NECO or WesternU?

[20twenty]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I was recently accepted to NECO and WesternU and am having difficulty making a decision on which school I want to attend. I am leaning heavily towards WesternU because it's closer to home, has a great clinic, and has wonderful weather. Their interprofessional education and emphasis on vision therapy also interests me. The only thing that is keeping me away from Western is that it is a fairly new program. They don't have too many alumni that I can contact to ask questions.

With NECO, I felt very safe in Boston and loved the campus and the faculty. I fell in love with the city and could see myself living there. However, the cold weather keeps me away because I get less productive and also mildly depressed in the winter.

For anyone who is at these schools or has graduated from them:
Why did you choose that school over another? And if you had to do it all over again, would you still choose that school?

If anyone has anything to contribute, please do! Your input is appreciated. 🙂

 

[SunA21]

you may have more luck posting on the optometry forum rather than the pre-optometry forum, if you haven't already. Most of the people on this forum are applicants, and not OD students.

 

[20twenty]

you may have more luck posting on the optometry forum rather than the pre-optometry forum, if you haven't already. Most of the people on this forum are applicants, and not OD students.

I did post in that thread as well, but it was moved to this forum today.

 

[myopiastigmatism78787]

not going to either but honestly, NECO's facilities disappointed me a lot. entering class stats are high though and board passage rates are average. both schools have completely different vibes. pick the one that suits your personality best. you want to be happy and do well for 4 years

 

[mnins19]

Although WesternU is relatively new, it has faculty members who had been teaching at other optometry schools for many years. They are currently tweaking the curriculum for this year's class so you'll probably hear a few different things about the curriculum from the students. I initially choose WesternU over the east coast schools because I'm really close to my family and cannot stand to be far away and not get to go home occasionally to see them. But it's important to keep in mind that whichever school you choose, it should be because you feel like that school's program best suits you.

 

[myopiastigmatism78787]

Although WesternU is relatively new, it has faculty members who had been teaching at other optometry schools for many years. They are currently tweaking the curriculum for this year's class so you'll probably hear a few different things about the curriculum from the students. I initially choose WesternU over the east coast schools because I'm really close to my family and cannot stand to be far away and not get to go home occasionally to see them. But it's important to keep in mind that whichever school you choose, it should be because you feel like that school's program best suits you.

what did they tweak about the curriculum?

 

[mnins19]

what did they tweak about the curriculum?

Apparently the 2nd semester of the 1st year was easier and less demanding. 2nd year has a heavy load so they took some of the 2nd year courses to put it into the curriculum for the first years to help spread the load.