exams and the style of questions they ask - I have no confidence that I will pass boards because what professors teach us is wrong, outdated, and not tested on boards (hence our embarrassingly low boards passing rate.) Not to mention, the entire curriculum is so unorganized, there are typos in every lecture and you spend time decoding the actual notes before memorizing them.

This school treats us with such disrespect, its unbelievable. The professors are easily offended and vindictive. We only get 2 pre-clinic hours a week which is not nearly enough time to master our skills. It makes me feel so helpless to know that I'm not getting the education I deserve. I honestly don't think I'll be a good optometrist because NO ONE TEACHES CLINICAL SKILLS PROPERLY.

Bottom line: my biggest regret is wasting my loan money, my time and my efforts at IAUPR. The worst part is that no other optometry school will accept transfers from this school. The best advice I can give is to REAPPLY... I wish I had taken another year off to boost my application. My experience here has affected me both mentally and emotionally, and its not because school is "hard." I honestly don't think that this program is that hard -- learning from these horrible professors is hard. Dealing with the challenges of living in Puerto Rico is hard. Constantly trying to be positive and preserve my mental health throughout all of these unnecessary hardships is HARD. Luckily, i'm a self-teacher and I learn on my own, so I get good grades. But if you can't teach yourself, then you're screwed.

if you do decide to come here, have very very low expectations. This is not a respectable program by any means.

If you're an IAUPR defending this school, just know that people DESERVE to know the honest truth. We obviously attend the worst optometry school. I urge you to make friends at other schools and have an honest discussion with them to realize what a legit school looks like compared to ours. Yeah its cheap in terms of tuition, but you get what you pay for. if i had read this thread last year, I would have never in a million years accepted my admission. I regret it every day. So let people speak their truths in hopes that it saves another potentially-great doctor from making the same mistake. If you love this school, thats honestly great, I wish i felt the same way -- but don't discredit the legitimate feelings of other students and alumni. Our concerns and complaints are 100% valid.

Amen.

 

[rubeyco2018]

I would like to start off this post by saying no one from administration has asked me to make this post or come on SDN and make our school look better than it is. I am doing this because I am surprised that someone attending IAUPR, would go out of their way to make IAUPR sound like the worst place you could possibly be. Having been at this school for almost a year now, and coming back post Maria, I’m truly astonished by our faculty and staff and how fast things were up and running post Maria. Don’t get me wrong, the first couple weeks back were tough.. but we were not without power for more than a couple hours and for one week we had to be on a schedule for water. After that we have had water and power constantly(aside from the couple times the power goes out and is back in minutes thanks to the generators we have at school). Most of us in the dorms don’t know that there is an island wide power outage unless something pops up on our Facebook newsfeed because it really doesn’t affect us on campus. Business are up and running, and traffic is the same as it was pre Maria. Now to talk about the school itself. This is a graduate program. It is not supposed to be easy. It’s not supposed to be a walk in the park. You’re supposed to feel challenged with the material. I agree that sometimes it is hard to understand professors with heavy accents... but you would be lying to yourself if you said that not one of your professors in undergrad didn’t have an accent and spoke perfect English. Once you get over that fact, the professors ARE NOT BAD. There’s no such thing as a bad school.. like it has been said in previous posts.. you get what you put in. If you put in the effort to go to your 8am classes, study an adequate amount, and take your professors seriously there is no way you can do bad. The exams are not easy.. they definitely challenge you but I would say for the most part they are fair. Being at such a small school, there bound to be drama, but what school doesn’t have drama? I think the advantage of being at this school is that you get to know all faculty and staff on a personal level and it makes the school feel more like home than like school. I genuinely feel bad for the handful of people commenting on here that have had a miserable experience. But if you come into this school with the mindset that you have been set up to fail.. what else do you expect? You’re going to be miserable. I am so happy that I chose to come to IAUPR and hope that students considering this school don’t make their decision based on opinions of people who seem to just be miserable people. There are plenty of students here that love it and are extremely happy with how things are run at this school. Please feel free to message me with any questions you may have!

th fact that you started post the way you did makes it questionable that its even honest, however if you are having a great experience than im happy for you, there are many students on here who feel the same as. like one user said don't negate those who's experience is not the same as yours. Let them speak of their experiences its not that its being negative its just different than your own experience. Different doesn't always mean wrong.

 

[pnw256]

michaeljacksonpopcorn.gif

 

[IHeartIAUPR]

