ICO vs NECO? Need help deciding between the two!

[contactspecs2020]

Hi Everyone!

I have been accepted to PCO, ICO, and NECO!
I'm delighted to have the tough decision to choose where to go - though it has been heavily weighing on my mind.

I have already paid my deposit for PCO and ICO as I interviewed with them earlier and recently was accepted to NECO.

NECO was initially my first choice upon applying to optometry school because everyone I knew graduated from NECO or is attending NECO... however now the decision has come down to between ICO and NECO! I have yet to pay my deposit for NECO since it's $1k that's unrefundable. Thankfully PCO does refund their deposits. I am heavily leaning to ICO... but I'm having difficulty finding confidence in my decision as most of my network is in Boston/NECO. I just want to make sure that I won't regret not choosing NECO. I do have conditions for NECO and ICO, but luckily my backup plan is PCO (since they did not give me any conditions with my acceptance just in case if anything goes wrong with my application).

I would love to hear why people chose ICO or NECO, especially if you interviewed at both of them. I would love to hear about how you feel about your education, clinical experience, and your experience living in the city (although some argue that the city shouldn't matter - I beg to argue otherwise as it is somewhere that I will be living for the next 4ish years of my life!)

Here are my points about each:

ICO (Chicago)
+ High board pass rates
+ Everyone (students, faculty, Albert the security man) seemed super friendly and happy at the interview
+ Sense of community was emphasized and students told me that profs were sincerely concerned for the students and are willing to help outside of class
+ Campus was attached to the clinic and the RC/dorm is across the street that makes everything more convenient
+ New renovations
+ Volunteer and mission trip options
+ Liked the city (beautiful & amazing food!) - seemed like there was more to do there... after all spending 4 years of my life there!
+ Website was much more educational about the school and what to expect (esp the YouTube channel)
+ Rent if not in RC isn't as expensive
+ Fellow Canadians make up 20% of the class
- Super cold during the winters
- Don't know anyone who graduated from ICO
- Didn't mention anything about outside connections ie: VisionExpo etc
- Must retake microbiology, physics, and calculus

NECO (Boston)
+ Always just heard about NECO (my boss, his associate, and a friend's friend graduated from there... have 2 friends currently in their second year, 1 friend who is accepted to this year's class, and a couple friends who moved to Boston) = lots of familiarity and company!
+ Delocalized clinic
+ Other Canadian students
+ Masters degree option for no additional tuition
+ Seemed more up to date with current industry stuff - ie: going to VisionExpo, a student mentioned going to DC to do with some sort of legislation (forgive my ignorance on the matter)
+/~ Beautiful City - Love seafood, though it seems more of a place I feel I would visit and travel to opposed to living there for the next four years of my life!
+ Overall $2k less in tuition (according to the NECO and ICO tuition pages)
= Not sure of board pass rates, but when I looked it up on http://optometry-schools.findthebest.com/ it wasn't ranked as high as ICO - but students at the school told me it was in high 90s
= College town....?
- Asked me to retake physics, calculus I and II, microbiology, and biochemistry
- Traffic seemed terrible
- Student told me during the interview tour that it was a lot of 'self learning' - not so much of a community since people go home right after class
- Rent/cost of living super expensive
- Library hours were not so great (but students and faculty told me just to study at Boston Public Library or MIT)
- Equipment seemed older/lecture halls were small and didn't house all the students (thus electronic classrooms in basement)/ school was older
- No mention of mission trips

Thank you in advanced!!!!

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[cocopuffs1]

Quick Question...You would have to retake those courses before you start in the fall or was it just a suggestion? I'm surprised about that. Sorry I couldn't provide input about the 2 schools. I'm a late applicant and waiting to hear back.

 

[contactspecs2020]

Quick Question...You would have to retake those courses before you start in the fall or was it just a suggestion? I'm surprised about that. Sorry I couldn't provide input about the 2 schools. I'm a late applicant and waiting to hear back.

Yup I have to retake those courses before August 1st.

 

[Loptometriste]

I think you'll be fine with either school. What do you prefer for class size? There must be something about you that they really like since you have a few classes that they want you to retake before fall.

 

[contactspecs2020]

I think you'll be fine with either school. What do you prefer for class size? There must be something about you that they really like since you have a few classes that they want you to retake before fall.

Hi Loptometriste! Thank you for your reply.

I don't really have a preference for class size since I attended a large university (where classes had 1000+ students, sections split up into 500 students each) and a small high school so I'm comfortable with both.

