ICO First Year AMA

[someguy313]

Hey, everyone! I haven't been on this site for a while because last time I was here I was looking for a bunch of tips on everything related to the application process, and now, since I'm done with that, I haven't had as much reason to log on. Anyhoo, I'm currently a first year at ICO, and I'm opening up the floor to ask me anything you want to know about my experiences thus far with ICO or just applying to optometry school in general. I remember being frustrated looking for answers on here and only finding people speculating about different optometry schools, but with me you're getting it straight from the horse's mouth. Ask away, friends

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[yungduma]

How do you like ICO and the course load? How is social life and what do you do on your time off? Was ICO your first choice?

 

[almondeyes]

I have my interview in late January!

What's the weather going to be like in January? Did you live at the RC? What made ICO stand out for you? How is the diversity of the patients in terms of ethnicity and ocular issues/diseases?

 

[someguy313]

How do you like ICO and the course load? How is social life and what do you do on your time off? Was ICO your first choice?

Like all the schools I interviewed at, ICO isn't perfect, but overall I really like it. I can get more into specifics with that if you want.

In terms of the course load, I find it pretty intense. Unlike most optometry schools, and just undergraduate universities in general, ICO works on a quarter system. What this means is that instead of two 16-week semesters, we have four 10-week quarters. So, we move pretty quickly with the material since we have less time to get through it all. Also, the material itself isn't very easy IMO. Some of it is going to seem like review from undergrad, but there's also a fair amount you probably haven't seen before too. So, not only is the material difficult but you won't have a lot of time to learn it if you're not efficient with time. We also also have two exams every week so that really forces us to stay on top of all of our stuff. I know that not all other optometry schools do it this way. It really comes down to individual preference for how you like the pace.

In terms of social life, I feel overall satisfied with it given how much material is being thrown at us. Yes, there are times for me when I feel like I don't have any time to socialize, but the school also plans a lot of cool events (kayaking, attending Chicago Bulls games, etc) for you to do with your fellow classmates. Also, idk what your undergraduate experience was like, but I went to a pretty large university. As a result, I felt like I didn't get to know people very well because I was just lost in a crowd. However, my class size here is roughly 140 so I enjoy having to opportunity to actually get to know mostly everybody. Usually in my down time I'll play guitar, watch random videos on YouTube, do intramural sports or explore Chicago with my fellow classmates. It's pretty easy to get to downtown from campus, and Chicago has a pretty robust public transit system compared to what I'm used to in my hometown.

ICO actually wasn't my first choice originally, PCO was. However, once I interviewed at both schools and got to experience them first-hand I decided that I liked ICO better. I could also get more specific with that if you'd like too.

 

[someguy313]

I have my interview in late January!

What's the weather going to be like in January? Did you live at the RC? What made ICO stand out for you? How is the diversity of the patients in terms of ethnicity and ocular issues/diseases?

Good luck with your interview! I'm sure you'll kill it. In terms of the weather, I'm from PA, so Chicago weather really hasn't been a big adjustment for me. Definitely bring a heavy winter jacket with you!

I do live in the RC! I admit, I was a little apprehensive about having to go back to living in a dorm like my underclassman years in undergrad, but honestly, it's not bad. The location is super convenient, you don't have to worry about apartment hunting your first year (and in a city I was totally unfamiliar with), and you're living with 90% of your class so you get a chance to know everyone. Also, unlike, undergrad, everyone in the RC has the same classes and schedule as you so it's nice that you can basically ask anyone for help if there's something going on in one of your classes that you don't understand.

There's a lot about ICO that stood out for me. Like I mentioned, the RC is very nice to have your first year. The only other school I applied to that offered housing on campus was Nova, and even then their graduate dorm was a quite a walk from the main campus. Whereas at ICO the RC is literally right across the street from the school lol. Also, for the most part, they do a good job of keeping the facilities up to date. ICO is literally the oldest optometry school, but you wouldn't guess it by how nice the lecture hall, library, and IEI (our school's clinic) are. The city of Chicago itself was also pretty alluring to me. I've never lived outside of my home state so the prospect of getting to live in the 3rd biggest city in the country was exciting to me. I got to explore downtown a little before starting school there, and I love the city. There's so much to explore! Also, out of all the schools I applied, ICO seems to be the most tech savvy. Their communications department does a good job of maintaining an active social media presence as a way of reaching out to prospective students. As a young, internet reliant millennial myself, I enjoyed the many resources they have available online. For example, they just released a vlog filmed by two kids in my class about their experiences thus far at ICO. They're all up on their YouTube channel if you want to check it out! There are many other things I could go into if you want, but right now I think this paragraph is long enough as it is haha