Name checks out. I really love this school. This is one of the best schools I've ever been to since my previous enrollment at Hogwarts. I understand that because we are in a professional learning environment that our professors must be difficult so that we can achieve a higher state of being and acquire the fifth element that is plasma. I will break it down to all future students that are interested in attending this wonderful institution of knowledge. In your first semester, you will be subjected to the powers of science and technology as provided by the wonderful faculty. Additionally, the limits of your psyche will be challenged by the arrival of a powerful storm the equivalent of a nuke from Mother Russia. Afterwards, you will have a month long break where you are safely home with your pet iguana that you adopted from Puerto Rico (her name is Ivana by the way.) When the school finishes tidying up the mess that was the tormenta de horror with the powers of the Force, then they will unceremoniously send you back so that you can complete your first semester. When you touch land on the island, you will see the extent of the devastation around you, but do not worry, for Ivana will keep you company. That is, until she finds her home in a coconut tree in which she will ditch you. Sadly, you will be alone in the Uber ride back to IAUPR. The next couple of months will be very difficult for you. You will be beset by many exams. But do not fear, as long as you don't fail 5 classes then you should be okay. Once you survive the 1st semester, you will move on to the second semester in which there are more trees that have leaves. If you thought that the first year was bad, then you ain't seen nothing yet. Thousands of PowerPoint slides will make up your exams. But believe in yourself, and you will overcome these difficulties with the power of amphetamines. If you manage to survive the second semester, then you will be handsomely rewarded with a shiny white coat that you will be using for the rest of your days (unless it somehow gets torn by a rabid cotorra searching for sunflower seeds in your trousers.) Regardless, you will be attending a ceremony with all your surviving classmates and a chupacabra wearing a tuxedo to commemorate your success and take pictures for you and your family who are visiting for this unforgettable moment. The second year will be difficult for you. Instead of a couple hundred slides, you will be subjected to thousands of slides in your diseases class as well as many other courses that you will be taking. Additionally, you should be able to speak Español fluently by this time and make sure to use proper conjugation or you will end up sounding like a cro-magnon and will become the butt of all the faculty and patients' jokes. If you are able to endure all these challenges, you will reach the third year, in which your powers of rote memorization and blatant cramming will aid you in studying for the board exams. Prove yourself that you are not a Tarzan and that you can refract with the phoropter as well as any other optometry student. This will be one of your greatest hurdles. Do not fret, however. Once you overcome the deadly boards, you will have your final year in which you will be moved around to participate in satellite clinics, all of which is designed to give you sleep deprivation and explosive diarrhea. The journey will be long and difficult, but with perseverance and a strong stomach, you too will be able to conquer giardia. Once it is all said and done, you will receive your diploma by our esteemed faculty and new doors of opportunity will be open to you. With the power of this lone piece of paper, you can become an astronaut, a ballerina, or a scuba diver. Just make sure to pay off your student loans, or you will face a fate worse than a thousand mushy mofongos. (Attached here is an image of Ivana, this was the final photo taken of her before I had to say my tearful goodbye.)

 

[rubeyco2018]

I feel sad that there are people who genuinely had a bad experience at this school but I can tell you this 100% is not the majority, I am currently a first year and I am relatively close with the other students in my class and although there are a few people struggling with the challenges of a rigorous doctorate program and being away from home, mostly everyone I know is really enjoying the experience because it truly is a once in a life time opportunity. As for the power outages I’m not sure where some of the people in this thread live but I am in the dorms and since the hurricane we have been doing great we have generators that power every light/electronic/appliance in the dorm and when the power goes out it takes no more than 4 minutes (the time it takes a person to walk to the generator) to turn it on. I have never not had water other than the one week immediately after the hurricane but we just had a schedule of when we could use it. That hasn’t been the case for months now, if you’re concerned about mold get a dehumidifier you live in the Caribbean... I don’t have one however and haven’t had mold on anything but bread that I left out too long. I have never been asked by any administration to say anything nice about the school and I will say there is definitely frustrations that come with some of the professors and the exam averages being low however many professors will curve (at least with my experience first year) THE CLASSES ARE DOABLE. I wasn’t a straight A student in undergrad but I work really hard and I earn the grades I deserve on the exams. You get out what you put in as in any school it’s a doctorate program it’s not designed to be easy and let anyone through. I feel I have learned a lot in my first year and I have friends at other schools to compare what I know and I have not felt behind in any subject. The other complaint I would have is the internet can be slow which is frustrating to study with but I use my hotspot which works well in those cases and it’s also not all the time. As for clinic we begin first year every week practicing to build your skills in the clinic, and clerkship begins in your second year.

Clerkship is a waste of energy.... you shadow another student who also has no idea what they are doing with no supervision run by drs that never show up. We all know Dr De Jesus said he wasn't going to be showing up at 8:00 bc that was "too early" shadowing is what you do PRIOR to getting into optometry school. Once you're in school It should be hands on as soon as possible. I think this is where we lack the most. The classes could be better organized and powerpoint updated sure but thats minimal and really any student can decipher the notes and read the books and fill in the blanks. Thats not even a big deal. Lack of useful clinic time is where IAUPR falters. Lack of diagnostic abilities is where we falter. There is A lot that is not taught in clinic either bc of lack of trust in us or its not in their scope of practice due to law limitations. While other schools are learning retinoscopy and BIO at some point in their first year, we wait until right before we get into clinic and then when you get into clinic they yell at you and fail you on patients bc you should know. Other schools have their practice area open to students all the time for students to practice our school actually COMPLAINS when we ask them to open pre-clinic on a Saturday to let us practice. First year everyone is in Lala land and the schools goal is to get all students to pass from first to second year..the problem with curving is that you truly did not earn that grade for starters and two if the entire class average is low as you say then that just shows how poorly things are being taught. 4th yrs don't live in dorms but when I was in the dorms there was plenty of mold and 3/4 of the roommates had dehumidifiers but we did our best to keep the levels low. First year is the most "doable" year its when you get into the bread and butter of the profession in 2nd/3rd year when things fall apart (mostly in clinical education) and you really see how disorganized things are. The internet has gotten better however when I first got there I felt like I was waiting for a dial tone like in the old days and I bet that internet would've been faster LOL.

