ICO and SCCO students

[iDoc2012]

Alright, so I am in to my two optometry schools: ICO and SCCO. I know everyone will want to respond with, "You can only make the decision on your own," but I just need some input. Any experience you have with these questions/subjects would be appreciated:

SCCO has a clean and appealing campus with several buildings and amazing weather. Cal State is right there, which may or may not be good (?) and the downtown Fullerton area was nice (?) but the traffic might be annoying (?). What do people do here for fun? In their spare time? How is off-campus housing?

ICO had amazing teachers and students when I visited, but the area just seemd sketchy (?). I have never lived in a big city, and for the last four years I have been in San Diego. Are the winters miserable? What is the lifestyle like here? Are people typically happy, or do they feel cooped up? Is there anything outside of the city to do? What is off-campus life like here? In the winters, if I had to commute to Northwestern, could I? Or are the roads too bad...

Anything else you can think of, I would love to hear...

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[cunikki]

Hey... it really is up to you! just some things to think about tho.... i dont really notice cal state at all it doesnt affect me one way or another... downtown fullerton is nice and lots of fun to go out on weekends... the traffic in the area is not too bad but it is annoying when you are driving to la area. for fun you can pretty much do anything you want? lots of my friends surf, everyone goes out to clubs in orangecounty and la, lots of outdoor things to do like go to the beach, bonfires, go skiing/snowboarding in winter... a ton of people (including me!) have season passes to disney which is pretty awesome because its cheap for a year and you cna buy it when you still have loan money and then have something fun to do when you are broke! i have always lived in an apartment across the street.. i walk to school.. and it is relatively cheap (1250 for a 2 bedroom 1 bath).. and usually if you sign up you can get the school owned housing in your second or third year and those are cheap and nice
i really dont konw anything about ico at all except one of the most amazing smartest doctors i have ever met teaches at our school and he graduated from ico!

 

[iDoc2012]

that helps! i'd love more input from everyone else out there!

 

[Ben Chudner]

that helps! i'd love more input from everyone else out there!

If you really are having trouble deciding, then go with the school that will cost the least. I would factor in living expenses when you are comparing the two schools. It may not sound like good advice now, but the truth is that you will receive a good education at either of the schools, so it's best to graduate with the least amount of debt.

 

[EyeDontNo]

how much is the price difference between the schools, iDoc? i'm sorta in a pickle too, in terms of deciding (SCCO and Berk)...

 

[iDoc2012]

to be honest, the estimates given to me by the schools for tuition+cost of living+equipment are very similar: about 40K each. I don't have any scholarships to either yet, so sadly that isn't making my decision yet. I applied for WICHE for SCCO, though, and that might make a difference.

For the person confused about Berkeley and SCCO, maybe the fact that Berkely is typically research based and SCCO has more of a clinical focus will help?

 

[jefguth]

to be honest, the estimates given to me by the schools for tuition+cost of living+equipment are very similar: about 40K each. I don't have any scholarships to either yet, so sadly that isn't making my decision yet. I applied for WICHE for SCCO, though, and that might make a difference.

For the person confused about Berkeley and SCCO, maybe the fact that Berkely is typically research based and SCCO has more of a clinical focus will help?

You maybe able to use WICHE at ICO also. A classmate of mine from CO is on WICHE.

A number of my professors have said that SCCO is the up and coming place to be. Lots of exciting improvement currently happening there, or so I've heard.

 

[alferec]

I would like to add that the new incoming president of SCCO this summer is the current American Optometric Association President (yeah, the AOA). The future of SCCO is looking pretty bright if you ask me!

 

[EyeDontNo]

wow im sold! scco !

 

[broncos24]

You maybe able to use WICHE at ICO also. A classmate of mine from CO is on WICHE.

A number of my professors have said that SCCO is the up and coming place to be. Lots of exciting improvement currently happening there, or so I've heard.

whoa!!!
WICHE at a NON-western opt school??

how common is that? I'm thinking I should apply now, although by now it may be late for this fall.

 

[beaneek]

I am an optometry student at Indiana University and have been receiving aide from WICHE for the past 3 years (I'm a CO resident). However, in order to receive the grant, I had to PROVE to WICHE that I was rejected from SCCO and that I had not taken enough pre-reqs to meet Pacific or Berkeley's requirements (I had not taken anatomy lab or calc 2). Anyways, it was a long application process, but I just thought you should know that although WICHE advertises that it only provides aide if you go to one of those 3 schools, they may still be able to help you if you talk to them about your situation. I know it's pretty rare for WICHE to provide aide to students not attending one of those schools (I was the first and only student so far to go to IU Optometry and receive the grant)....but, for tuition to be that much less (essentially ends up being in-state tuition), I would say that it is definitely worth looking into!! Best of luck to you!

 

[gochi]

I would like to add that the new incoming president of SCCO this summer is the current American Optometric Association President (yeah, the AOA). The future of SCCO is looking pretty bright if you ask me!