In terms of diversity with the patients, I don't feel I've been there long enough to give a good answer. Ethnicity-wise, most of the patients I've seen in my limited experience in the clinic so far have been African American with a few Caucasian and Hispanic people mixed in. In terms of eye conditions, I haven't seen anything too crazy yet. However, I've heard plenty of stories from upperclassmen about some of the wild stuff they've seen, so I'm sure I'll get to experience that soon enough.

 

[optomgirl96]

WOW this was really helpful. Thank You So much! I have an interview later this month and I am so nervous because i hope to get accepted to ICO. I am from NY so being a part of a bigger city is so exciting. Could you tell me more about the interview process? What is the impromptu essay about and whats the best way to succeed at ICO's interview? I don't have the best OAT/GPA but I really want to be a part of this school so any help would be truly appreciated

 

[optomgirl96]

What are some questions they asked you?

 

[someguy313]

WOW this was really helpful. Thank You So much! I have an interview later this month and I am so nervous because i hope to get accepted to ICO. I am from NY so being a part of a bigger city is so exciting. Could you tell me more about the interview process? What is the impromptu essay about and whats the best way to succeed at ICO's interview? I don't have the best OAT/GPA but I really want to be a part of this school so any help would be truly appreciated

No problem! To be honest I don't remember what the essay was about at all lol Don't stress about it that much. I remember not being happy with what I had gotten written down in the time limit they had, but it wasn't a big deal. My GPA and OAT weren't any thing too amazing either, but what I think saved me is that I showed my passion during my interview. I took advantage of the fact that I had reapplied to show I was determined, and I was knowledgeable enough about the profession that I was able to speak with the interviewer for a while just about optometry in general. It ended up feeling more like a conversation if anything. If you have your own questions about the school prepared, this can help facilitate a conversation instead of them just asking you everything. That goes with any school you interview at. In short, if you show them you've done your homework about the profession and you can address your weakness with well-though out reasons you should be good. For example, they may ask you how your study habits are going to translate over to ICO and how you would change it if they weren't working.

 

[optocat24]

Hey, everyone! I haven't been on this site for a while because last time I was here I was looking for a bunch of tips on everything related to the application process, and now, since I'm done with that, I haven't had as much reason to log on. Anyhoo, I'm currently a first year at ICO, and I'm opening up the floor to ask me anything you want to know about my experiences thus far with ICO or just applying to optometry school in general. I remember being frustrated looking for answers on here and only finding people speculating about different optometry schools, but with me you're getting it straight from the horse's mouth. Ask away, friends

Thanks for the help! I was wondering if it's reasonable to bring a car there? Given the area immediately surrounding the school isn't too great

 

[someguy313]

Thanks for the help! I was wondering if it's reasonable to bring a car there? Given the area immediately surrounding the school isn't too great

No problem. Yeah, they have a parking garage at the school, but it's $588 to keep it there for the year. More than likely nothing bad is going to happen to your car in there, they got cameras all over the place and I haven't heard any stories of people breaking in there. Now, I'm not sure the exact reason you want to have a car, but if it's just for navigating the city I personally don't think it's worth it. There's a bus that goes downtown literally right in front of the RC and there's two L stations within walking distance. However, it's ultimately up to you. That's just my opinion

 

[DecadoSlade]

Hey, everyone! I haven't been on this site for a while because last time I was here I was looking for a bunch of tips on everything related to the application process, and now, since I'm done with that, I haven't had as much reason to log on. Anyhoo, I'm currently a first year at ICO, and I'm opening up the floor to ask me anything you want to know about my experiences thus far with ICO or just applying to optometry school in general. I remember being frustrated looking for answers on here and only finding people speculating about different optometry schools, but with me you're getting it straight from the horse's mouth. Ask away, friends

Hey ntb12,

I have an interview at ICO next week. I was hoping to ask you questions about the school and interview day.
1) How was the interview day? I am pretty nervous about it. What should I expect?
2) The Essay question they have you do, does it ask you something personal about your life or does it focus more on the field of optometry?
3) As a first year student, do you spend a lot of time at the IEI. On the website it just says " In the first year, students assist patients in making their way through the IEI"
4) You said in a previous post that you talked about the field of optometry in your interview, how in depth was the conversation?