 

[London22]

Anyone else notice that all of the overly positive responses that sound very similar to each other are all from newly created accounts

 

[rubeyco2018]

Anyone else notice that all of the overly positive responses that sound very similar to each other are all from newly created accounts

HA! I thought I was the only one who noticed that! Probably admin from the school losing sleep over people are on here saying things.

 

[VanderlyleCrybaby]

HA! I thought I was the only one who noticed that! Probably admin from the school losing sleep over people are on here saying things.

Nah, this thread has been a topic of conversation in my first year class. Some people genuinely like the school and feel the need to defend it. I don't even think admin knows about this thread, and if they do, I don't think they would portray themselves as first year students haha

 

[rubeyco2018]

Nah, this thread has been a topic of conversation in my first year class. Some people genuinely like the school and feel the need to defend it. I don't even think admin knows about this thread, and if they do, I don't think they would portray themselves as first year students haha

you underestimate the administration they are desperate.... but having said that....there is nothing wrong with liking and defending the school, as long as you let others speak their truths

 

[rubeyco2018]

That's such a shame. I really hope things get better for you all and PR. You'd think the school would provide a more positive experience that way you're all able to help the island. You're right it definitely sounds like they aren't running for the right reasons.

That's so strange how they aren't officially marked on a warning yet? Even MCPHS is marked on accreditation deficit warning, the only school out of like 23 to have the warning too. I was accepted to 4 schools and declined 1 other interview invite with an average overall GPA/science GPA, not high at all, yet MCPHS offered me a merit scholarship which I didn't feel I truly deserved and didn't receive at any other schools. The tuition was way too high compared to some of the others I was accepted to even after scholarship.
I wonder how a school finally gets put on warning? Especially since MCPHS was put on it so quickly whereas IAUPR isn't even officially marked on it yet.

MCPHS is a newer school which gets pre-accreditation and then they are evaluated again before being given full accreditation, Older schools are evaluated I think every 8yrs or something like that so its harder. they are due again in 2021....I looked it up the last visit they didn't have full accreditation that had accreditation with provisions (I believe they were told to change the curriculum, grading) but have full accreditation now.they have improved board scores some....its been 8-9 out of 60 and its up to like 13-15 out of 60 passing part 1. its a start I guess...its not a new school so the score percentages should be much much higher than 40ish% after 30 some odd yrs.

 

[optometrygirl29]

Hey everyone! I have read a lot of the comments on here and all I can do is offer my two cents. I wont bother trying to say one side is right and another wrong. We all need to realize that everyones experiences will be different and all that they are going to and have the right to explain those experiences. No one has the right to say that another person is negative, salty, overly positive or any of that. Lets not criticize each other over how we feel. My experience at IAUPR was not in any way perfect. I struggled A LOT..... I hated living in the dorms with a passion and some classes could use major improvements (or at least thats how I felt when I took them, im done with school now). I had things that really really upset me and thought were totally unfair and showed favoritism. However, having said that I wasn't just struggling academically for lack of trying or intelligence as I studied all the time.....I was dealing with a lot of personal issues and it took its toll. If it wasn't for certain people at the school who made sure I was ok and gave me guidance/encouragement through it all, I wouldn't have made it. At the end of it all everything worked itself out and I don't regret a single second. Some have had a much harder experience and others had a much better experience. Im not defending anything nor trashing anyone. Im just here to say that while I admit there is room for improvement, some doctors at the school really showed me they really cared about me succeeding and ill forever be appreciative.

 

[London22]

MCPHS is a newer school which gets pre-accreditation and then they are evaluated again before being given full accreditation, Older schools are evaluated I think every 8yrs or something like that so its harder. they are due again in 2021....I looked it up the last visit they didn't have full accreditation that had accreditation with provisions (I believe they were told to change the curriculum, grading) but have full accreditation now.they have improved board scores some....its been 8-9 out of 60 and its up to like 13-15 out of 60 passing part 1. its a start I guess...its not a new school so the score percentages should be much much higher than 40ish% after 30 some odd yrs.

The thing is Mcp already graduated their first class withing the last year or 2. After the first graduating class the AOA removes the preliminary approval mark and evaluates for full accreditation. Instead they were put on accred w/ condition warning compared to the full accred like standard. It was marked major curriculum deficifit as the description on the March 2018 AOA page. The list of reasons were on here. Most of it's about faculty, clinic, research not set up.
Basis for ACOE Decisions-Aug. 1, 2016
They update these every couple months, and do ongoing evaluations when they see major deficits. It looks like mcp is pretty much set now, although they did have a lot of flags when you go back on the page from 2015.
They just had a review in April and the new page isnt up. Honestly hopefully its all fine because that would really suck for the students. It becomes a huge mess with loan defaults and everything. Can't get a license to practice. As far as I know they're the only school that had that happen recently, not sure if it ever happened to any others in the past but I never heard of it until now. Personally I would get really annoyed dealing with growing pains but that's just me.

