ICO vs NOVA (NSU)

[Stelmaria]

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Hi everyone! Well I've gotten into both schools and I'm undecided about which one to go to. Any suggestions or experience on student life / organizations, curriculum, expenses, Fort Lauderdale vs Chicago? Also, can anyone tell me the academic calendars for both the schools (I know ICO is on a quarterly semester, but what about NOVA)? Any insights would really help!! 🙂

 

[sharpshooter24]

Hi everyone! Well I've gotten into both schools and I'm undecided about which one to go to. Any suggestions or experience on student life / organizations, curriculum, expenses, Fort Lauderdale vs Chicago? Also, can anyone tell me the academic calendars for both the schools (I know ICO is on a quarterly semester, but what about NOVA)? Any insights would really help!! 🙂

id say ICO is a better deal than Nova even i am 10 min from Nova. give nova a call for more info.

 

[pienfoo]

id say ICO is a better deal than Nova even i am 10 min from Nova. give nova a call for more info.

i thought you said you're 30 minutes away. liar.

 

[Eyes4you]

I liked both of the schools. Nova has nicer facilities and you can't beat the beach location. But, Ico clinical experience seems good because you get to see the inner city population. The area around the school is a little dicy but overall I loved ICO. Nova has three clinics at the school, in Ft. Lauderdale, and in Miami. In the Miami clinic you will see many cubans and south americans that just arrived so you will be exposed to many ocular diseases. Also, Nova is cheaper than ICO but not by a significant amount. Either chicago or Ft. Lauderdale would be a great choice!

 

[pienfoo]

one concern i see with nova is its reputation as a new school. some of the optometrists that I work for and go to have not even heard of the school. Also, many people seem unable to get past the accrediation issue from several years ago. This could translate into difficulty getting a job when you're against people from more established universities. just my two cents. ps, i don't like dress codes.

 

[RichardOD]

one concern i see with nova is its reputation as a new school. some of the optometrists that I work for and go to have not even heard of the school. Also, many people seem unable to get past the accrediation issue from several years ago. This could translate into difficulty getting a job when you're against people from more established universities. just my two cents. ps, i don't like dress codes.

you know the dress code is scrubs or business-professional attire right? So its scrubs or nice clothes.

 

[Eyes4you]

I have heard nothing but good things about Nova they were accredited in 1997, the dress code does seem a bit strict but its kinda neat that the M.D.s have their own color scrubs and the dental students have their own scrubs etc. They are the 3rd most popular optometry school to apply to as well just Fyi. Chicago is the largest optometry school with a class size of about 160. I'm not sure about either schools board passage rates??

 

[sharpshooter24]

At Nova, I know we were 90% part 1 or 2 i can't remember, and 100% part 3.

well nova has done well in part one NBEO in the last 3 years. from what i remember in my research, NSUCO board rates was in the weeds when they first started off.

there are three things that would get me to decide to go to NOVA
1) new school with lots of technology
2) closer to my house only a 10-30 min drive depending on traffic
3) weather wise..
4) i worked with some of the faculty. in fact the first OD i shadowed works in the broward eye clinic where 4th year rotation students go.

nova has come a long way, but they need some work with the way they run their optometric education.

cons about Nova
1) dress code. man i rather walk around the school with a dark purple or dark green scrubs that dental/ DO students use. those new scrubs for OD students are a eyesore if you asked me
2) traffic around the school is crazy
3) most of the material is crammed. exams on monday.. yikes
4) professors arent so helpful as they advertise
5) 3rd year rotations are stressful than most schools. i heard a lot of horror stories in the last couple years

 

[Eyes4you]

Do you know how much of the Nova class has already been filled anyone?

 

[Jay12]

This is a silly question,

for the student's that attend NOVA, did anyone take into consideration when applying, about possible hurricanes in the region?

Thanks.

 

[a1bui]

I had the exact same decision you have, and I chose NOVA. ICO was my top choice, and NOVA was my 2nd, but after really weighing in the pros and cons (for me), I liked NOVA better. I thought I'd like big city life, but nah, I prefer driving in a suburb, and driving to bigger cities. You can skim my other posts to find my pros and cons list for NOVA. Here's a quick and dirty one though...

ICO

Pros:
- Older = better reputation
- Good rotation sites (all over the nation)
- Class notetaker
- On-campus housing (across the street)
- great city (the safe parts, haha)
- great clinic w/ advance technology

Cons:
- low board scores
- bad neighborhood
- old facilities
- cold!

NOVA

Pros:
- Good board scores (89 + 90% past 2 years, part 1)
- beautiful campus (gym, library, classrooms, etc)
- interdisciplinary w/ other professions
- Scrubs - i like em b/c u don't have to decide what to wear in the morning =)
- Lots of things to do/places to see
- Cheaper cost of living
- Lots of nearby places for accomodation
- Area around school safe

Cons:
- limited rotation sites (mostly in FL)
- average on-campus clinic (haven't seen the 2 others)
- pretty strict school policies
- on-campus housing first come first serve (though there are more expensive ones available i believe)
- humid in some months, but awesome in winter!
- Tests every week (usually 1...this could be good or bad though, helps u from procrastinating for midterms)

And nope, only been here half a year, but i hear hurricanes aren't THAT bad. I don't think there's been an evacuation in awhile. Better then fighting the guaranteed cold every year in Chicago.

