ICO vs SCO

[holycow86]

Hi! I'm currently torn between two great schools, ICO and SCO. I love both schools and feel that both programs would be great fits for me. I'm turning to this forum to hear some insight/advice anyone may have! Plus if you want to share how did you reach your decision and if there any other important factors that should be taken into account!

ICO
Pros
- clinic exposure in the first year
- more externship sites (over 155)
- 4 externships in fourth year
- more quizzes and exams to help balance out grades (midterms won't weigh as heavy)
- great tutoring services (accessible to anyone, doing bad or good)
- more diverse patient base
- 4:1 student to faculty ratio in clinic
- well-known, reputable optometry school (oldest and largest) --> stronger, wider alumni base
- residential complex (dorm and food roughly estimated $15000/year altogether--may be cheaper in the long run compared to rent, gas, and grocery shopping in Memphis?)
- have been familiar with Chicago my whole life (few friends live there and I live 4hrs away)
- closer to family, cheaper and easier to see them often
- chance to experience living in a big city
- more breaks (a week off after every quarter)

Cons
- more expensive tuition-wise and living-wise
- quarter system is faster pace, 2 exams a week (week 2-10), might burn out quicker and harder to balance life
- labs, clinic and equipment seemed older
- larger student body, seemed a bit more cliquey
- lower board passing rates (compared to SCO)
- won't have a car because I would have to pay for school pass and if I have an apartment, most likely will pay for parking
- school is pretty isolated from populated areas (not where you would see people walking or staying around)
- feeling isolated between residential complex and school (a little harder to move off-campus other years because rent would be excessive--would be paying Chicago rent without actually getting to live Downtown)
- south side of Chicago, wouldn't feel safe outside of school and residential complex


SCO
Pros
- semester system (more used to than quarter system)
- less expensive tuition-wise and living-wise
- received larger scholarship offer than ICO
- historically had higher board passing rates than ICO in all parts (Part 1, 2, 3, and ultimate pass rate)
- newer lecture halls, labs, clinic and equipment
- busy and newer clinic, seems to be able to accommodate for way more patients (much busier than ICO clinic when I saw it)
- clinical-based approached curriculum
- better faculty accessibility
- smaller student body, definitely got more of a family and community feeling
- great patient base in the sense that they are from one of the most unhealthy areas in America
- school is located near other schools and apartments and around other professional students, more of a campus feeling compared to an isolated building like ICO
- completely new, fresh start (never been to Memphis and don't know anyone there--never thought about moving to the South, SCO would be my chance)
- student parking and affordable housing (I would get my money's worth instead of a small, old place in Chicago)
- city but with a town feel (more suburban feel, which I prefer)

Cons
- less externship sites (still over 100), slightly more concentrated in the South where I may not want to practice
- clinic exposure starts second year
- 9:1 student to faculty ratio in clinic (compared to 4:1 at ICO)
- 3 externship sites in fourth year
- grades can weigh heavier on certain exams
- tutoring on a need basis
- smaller, less-known school (compared to ICO) --> alumni base smaller
- farther away from home and less breaks (11hrs drive, but 1hr flight)
- completely new city, have no concept of how safe or dangerous it is compared to Chicago or any idea of how the environment is (Memphis also has unsafe reputation like Chicago)

I know this was a long, detailed list, but I hope that this post could be a resource to other future students! As you can see, I am so torn. One school's pro is another one's con, and vice versa! Any insight would be so helpful thanks!

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[mil123]

Im a student at ICO and lot of your cons were the same for me but as for safety wise and location of the school it isn't as bad I thought it would be, its only a 10min uber into the city and everything you need is a short car ride away! I wish i did bring a car because parking is actually free right in front of the school (where 80% of the students park). As for living theres actually really affordable apartments and houses around the school (walking distance) that a landlord owns and only rents out to the optometry students (I currently live in one of them). So living situation is the least of my worries now! As in the quarter system i also was use to a semester system and was nervous at first but the quarter system has honestly helped me so much in keeping up with material because the amount of information you learn is insane so i couldn't imagine having to learn it all just for one midterm. It really keeps you focused and on track. If you have anymore questions feel free to message me!

 

[AR2019]

Hello there! Current SCO student here, from Ohio. I want to start out by saying both ICO and SCO are great, incredibly reputable optometry schools. Your Pro’s/Con’s list for both schools are both very extensive, so I understand the difficulty of your decision. I want to talk about SCO and Memphis though and why I chose SCO over other schools, even OSU (being from Ohio and having gone to OSU for undergrad).

Starting off with facilities, our clinic - The Eye Center, is amazing in terms of patient population. The population in Memphis allows for the students to gain exposure to almost every imaginable ocular complication. I also wanted to point out that SCO also has a 4:1 student to doctor ratio, same as ICO. Our clinic suites are set up with 8 exam lanes in each suite, with 8 students and 2 attending doctors. 4 students are assigned to one doctor, creating that 4:1 ratio. The building, as you mentioned, is also immersed within the same region that UT medical, dental, and pharmacy schools are. This allows for inter professional communication to your fellow students, if this is something you are interested in.

I know you have some Pros/Cons about how SCO does their testing, and being on Semesters vs quarters. I also came from an undergrad which was on semesters, and SCO is obviously on semesters. I want to mention that although there is a lot of material covered in each class, having it in a semester is definitely doable. Optometry school is tough, and it requires a lot of diligent study time and hours put in, and that is not going to change whether between a semester or a quarter. SCO also has midterm weeks blocked out in one week because this allows the students to focus their efforts equally between classes during non midterm weeks. If there are random tests throughout any given week, this can cause a student to neglect other courses. Of course these are long weeks, but it is also doable and I have began to prefer this compared to how we did it at undergrad. Tutoring is also available to any student who wants tutoring. You could be doing fine in a class, but just want additional problems to work out and have a tutor for this. Also, SCO does a great job getting students started in their first year on clinical skills. We have clinical skills labs twice a week for the entire first year where students learn the entire visual portion of the exam from retinoscopy, chair skills, to refraction all within the first semester!

Lastly, I want to talk about Memphis. Living expenses are below national average in Memphis, so obviously very affordable. There are plenty of good places to live in Memphis as well. I currently live on Mud Island, which is where the majority of students at SCO live (as well as the other professional schools i noted above). The island has a community feel to it, it is very close to the city, but is isolated in a sense. You can run along the Mississippi River, bring your dog to the dog park, or go to a few restaurants all on the Island. With Memphis being a border city, it is also very easy to cross into Arkansas or down into Mississippi (10-20 min drive) to go grocery shopping or do other activities.

My last comment I want to make is this, make your decision based on where your heart wants to go. It was hard to leave Ohio, but my heart was set on SCO. I knew that is where I should go in order to grow into the Doctor that I wanted to become. It was a new city and also 11 hours from where I grew up. There was a small adjustment, but I would not trade in my decision for the world. Even with full intentions of moving back to Ohio, I know there will be zero issues with obtaining a job, because SCO has a great reputation. I hope that this response was helpful! Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Best,
Adam

 

[holycow86]

Thank you both for sharing your experience to help me! I loved hearing you from both of you and I privately messaged each of you!