Which bring me to the point that they post the accreditation evaluations for every school and residency on the ACOE site so IAUPR evaluations will be on there too if there's anything suspicious. It's all fully disclosed to the public and they get down to serious business within the whole archive. I haven't seen any negative notes about IAUPR, only about other schools, but I'll try searching more.

Do a lot of ppl end up staying in PR after grad that would effect anything?

Also they get accreditation evaluated every 4 years I think not 8. Atleast Western was just evaluated for their accreditation (past preliminary, received official accred) the past year and have their next accred review in 2021. Maybe it's different for older schools, but it would make sense to review every 4 due to evaluating every grad class.
Sorry this is long lol

 

[optometrygirl29]

Name checks out. I really love this school. This is one of the best schools I've ever been to since my previous enrollment at Hogwarts. I understand that because we are in a professional learning environment that our professors must be difficult so that we can achieve a higher state of being and acquire the fifth element that is plasma. I will break it down to all future students that are interested in attending this wonderful institution of knowledge. In your first semester, you will be subjected to the powers of science and technology as provided by the wonderful faculty. Additionally, the limits of your psyche will be challenged by the arrival of a powerful storm the equivalent of a nuke from Mother Russia. Afterwards, you will have a month long break where you are safely home with your pet iguana that you adopted from Puerto Rico (her name is Ivana by the way.) When the school finishes tidying up the mess that was the tormenta de horror with the powers of the Force, then they will unceremoniously send you back so that you can complete your first semester. When you touch land on the island, you will see the extent of the devastation around you, but do not worry, for Ivana will keep you company. That is, until she finds her home in a coconut tree in which she will ditch you. Sadly, you will be alone in the Uber ride back to IAUPR. The next couple of months will be very difficult for you. You will be beset by many exams. But do not fear, as long as you don't fail 5 classes then you should be okay. Once you survive the 1st semester, you will move on to the second semester in which there are more trees that have leaves. If you thought that the first year was bad, then you ain't seen nothing yet. Thousands of PowerPoint slides will make up your exams. But believe in yourself, and you will overcome these difficulties with the power of amphetamines. If you manage to survive the second semester, then you will be handsomely rewarded with a shiny white coat that you will be using for the rest of your days (unless it somehow gets torn by a rabid cotorra searching for sunflower seeds in your trousers.) Regardless, you will be attending a ceremony with all your surviving classmates and a chupacabra wearing a tuxedo to commemorate your success and take pictures for you and your family who are visiting for this unforgettable moment. The second year will be difficult for you. Instead of a couple hundred slides, you will be subjected to thousands of slides in your diseases class as well as many other courses that you will be taking. Additionally, you should be able to speak Español fluently by this time and make sure to use proper conjugation or you will end up sounding like a cro-magnon and will become the butt of all the faculty and patients' jokes. If you are able to endure all these challenges, you will reach the third year, in which your powers of rote memorization and blatant cramming will aid you in studying for the board exams. Prove yourself that you are not a Tarzan and that you can refract with the phoropter as well as any other optometry student. This will be one of your greatest hurdles. Do not fret, however. Once you overcome the deadly boards, you will have your final year in which you will be moved around to participate in satellite clinics, all of which is designed to give you sleep deprivation and explosive diarrhea. The journey will be long and difficult, but with perseverance and a strong stomach, you too will be able to conquer giardia. Once it is all said and done, you will receive your diploma by our esteemed faculty and new doors of opportunity will be open to you. With the power of this lone piece of paper, you can become an astronaut, a ballerina, or a scuba diver. Just make sure to pay off your student loans, or you will face a fate worse than a thousand mushy mofongos. (Attached here is an image of Ivana, this was the final photo taken of her before I had to say my tearful goodbye.)
View attachment 232899

this post is a joke right?

 

[optometrygirl29]

Nah, this thread has been a topic of conversation in my first year class. Some people genuinely like the school and feel the need to defend it. I don't even think admin knows about this thread, and if they do, I don't think they would portray themselves as first year students haha

I would venture a guess they know but I doubt they'd waste their time writing reviews on here

 

[London22]

Lmfao if you think admin cares about this page. A handful of enraged students projecting all of their personal issues onto the school I would assume is very low on their list of concerns.

The reason this thread is so over-negative and hyperbolized is because the vast majority of happy students don't post on here, they are likely too busy studying (or enjoying life) as is expected in an OD program. When this thread was brought to the attention to my 1st year class by a fellow student many made accounts and posted honestly about their experiences. One also posted a negative review, are you going to blame admin for that one as well?

Lol where exactly did I say anything about admin? Someone else already explained what you just said earlier in the thread. If you want to jump to conclusions, I just defended your school with a source from the ACOE earlier. I still can't find anything flagged about IAUPR on their site, yet there's plenty about a couple other schools.

FYI there's a crap ton of fakes on this site, no matter where you go. Unless it's to ask a question, new accounts 9 times out of 10 are usually the ones with the agendas whether it be positive or negative.
People don't only come on this site to post negatives, there's loads of schools where you can pull up nothing but positive comments and information. People also have a lot of high expectations with doctorate programs, rightfully so.

Regardless it seems like there's a disconnect between the happy and pissed off students on this thread which isn't good. At this point I'm just genuinely concerned about PR post Maria.