If i had to choose...I'd still choose NOVA, but I am a lil biased, haha. Just think of which school suits YOU better.

Oh, and it's semester system, with 1st year summer off (like all schools), but there is summer school with a couple classes. Orgs are the same for the optometry ones...SVOSH, AOSA, Business management, etc....but u can also join the other health profession ones. The good thing about being in a big school, are the activities. You can do intramural, go to the theater they have on campus, go to the school events (halloween @ clubs, talent shows, carnivals, etc.)

 

[MariaMaria]

Why did i think that ICO had a high board passage rate?

 

[Jay12]

And nope, only been here half a year, but i hear hurricanes aren't THAT bad. I don't think there's been an evacuation in awhile. Better then fighting the guaranteed cold every year in Chicago.

I don't think the cold will be that bad for the Canadians attending there🙂. Probably a relief if you tell me. I live in Calgary, and just last night, it was -47 degree Celsius (-52.6 degree Fahrenheit) with the wind chill !!!

 

[a1bui]

When i say ICO has low passing rates, i mean lower then NOVA. I don't know their exact numbers, but I remember seeing it on a thread that had most the school's passing rates for last year. I remember ICO and NECO had some of the lowest rates...try looking for it.

Comparatively, ICO has a higher entering GPA then NOVA. Either way, you can do fine at both schools, it all depends on what you put into it.

The Canadians at my school and my friend from Chicago love the weather right now, compared to back home, haha.

 

[Lavender530]

During my interview I asked about ICO's pass rate and Dr. T said it's about the national average or a little higher.

I'm in the process of deciding between the two also. I thought I had an idea but after reading through the forums I'm more confused.

 

[Eyes4you]

Here are ICO's board passages from their website.....

Basic Science Examination (Part I)

ICO
National
Year
%pass
%pass
200580%72%200472%67%

Clinical Science Examination (Part II)

ICO
National
Year
%pass
%pass
200294%95%2001
91%
75%

 

[Eyes4you]

Basic Science Examination (Part I)

ICO
National
Year
%pass
%pass
200580%72%200472%67%

Clinical Science Examination (Part II)

ICO
National
Year
%pass
%pass
200294%95%2001
91%
75%

 

[Eyes4you]

http://www.ico.edu/generalinformation/faq.html Go here for board passage rates it won't poste correctly.

 

[tInAkRiS]

an important thing to look at when comparing schools is the student body... When I visited ICO, the students that gave my tour did not seem very enthusiastic or happy to be there... Everyone just seemed down, and I'm not sure if they had a big test that day or what, but the overall atmosphere felt tense. When I visited Nova, everyone was energetic and welcoming, and the students seemed to genuinely like their school... this was my impression.. I'm not saying that this is the way it is all the time but it certainly had a great affect on the decisions I made when choosing a school...

 

[Od_IT]

an important thing to look at when comparing schools is the student body... When I visited ICO, the students that gave my tour did not seem very enthusiastic or happy to be there... Everyone just seemed down, and I'm not sure if they had a big test that day or what, but the overall atmosphere felt tense. When I visited Nova, everyone was energetic and welcoming, and the students seemed to genuinely like their school... this was my impression.. I'm not saying that this is the way it is all the time but it certainly had a great affect on the decisions I made when choosing a school...

has to do with sunlight and the pineal gland. that makes people happy. 🙂

 

[a1bui]

haha, might be due to the fact that the NOVA tour guides volunteer to do the tours, whereas it's a job for the ICO students. It all depends on the tour guides and the people taking the tour too.

Also, the students at NOVA usually lounge around the school in the rec room, cafeteria, or cafe area so it seems more social. Since ICO is just one building, they don't have a lot of social areas.

Sun also could be the reason too, haha. Today, some students got some coconuts that fell down from the palm trees outside, and drank them during class =)

 

[tInAkRiS]

haha, are you serious?? that's awesome!... well ya all of those reasons could have been why the students weren't very happy, either way anyone that is still debating between the two even after weighing the pros and the cons should go with the school that just feels right. Go with your gut instinct, and in the end its really just what you put into it. Good Luck to all!

 

[Stelmaria]

Thanks everyone for responding! Yeah personally I'm leaning more towards Florida due to the warmer weather and beautiful city, but ICO does have nice clinical. Either way, both schools are fantastic and I'll probably still be deciding up until the next tuition deposit.

 

[optogirl21]

I disagree.

The school itself is one building but the RC is right across the street. Thats where the majority of students hang out. Our cafeteria is also a very busy place for people to just hang out. We also have a commuters lounge and student lounges on every floor of the RC. Alot of people also go back to their rooms before or after class.

Chances are the day you went for your interview, it was test day. Everyday is test day because the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years rotate testing schedules so at least one class has a test on any given day. Our class schedules are also different. The second years have class in the morning and then are in lab in the afternoon, and its the opposite for first years. So you probably didnt see alot of people around because of that. Overall our student body is VERY close. We do everything together and when we're not studying we enjoy having a good time!

haha, might be due to the fact that the NOVA tour guides volunteer to do the tours, whereas it's a job for the ICO students. It all depends on the tour guides and the people taking the tour too.

Also, the students at NOVA usually lounge around the school in the rec room, cafeteria, or cafe area so it seems more social. Since ICO is just one building, they don't have a lot of social areas.

Sun also could be the reason too, haha. Today, some students got some coconuts that fell down from the palm trees outside, and drank them during class =)