Why does that matter ? Assuming you have not met him/her, how can you conclude that a former AOA president will enhance a schools academic future ?

 

[mthwong]

Why does that matter ? Assuming you have not met him/her, how can you conclude that a former AOA president will enhance a schools academic future ?

I'm going to SCCO, and I was not too sure about the AOA president becoming the dean at SCCO, but just hearing a few bits here and there, and getting a fuller understanding of the FIELD of optometry, I think I would agree that having the dean of the AOA would benefit SCCO.

Considering that SCCO, has just changed their pre-reqs to be similar to that of Berkeley's, which shows that SCCO is trying to have a higher standard for the students they will be accepting in the future. Also they are restructuring their curriculum for the NEBO, which I think all schools will be doing as well.

The presence of the former president of the AOA at SCCO "leads me to think" that SCCO will have a larger vision to increase the scope of practice the and protect the field of optometry, meaning possibly making the students at SCCO more aware of what they will face after graduating. With 3 new schools opening up in probably the next year or so, and the continuous tension between opthamologists, optometrists, and optician, it wouldn't hurt to have a larger perspective of the field of optometry and the opportunities for success.

I don't know...these are my two cents. I don't think the the president of the AOA will hurt the reputation that SCCO has established, but it can only help. I also was talking to Dr. Munroe at SCCO and she was saying that they are developing a televising center for broadcasts at SCCO.

 

[broncos24]

I am an optometry student at Indiana University and have been receiving aide from WICHE for the past 3 years (I'm a CO resident). However, in order to receive the grant, I had to PROVE to WICHE that I was rejected from SCCO and that I had not taken enough pre-reqs to meet Pacific or Berkeley's requirements (I had not taken anatomy lab or calc 2). Anyways, it was a long application process, but I just thought you should know that although WICHE advertises that it only provides aide if you go to one of those 3 schools, they may still be able to help you if you talk to them about your situation. I know it's pretty rare for WICHE to provide aide to students not attending one of those schools (I was the first and only student so far to go to IU Optometry and receive the grant)....but, for tuition to be that much less (essentially ends up being in-state tuition), I would say that it is definitely worth looking into!! Best of luck to you!

soooo.....

what if I rejected the interview for SCCO and I didn't meet the requirements for Pacific and Berkeley. Does that mean I probably wouldn't get the grant since I declined the interview for SCCO?

 

[cunikki]

haha yeah sorry that doesnt fly... back when i was applying to school they said you have to have applied to pacific and scco and get rejected from both in order for you to get the wiche funds for another school.... too bad you didnt just interview at scco and do a really bad job so you would get rejected! hehe anyways you have to apply for wiche way back in aug/sept time and there are only 8 for all colo residents so im sure they are all filled anyways

 

[alferec]

Why does that matter ? Assuming you have not met him/her, how can you conclude that a former AOA president will enhance a schools academic future ?

The AOA can arguably be the most important organization in the entire field of optometry. It is the pre-eminent lobbying organization of optometry, and keeps our profession alive since optometry is a legislated profession. So if you ask me, a person who can lead an organization that is determined to fight for our rights to practice must be incredibly talented, and this talent can only benefit us at SCCO. And mthwong, you pretty much said the rest of what I had to say.

Yeah so I'm biased, but what can I say, I love it here! Go SCCO!!!

 

[broncos24]

haha yeah sorry that doesnt fly... back when i was applying to school they said you have to have applied to pacific and scco and get rejected from both in order for you to get the wiche funds for another school.... too bad you didnt just interview at scco and do a really bad job so you would get rejected! hehe anyways you have to apply for wiche way back in aug/sept time and there are only 8 for all colo residents so im sure they are all filled anyways

haha.. well.. i guess it's okay. I rather start going to the other opt school a year early than SCCO after I get my bachelor's. I did that early applicant thing at SCCO, and they were interviewing me for fall 09 when I graduate from undergrad.

note for anyone doing the early decision thing and applying for WICHE: I talked to the WICHE people (co), and they want you to talk to them around January during your app cycle and they'll reserve your funds for the year you attend (if youre accepted.) So in the end.. they can wait for you to get in even if it's waiting a full year! Just let the WICHE schools know you've applied WHEN you apply the early round.

 

[iDoc2012]

well, it's been decided: SCCO here i come!

 

[orangeplzaod]

I was raised in OC and went to ICO. I stayed at the dorms and so driving was not needed. Quite nice. I think so cal is too crowded and smoggy. I loved Chicago.

More importantly, Optometry in Cal SUCKS. Go to ICO and make connections in neighboring TPA medical model states. There's where you make $$$

 

[momentofzen]

whats tpa

 

[Habitual Rx]

whats tpa

Unless TPA has a different acronym in the US..

an Optometry student who doesn't know what TPA means?

Seriously?

 

[MariaMaria]

whats tpa

I looked it up:

Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents (like a certification you have to get eventually)

 

[Habitual Rx]

i.e. drugs.