 

[optometrygirl29]

Lmfao if you think admin cares about this page. A handful of enraged students projecting all of their personal issues onto the school I would assume is very low on their list of concerns.

The reason this thread is so over-negative and hyperbolized is because the vast majority of happy students don't post on here, they are likely too busy studying (or enjoying life) as is expected in an OD program. When this thread was brought to the attention to my 1st year class by a fellow student many made accounts and posted honestly about their experiences. One also posted a negative review, are you going to blame admin for that one as well?

I don't think anyone was blaming/accusing admin at all, like one user said 1st yr isn't the hard yr its very doable and everyone is generally happy, its when you getting into 2nd and 3 yrs where it gets brutally difficult and for many that happiness fades a little. You don't get as much or if any free time after first yr, and don't get to enjoy the beauty of the island as much, you have to wait for 4th yr rotations for that. 2nd yr and 3yr first semester were HARD and nothing at all like 1st yr, just saying. I would venture a guess admin is fully aware of these posts and forum though I'm 100% positive they are not on here posting to make the school look better. They don't have time for that. Everyone, alumni, faculty and staff are always thrilled when students praise the school, when students voices complaints and concerns, I promise they attempt to make changes for the better, I know this first hand. I had complaints during my time there and though they may not have been happy with the way I voiced my issues (ill admit I could have handled things better) they always tried to listen and took my concerns seriously and even made some changes for the better. This is only my experience, I know others were not treated in the same fashion, but it depends on how you present yourself and how you speak. You have to be respectful and have tact when you say things and the school will listen, may not change anything but they will listen. If you are rude and disrespectful they aren't going to listen to s*&t. Also lets try to be respectful of others feelings, they have their right to voice their experience. And exactly why was this brought up to the entire first yr class? by whom? for what reason?

 

[optometrygirl29]

Regardless it seems like there's a disconnect between the happy and pissed off students on this thread which isn't good. At this point I'm just genuinely concerned about PR post Maria.

PR is def going through a hard time thats for sure, I was watching on the news that there are still people without power and one mayor (not the infamous media loving ungrateful trash talking one either) was stating that in her area about 70% were still without power and how concerned she is bc of how many people and businesses are leaving the island. Its sad, but that island has been in economic crisis for at least the last 10 yrs and its just getting worse. The majority of the happy posts are from first yrs (It seems), they have no clue what the following yrs are like. Like one user wrote, there is no buffer courses no HDA which is pretty much a joke and no cultural comp which everyone knows you study for 30-45min before and get an A or a B. Things are going to get HARD, very very hard. But you will get through it. We all had really tough times and hated everyone and the school at some point or another, but we got over it and forgave and forgot and moved on. I still wonder though, there have been many negative posts on here before and NO ONE ever brought it to anyones attention nor did we have "discussions as a class" about it. so it makes me wonder why there is so much discussion or fuss. through the years there were many students who fiercely defend the school (mostly school favorites) and yet many, many more students who just as fiercely criticized the school (those the school gave a hard time to). My concern is that there are posts about people so angry they want to "shut it down". That shows there is a deficit somewhere bc you dont just say something like that without reason, ya know?? We had angry students, sure, who had absolutely horrible experiences so their anger was totally justified. If the school slighted you, then yeah you'd come on here and say you hate it and it was horrible. for you IT WAS. Others may have never had issues so of course they'd say they were happy. What I can't remember is people feeling so strongly that they thought about closing their own school. Its not for all that imho. You'd be harming your own colleagues and friends. We should be looking for ways to make improvements with construction criticism not tearing each other down. We are colleagues, remember that. Never burn your bridges, you never know when you will have to cross back over them.

 

[London22]

PR is def going through a hard time thats for sure, I was watching on the news that there are still people without power and one mayor (not the infamous media loving ungrateful trash talking one either) was stating that in her area about 70% were still without power and have yet to get power and how concerned she is bc of how many people and businesses are leaving the island. Its sad, but that island has been in economic crisis for at least the last 10 yrs and its just getting worse. the majority of the happy posts are from first yrs, they have no clue what the following yrs are like there is no buffer courses no HDA which is pretty much a joke and no cultural comp which everyone knows you study for 30-45min before and get an A or a B. Things are going to get HARD, very very hard. But you will get through it. We all hard really tough times and hated everyone and the school at some point or another, but we got over it and forgave and forgot and moved on. I still wonder though, there have been many negative posts on here before and NO ONE ever brought it to anyones attention nor did we have "discussions as a class" about it. so it makes me wonder why there is so much discussion or fuss. through the years there are many students who fiercely defend the school (mostly school favorites) and many many you just as fiercely criticize the school (those the school gave a hard time to), my concern is that there are posts about people so angry they want to "shut it down". We had angry students sure who had horrible experiences but I can't remember people feeling so strongly about their own school. Its not for all that. We should be looking for ways to make improvements with construction criticism not tearing each other down. We are colleagues, remember that. Never burn your bridges, you never know when you will have to cross back over them.