Thanks

 

[someguy313]

Hey ntb12,

I have an interview at ICO next week. I was hoping to ask you questions about the school and interview day.
1) How was the interview day? I am pretty nervous about it. What should I expect?
2) The Essay question they have you do, does it ask you something personal about your life or does it focus more on the field of optometry?
3) As a first year student, do you spend a lot of time at the IEI. On the website it just says " In the first year, students assist patients in making their way through the IEI"
4) You said in a previous post that you talked about the field of optometry in your interview, how in depth was the conversation?

Thanks

1. Overall, I enjoyed my interview day at ICO. I'd never been to Chicago before so it was really exciting for me to make the trek there for the first time. Everyone there was really cool, and out of all the places I interviewed at I thought ICO was the most thorough in how they presented everything. For example, they did a big presentation on financial aid that was super helpful when I was there, but the other two schools I interviewed at didn't have any that came close in terms of useful information about what the school had to offer.
2. As I mentioned to someone else on this thread, I literally don't remember at all what it was about lol I'm sorry. Don't stress out over it, it's not going to make or break their decision on accepting you. I didn't even finish mine in time. Just focus more on having all your stuff together for the actual interview so you can sell yourself on what makes you a good candidate to be accepted.
3. I'd say we spend a decent time in the clinic in our first year compared to other schools. In the first quarter of first year you get to do some shadowing and in the second quarter (which begins in November) you start the Clinical Assistant Program (CAP) where you work under the supervision of a 3rd year and get to do some of the skills you learned first quarter on real patients. CAP also continues into spring quarter of first year.
4. It got decently in depth, but that's only because I took it there. I made sure they knew I knew what I was talking about because my GPA was pretty mediocre in undergrad. So, if I couldn't dazzle them with my grades I was going to do it with my initiative. People who have really good grades can get away more with not knowing as much stuff about the field, but I wanted to make sure I had all my bases covered.

 

[pnw256]

Hi, I have a question regarding boards. I know that ICO is known for having one of the more rigorous didactic programs as you mentioned yourself above. How is it that the first time pass rate for part I is a mediocre 77%? Thanks.

 

[someguy313]

Hi, I have a question regarding boards. I know that ICO is known for having one of the more rigorous didactic programs as you mentioned yourself above. How is it that the first time pass rate for part I is a mediocre 77%? Thanks.

I'm not sure what statistic you're referring to so I had to look it up. I assuming you're talking about in 2016 when ICO's first time pass rate for part I was 77%. By the looks of it the national average that year was a 78% so that's not terrible but just mediocre as you said. What you're mentioning is a great thing to ask ICO if you ever visit because they'd probably be able to give you a more well-thought out answer than me. However, I will say this: Every school has their ups and downs when it comes to the board passage rates. Like last year, for example, ICO's first time pass rate for the first part was 86.1%, well above the national average of 72.9%. But their board passage rate for part III is always consistently above the national average, including in the year I'm assuming you're referencing. One of the main reasons why I chose ICO was because they seem on top of their clinical stuff.

 

[pnw256]

I'm not sure what statistic you're referring to so I had to look it up. I assuming you're talking about in 2016 when ICO's first time pass rate for part I was 77%. By the looks of it the national average that year was a 78% so that's not terrible but just mediocre as you said. What you're mentioning is a great thing to ask ICO if you ever visit because they'd probably be able to give you a more well-thought out answer than me. However, I will say this: Every school has their ups and downs when it comes to the board passage rates. Like last year, for example, ICO's first time pass rate for the first part was 86.1%, well above the national average of 72.9%. But their board passage rate for part III is always consistently above the national average, including in the year I'm assuming you're referencing. One of the main reasons why I chose ICO was because they seem on top of their clinical stuff.

Oh great, would you mind linking me the updated board scores? I don't really know how to find the most recent ones. Thanks!