Although I understand that I'm graduating both schools with the same degree I'm interested in hearing what are some pros and cons of each school to make an educated decision between the two (ie: I read that on SDN that a few of PCO students were not happy with their school choice)

Have you heard anything about either school that would be a red flag or anything that differentiates one school from the other aside from class size?

 

[kroekerh2]

I interviewed at ICO (not NECO) though and am a 'fellow' Canadian. I would say one advantage of ICO vs NECO is the variety in externships for the 4th year. ICO has like 170 different places you can go. No other school has that many. I would also say I personally wouldn't base my decision of schooling upon the city. To me the school itself and its board scores is the most important. thing. ICO clinical education is either one of the best if not the best….but the school is stupid expensive. Overall i would say if money isnt much of an issue or NECO ends up costing more anyways due to living costs then ICO is a better bang for your buck.

 

[MissOptometry]

Hi Everyone!

I have been accepted to PCO, ICO, and NECO!
I'm delighted to have the tough decision to choose where to go - though it has been heavily weighing on my mind.

I have already paid my deposit for PCO and ICO as I interviewed with them earlier and recently was accepted to NECO.

NECO was initially my first choice upon applying to optometry school because everyone I knew graduated from NECO or is attending NECO... however now the decision has come down to between ICO and NECO! I have yet to pay my deposit for NECO since it's $1k that's unrefundable. Thankfully PCO does refund their deposits. I am heavily leaning to ICO... but I'm having difficulty finding confidence in my decision as most of my network is in Boston/NECO. I just want to make sure that I won't regret not choosing NECO. I do have conditions for NECO and ICO, but luckily my backup plan is PCO (since they did not give me any conditions with my acceptance just in case if anything goes wrong with my application).

I would love to hear why people chose ICO or NECO, especially if you interviewed at both of them. I would love to hear about how you feel about your education, clinical experience, and your experience living in the city (although some argue that the city shouldn't matter - I beg to argue otherwise as it is somewhere that I will be living for the next 4ish years of my life!)

Here are my points about each:

ICO (Chicago)
+ High board pass rates
+ Everyone (students, faculty, Albert the security man) seemed super friendly and happy at the interview
+ Sense of community was emphasized and students told me that profs were sincerely concerned for the students and are willing to help outside of class
+ Campus was attached to the clinic and the RC/dorm is across the street that makes everything more convenient
+ New renovations
+ Volunteer and mission trip options
+ Liked the city (beautiful & amazing food!) - seemed like there was more to do there... after all spending 4 years of my life there!
+ Website was much more educational about the school and what to expect (esp the YouTube channel)
+ Rent if not in RC isn't as expensive
+ Fellow Canadians make up 20% of the class
- Super cold during the winters
- Don't know anyone who graduated from ICO
- Didn't mention anything about outside connections ie: VisionExpo etc
- Must retake microbiology, physics, and calculus

NECO (Boston)
+ Always just heard about NECO (my boss, his associate, and a friend's friend graduated from there... have 2 friends currently in their second year, 1 friend who is accepted to this year's class, and a couple friends who moved to Boston) = lots of familiarity and company!
+ Delocalized clinic
+ Other Canadian students
+ Masters degree option for no additional tuition
+ Seemed more up to date with current industry stuff - ie: going to VisionExpo, a student mentioned going to DC to do with some sort of legislation (forgive my ignorance on the matter)
+/~ Beautiful City - Love seafood, though it seems more of a place I feel I would visit and travel to opposed to living there for the next four years of my life!
+ Overall $2k less in tuition (according to the NECO and ICO tuition pages)
= Not sure of board pass rates, but when I looked it up on http://optometry-schools.findthebest.com/ it wasn't ranked as high as ICO - but students at the school told me it was in high 90s
= College town....?
- Asked me to retake physics, calculus I and II, microbiology, and biochemistry
- Traffic seemed terrible
- Student told me during the interview tour that it was a lot of 'self learning' - not so much of a community since people go home right after class
- Rent/cost of living super expensive
- Library hours were not so great (but students and faculty told me just to study at Boston Public Library or MIT)
- Equipment seemed older/lecture halls were small and didn't house all the students (thus electronic classrooms in basement)/ school was older
- No mention of mission trips

Thank you in advanced!!!!

Which one did you end up choosing? I have a similar dilemma.

 

[LUC78]

Yup I have to retake those courses before August 1st.

Hi, just curious but why are they asking you to retake these classes?

 

[contactspecs2020]

Hi, just curious but why are they asking you to retake these classes?

yes i did