This is exactly what I don't understand either. The 2 levels of extremes on this thread are confusing, why are things so black and white? I can understand reporting things and having serious discussions with the ACOE but to shut down the school? I know people are frustrated but people have to remember that future employers, coworkers, even companies are on this site. They will make judgements accordingly and it can effect your future. Nothing good will come out of that. If the school loses accreditation current students literally won't be able to become a doctor/licensed and practice. IAUPR is not on any sort of official warning where they are mandated by the AOA to fix the program unlike some other schools in the past. And I'm almost positive that if they ever do get put on warning, more lax time will be given due to the recovery circumstances.

 

[optometrygirl29]

This is exactly what I don't understand either. The 2 levels of extremes on this thread are confusing, why are things so black and white? I can understand reporting things and having serious discussions with the ACOE but to shut down the school? I know people are frustrated but people have to remember that future employers, coworkers, even companies are on this site. They will make judgements accordingly and it can effect your future. Nothing good will come out of that. If the school loses accreditation current students literally won't be able to become a doctor/licensed and practice. IAUPR is not on any sort of official warning where they are mandated by the AOA to fix the program unlike some other schools in the past. And I'm almost positive that if they ever do get put on warning, more lax time will be given due to the recovery circumstances.

I think there is a disconnect with how people are treated. I mean every school is going to have someone unhappy about something no matter where you go or what you do. Thats just life. But I really think there is just a disconnect with how things are handled for some students vs others. I think they were on accreditation with conditions which as someone said earlier shows a major deficit with the program but they were bumped to full accreditation with no conditions in 2012 or 2013 I think. I will say its not OK to belittle someones feelings bc they are different from your own. I dont know how employers would know who is who on here as I dont think people use their real name so that part doesn't make too much sense. That would be kinda dumb.

 

[London22]

I think there is a disconnect with how people are treated. I mean every school is going to have someone unhappy about something no matter where you go or what you do. Thats just life. But I really think there is just a disconnect with how things are handled for some students vs others. I think they were on accreditation with conditions which as someone said earlier shows a major deficit with the program but they were bumped to full accreditation with no conditions in 2012 or 2013 I think. I will say its not OK to belittle someones feelings bc they are different from your own. I dont know how employers would know who is who on here as I dont think people use their real name so that part doesn't make too much sense. That would be kinda dumb.

Mmm no. I was saying it effects the way future employers and coworkers could view the school as a whole. Reputation is a thing when it comes to the way you're treated or during job hunting whether you want to accept it or not. Telling people to be careful about their schools reputation and accreditation status is not belittling. Sigh. Save that for the birds.

FWIW I offered my 2 cents for both sides and now am peacing out, best of luck all. Hopefully all the drama turns around.

Edit: Btw, here's some of the accreditation status for IAUPR btw from earlier. I can't find any AOA warnings/conditions for IAUPR, MCPHS was the only one. Not to say that doesn't illegitimize any claims but just throwing it out there if anyone wants to see, or in case you want to report. Board scores are extremely important and absolutely should be used in your decision making for attending schools.
2013 (before visit): https://www.aoa.org/Documents/public/od-program-directory.pdf
2018: https://www.aoa.org/Documents/students/od_directory_3_09_2018.pdf
Current schools on warning list: ACOE Notice of Programs with Accredited with Conditions Status
Latest board scores (extremely important!!!): https://optometriceducation.org/wp-...1/NBEO-Pass-Rate-Report-2016-2017-FINAL-1.pdf

 

[optometrygirl29]

Mmm no. I was saying it effects the way future employers and coworkers could view the school as a whole. Reputation is a thing when it comes to the way you're treated or during job hunting whether you want to accept it or not. Telling people to be careful about their schools reputation and accreditation status is not belittling. Sigh. Save that for the birds.

FWIW I offered my 2 cents for both sides and now am peacing out, best of luck all. Hopefully all the drama turns around.

sorry I misunderstood, though I think this is something the school needs to work on so students wont be on this site saying how they feel....

 

[TheREALoptometrist2015]

Lmfao if you think admin cares about this page. A handful of enraged students projecting all of their personal issues onto the school I would assume is very low on their list of concerns.

The reason this thread is so over-negative and hyperbolized is because the vast majority of happy students don't post on here, they are likely too busy studying (or enjoying life) as is expected in an OD program. When this thread was brought to the attention to my 1st year class by a fellow student many made accounts and posted honestly about their experiences. One also posted a negative review, are you going to blame admin for that one as well?

Lmfao if you think they don't...please...you have no idea.. I promise they know and they are pissed. and sadly there are a few profs that actually agree with what students say. You first years have no idea, just you wait. That school is all about politics and who's butt you kiss. If you are a brownnoser you'll do fantastic. But if you question anything they say, trust me the school will retaliate, and they know and upper classes know it. Your only chance of survival there is to play to their politics. And for those that start their posts with "no one told me to do this" whoever in your class was smart enough to say they brought it to your attention and there was a discussion let the cat out of the bag and for anyone with common sense that should discredit the post from the get-go. Its basically admitting you were told to go write nice lies on here. but to each his own. For the last few years various groups, yes GROUPS!!! of students have been working on contacting the ACOE members/presidents whoever they can to let them know what goes on in the school with major cheating and favoritism. Board scores are alarming low and have been that way for awhile...Some of your professors have never even taken the NBEO bc Puerto Rico didn't require it up until like 7-10 yrs ago. They don't even know what the NBEO consists of. So learn away....you just aren't learning correct info, and boards are going to be rather tough. you'll see

 

[TheREALoptometrist2015]

the whole group of now 4th yr natives have been openly cheating since day one and get nothing but a pat on the back. literally met with the dean and they all came out laughing and told everyone that cabello said to hide it better.

this part no matter how much the school works to deny it is true and its sad, they've gloated for the longest time and the whole crew have gotten away with sooo much.