 

[someguy313]

Oh great, would you mind linking me the updated board scores? I don't really know how to find the most recent ones. Thanks!

Sure thing! NBEO Pass Rates | Illinois College of Optometry

 

[Biochemy]

I'm not sure what statistic you're referring to so I had to look it up. I assuming you're talking about in 2016 when ICO's first time pass rate for part I was 77%. By the looks of it the national average that year was a 78% so that's not terrible but just mediocre as you said. What you're mentioning is a great thing to ask ICO if you ever visit because they'd probably be able to give you a more well-thought out answer than me. However, I will say this: Every school has their ups and downs when it comes to the board passage rates. Like last year, for example, ICO's first time pass rate for the first part was 86.1%, well above the national average of 72.9%. But their board passage rate for part III is always consistently above the national average, including in the year I'm assuming you're referencing. One of the main reasons why I chose ICO was because they seem on top of their clinical stuff.

Thanks for posting this. Do you know if it's common for people to retake part I? Also ICO seems to be an average sized school. Do you know what the attrition rate is like?? Maybe higher for larger schools who accept more, or not necessarily? Thanks!

 

[someguy313]

Thanks for posting this. Do you know if it's common for people to retake part I? Also ICO seems to be an average sized school. Do you know what the attrition rate is like?? Maybe higher for larger schools who accept more, or not necessarily? Thanks!

No problem! as for how common it is for people to retake certain parts of boards, I couldn't say for sure. However, I don't think I've seen a school with a first time pass rate for any part at 100% except for schools with fairly small class sizes like Ohio State. As for the attrition rate, from what I understand it's pretty average for schools of similar size. The only glaring exception was the year before I started they had quite a few kids drop out, but this was an isolated anomaly. If you come to ICO and you ask some of the higher up's about it they'll be able to go give you a better answer as to why they thought that happened that year. I was curious of it myself when I went to visit.

 

[mar2018]

Hi! I just had a question regarding how you decided to go into optometry? I'm about to apply but all the information about over saturation and being replaced by technology is worrying me. Did you ever have these concerns?

 

[someguy313]

Hi! I just had a question regarding how you decided to go into optometry? I'm about to apply but all the information about over saturation and being replaced by technology is worrying me. Did you ever have these concerns?

Not really, tbh. I remember when I was applying and that was something I'd hear on this forum a lot about over-saturation being an issue. However, when I talked to actual practicing optometrists about the issue none of them seemed too concerned about it. I'm sure you could find some optometrists out there who are, but none of the ones I've talked to seem worried, and I've talked to a lot. The US bureau of labor statistics has projected the field growing 18% within the next 10 years which they consider to be "much faster than average" compared to other job fields. Plus, there's only so much we can do with automation right now. Even with websites like Warby parker which kind of let you bypass going to the optometrist by ordering your glasses online, you still can't assess your ocular health without an actual human being. Don't just take my word for it; I encourage you to go talk to real optometrists for yourself like how I did and see what they have to say. Forums like this are great for gathering some level of information, but nothing beats talking to real optometrists dealing with the issues now.

 

[London22]

Hello! I recently just visited ICO and really liked it there! I have a few questions for ya.
1. During my interview the financial aid presenter mentioned they really fight to give everyone as much work study as possible, and that if you don't get approved for enough money it can easily be increased. I was wondering do you know if the work study jobs are relatively easy to come by, and if the sign up is relatively easy? Do a lot of people work around campus? At least compared to other schools I interviewed at, it seemed like ICO really cared about giving plenty of those options for those interested.
2. Do you know if they provide opportunities for going on trips like Vision Expo East or other AOA meetings locally or around the country?
3. I got the impression that a ton of Canadians go there which is really cool. Are there still plenty of US students that attend as well? How diverse would you say the classes are when it comes to state representation?
4. Also heard almost all 1st years live in the RC. Do you know people who've lived off campus 1st year? And do you think that people who live off campus will be a bit left out? Or should that be a non-issue because of plenty of time spent together in labs, class, extracurriculars, studying, etc.
5. How much time do most people end up studying their first year? I'm pretty much planning to study as much as possible but I'm curious how the study-life balance is at ICO.

Thanks!