 

[rubeyco2018]

this part no matter how much the school works to deny it is true and its sad, they've gloated for the longest time and the whole crew have gotten away with sooo much.

yeah its true and watch they'll probably call the news at graduation like they've done other years to interview and praise the cheaters and cry on tv saying "aw poor us we can't practice in Puerto Rico like in the states, wah" but in reality in the states they probably wouldn't have survived.

 

[optsuker]

I'm the advisor for our local university's pre-opt club and the NBEO stats MUST be considered before choosing a school.

IMO, Part I pass rate is most important. It's the toughest test and reflects on the overall education you're getting.
Part III reflects the clinical, hands-on experience, it should be a cake-walk for anyone who's had a decent clinical experience.
Part II, is a blend & emphasis on diagnostic skills. Weak ocular disease programs are the only ones to have trouble.

I'd shy away from any school under 75% for part I, 90% for part II, and 80% for part III.
Realize how miserable it is to retake these tests and choose wisely.

IAUPR has been known forever as where you go if you're:
-Rejected by everyone else
-Flunked out of another program
-A native of PR or Spanish speaker with weak stats
-A few misguided individuals that think it will be easier/more fun/better experience

 

[optometrygirl29]

I'm the advisor for our local university's pre-opt club and the NBEO stats MUST be considered before choosing a school.

IMO, Part I pass rate is most important. It's the toughest test and reflects on the overall education you're getting.
Part III reflects the clinical, hands-on experience, it should be a cake-walk for anyone who's had a decent clinical experience.
Part II, is a blend & emphasis on diagnostic skills. Weak ocular disease programs are the only ones to have trouble.

I'd shy away from any school under 75% for part I, 90% for part II, and 80% for part III.
Realize how miserable it is to retake these tests and choose wisely.

I already graduated from IAUPR. I can only say that part 1 is the hardest by far (for me, being from IAUPR, I dont think it had anything to do with them but my lack of studying properly) and it really sucks to retake it. I can say from my own personal experience I had very little difficulty with part 2 and breezed through part 3 but part 1 was a struggle for sure....I passed parts 2 and 3 first try it was part 1 that I didn't pass first try (or second)

 

[916000]

In reference to the previous positive comments - For any prospective student understand that you can look at any situation with a positive or negative perspective. What you really want to know is how does IAUPR compare to other schools in all aspects. You want to know the facts!!! I will make this very overly simplified.
1. Do MOST of the profs have an accents and speak a mixture of English and Spanish "Spanglish" - YES
1' Will that be the case at other OD schools - NO you may have 1 or 2 with an accent but the MAJORITY won't

2. Is life in PR harder with the power, water, traffic, etc. - YES
2' Do state schools have these hardships - NO

3. Is EVERY exam going to have questions that are misspelled, hard to understand, grammatically incorrect which changes the meaning of the question - YES
3' Will this be the case at state schools - NO

4. Do you have to take a Spanish class on top of your OD classes and do all your proficiencies and exams in Spanish - YES
4' Will this be the case at state schools - NO

5. Will you be able to get out the grades you deserve if you work hard - I can tell you this: We have one person who had a 3.0 GPA in our class, only 1/62. The 3rd year class above us had 1 as well, 1/43. That is 2/105 less than 2% who have a B average and the rest are below. I know that because we have yearly awards and they award all the students with a B average.
5' Will this be the case at state schools - I personally have 3 friends at 3 different OD schools who have above a B average - NO

6. Is IAUPR boards pass rate the lowest of all schools - YES with the exception of last year which Western was slightly below us we have repeatedly been the lowest by far. I can attest that our pass rate is also misleading. They report the pass rate without telling anyone its a cumulative number. Its the amount of times you take boards before you graduate. Example: If 1 student takes boards 3 times before graduation and passes on his or her 3rd attempt they mark that as a 100% pass rate. So a class of 50 can take boards 3 times before the graduation mark and if they all pass on the 3rd attempt that is marked as a 100% pass rate. Here our the pass rates for the last 3 years 1st attempt: 17%, 9%, 43%.
6' Are the pass rates this low at state schools - NO

These are just a few unbiased non-opinionated facts that are easily understandable. A lot of these posts are opinionated and emotional "I love IAUPR" "This is the best school Ive ever been to" "We are all like a family here" "These professors love us and work so hard for us" so throwing that aside and just looking at some facts this is what you will be up against. This is also just a few there are so many more. Also ask yourself this: Do other schools have such polarized posts on here? I have not seen any posts like this pertaining to any other schools.
Good luck with your decision and just realize this is your career something you will do for the rest of your lives. You want to be the best you can be and you want the school to be the best it can be.

 

[TheREALoptometrist2015]

6. Is IAUPR boards pass rate the lowest of all schools - YES with the exception of last year which Western was slightly below us we have repeatedly been the lowest by far. I can attest that our pass rate is also misleading. They report the pass rate without telling anyone its a cumulative number. Its the amount of times you take boards before you graduate. Example: If 1 student takes boards 3 times before graduation and passes on his or her 3rd attempt they mark that as a 100% pass rate. So a class of 50 can take boards 3 times before the graduation mark and if they all pass on the 3rd attempt that is marked as a 100% pass rate. Here our the pass rates for the last 3 years 1st attempt: 17%, 9%, 43%.
6' Are the pass rates this low at state schools - NO

43% for the class of 2018? seems pretty high, especially when they are the biggest group of cheaters the school as ever seen!! I dont remember that being their percentage either....sure the school isn't lying trying to make the Puerto Rican students seem better than they are??? they started with 63 in that class and are down to 48 or so students so many students failed out or were held behind...

 

[rubeyco2018]

In reference to the previous positive comments - For any prospective student understand that you can look at any situation with a positive or negative perspective. What you really want to know is how does IAUPR compare to other schools in all aspects. You want to know the facts!!! I will make this very overly simplified.
1. Do MOST of the profs have an accents and speak a mixture of English and Spanish "Spanglish" - YES
1' Will that be the case at other OD schools - NO you may have 1 or 2 with an accent but the MAJORITY won't

2. Is life in PR harder with the power, water, traffic, etc. - YES
2' Do state schools have these hardships - NO

3. Is EVERY exam going to have questions that are misspelled, hard to understand, grammatically incorrect which changes the meaning of the question - YES
3' Will this be the case at state schools - NO

4. Do you have to take a Spanish class on top of your OD classes and do all your proficiencies and exams in Spanish - YES
4' Will this be the case at state schools - NO

5. Will you be able to get out the grades you deserve if you work hard - I can tell you this: We have one person who had a 3.0 GPA in our class, only 1/62. The 3rd year class above us had 1 as well, 1/43. That is 2/105 less than 2% who have a B average and the rest are below. I know that because we have yearly awards and they award all the students with a B average.
5' Will this be the case at state schools - I personally have 3 friends at 3 different OD schools who have above a B average - NO

6. Is IAUPR boards pass rate the lowest of all schools - YES with the exception of last year which Western was slightly below us we have repeatedly been the lowest by far. I can attest that our pass rate is also misleading. They report the pass rate without telling anyone its a cumulative number. Its the amount of times you take boards before you graduate. Example: If 1 student takes boards 3 times before graduation and passes on his or her 3rd attempt they mark that as a 100% pass rate. So a class of 50 can take boards 3 times before the graduation mark and if they all pass on the 3rd attempt that is marked as a 100% pass rate. Here our the pass rates for the last 3 years 1st attempt: 17%, 9%, 43%.
6' Are the pass rates this low at state schools - NO

These are just a few unbiased non-opinionated facts that are easily understandable. A lot of these posts are opinionated and emotional "I love IAUPR" "This is the best school Ive ever been to" "We are all like a family here" "These professors love us and work so hard for us" so throwing that aside and just looking at some facts this is what you will be up against. This is also just a few there are so many more. Also ask yourself this: Do other schools have such polarized posts on here? I have not seen any posts like this pertaining to any other schools.
Good luck with your decision and just realize this is your career something you will do for the rest of your lives. You want to be the best you can be and you want the school to be the best it can be.

wow this is pretty spot on except co2017 had the top 10 in the class with a B average or higher and one person had a perfect 4.0 (I thought) however this is totally rare at pauper.....and your percentages for first time pass rates for part 1 are totally off thats for sure. the majority of the top 10 where other OD school failures so I think that plays a role as they had done some didactic and clinical education from other schools before getting kicked out. the didactic education is the worst and thats why so many resort to cheating with old exams to get through and then when boards come around no one knows anything and fails....

 

[optometrygirl29]

yeah its true and watch they'll probably call the news at graduation like they've done other years to interview and praise the cheaters and cry on tv saying "aw poor us we can't practice in Puerto Rico like in the states, wah" but in reality in the states they probably wouldn't have survived.

this post is totaly unnecessary don't generalize and lump people together and accuse unless you have solid facts. A lot of the rumors that went on while I was there were just that rumors, fabricated info spread through to school intended to harm certain individuals. people like to assume things and spread hearsay. just saying...lets keep the posts on here about facts please and not attacking groups of individuals.

 

[rubeyco2018]

this post is totaly unnecessary don't generalize and lump people together and accuse unless you have solid facts. A lot of the rumors that went on while I was there were just that rumors, fabricated info spread through to school intended to harm certain individuals. people like to assume things and spread hearsay. just saying...lets keep the posts on here about facts please and not attacking groups of individuals.

Not generalizing its a fact, and well known at that!!! Its embarrassing!!! And not sure if you keep up but they just awarded one of the biggest ones residency at the school???? Cracks me up to think about other optometry students from real schools applying here! The last time there was an outsider as resident (the sister of one of our own students I might add) she didn't last more than a few months!!! She told us she didn't even understand how we deal with it because its truly terrible and disorganized!!!! She couldn't handle how unprofessional everyone was! Like Dr Ortiz screaming at small children in for Peds exams and VT, the way people dress, act treat students! you are crazy defending them. I feel sorry for you.