 

[someguy313]

Hello! I recently just visited ICO and really liked it there! I have a few questions for ya.
1. During my interview the financial aid presenter mentioned they really fight to give everyone as much work study as possible, and that if you don't get approved for enough money it can easily be increased. I was wondering do you know if the work study jobs are relatively easy to come by, and if the sign up is relatively easy? Do a lot of people work around campus? At least compared to other schools I interviewed at, it seemed like ICO really cared about giving plenty of those options for those interested.
2. Do you know if they provide opportunities for going on trips like Vision Expo East or other AOA meetings locally or around the country?
3. I got the impression that a ton of Canadians go there which is really cool. Are there still plenty of US students that attend as well? How diverse would you say the classes are when it comes to state representation?
4. Also heard almost all 1st years live in the RC. Do you know people who've lived off campus 1st year? And do you think that people who live off campus will be a bit left out? Or should that be a non-issue because of plenty of time spent together in labs, class, extracurriculars, studying, etc.
5. How much time do most people end up studying their first year? I'm pretty much planning to study as much as possible but I'm curious how the study-life balance is at ICO.

Thanks!

1. It's funny you mention that because I never thought much about it, but now that I do I realize there are a good bit of people in our class who have work study positions, myself included haha From my own experience, I found my job pretty easily and the process of getting all signed up wasn't too bad. There are a lot of positions available as well. They'll email us about opportunities or you can search for them yourself
2. Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer for this. This year the AOA convention was in Chicago so I know a lot of people who went to that. However, like I said, I don't really have a better answer for you. Sorry!
3. Oh yeah, there are definitely a lot of us US kids there haha and there is a sizable chunk of Canadians as well. In terms of state representation, most people are from Midwest states (Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin etc). I'm from the east coast so I found this pretty cool since I've never experienced the Midwest before. There's an ok amount of east coasters such as myself and a handful of southerners and west coasters.
4. Yeah I'd say probably 80% of our class lives in the RC and the rest commute. I'm not sure if I'd be the best person to ask since I live in the RC myself, but it does seem like they get left out in a sense. A lot of our socializing takes place in the RC so they miss out on that. However, I know commuters who still remain pretty involved with the rest of our class, I suppose it really just depends on the person. I guess the short answer is that they can maintain as much of a presence as the RC dwellers if they want but they just have to put more effort into it.
5. This is a pretty difficult question to answer because I think we're all fairly different in terms of how we study. However, no matter how smart you are you're going to be working harder than you did in undergrad. How much of a jump that is for you depends on the specific person. I know guys who spend all day in the library and others who spend all day playing video games. As for me personally, none of this stuff comes naturally to me so I try to study at least a little bit for each class every day while focusing more heavily on the class with the closest approaching test. However, it becomes very difficult to do this with how pressed for time we get so usually I end up having to put a class or two on the back burner

 

[DecadoSlade]

Hey ntb,

I was hoping you could go over some of the courses on the curriculum for me. The two courses Im inquiring about are anatomy and biochemistry. For anatomy, how specific is the course? Do we need to know everything from skeletal to muscular to circulatory to neural? And how tough is biochem? I hated that course during undergrad, is the ICO biochem really hard? I kinda wanna do some review for those two courses before I begin this fall.
Thanks

 

[someguy313]

Hey ntb,

I was hoping you could go over some of the courses on the curriculum for me. The two courses Im inquiring about are anatomy and biochemistry. For anatomy, how specific is the course? Do we need to know everything from skeletal to muscular to circulatory to neural? And how tough is biochem? I hated that course during undergrad, is the ICO biochem really hard? I kinda wanna do some review for those two courses before I begin this fall.
Thanks

As I've said before I never took anatomy prior to ICO so I don't really have anything to compare it to, but I thought anatomy was pretty detailed. In the fall it's basically just gross anatomy with knowing lots of blood vessels, nerves, bones and foramina, etc basically all in the head and neck region. In winter with ocular anatomy it's similar but, as the name implies, it's a lot more focused on the eyes lol As for biochemistry, I did take that in undergrad. While it's still no walk in the park, I thought ICO's biochem was easier than my undergrad's. You get to focus more on the eyes, but you still have to get into the boring stuff like Krebs cycle, glycolysis, etc but those processes are not nearly as detailed. If your undergrad biochem was anything like mine you should be fine at ICO