NECO vs. PUCO

[bcalter]

Hi everyone!! I have come to the point in the interview process where I have to choose where I wanna go. I think both of the schools have great programs and am wanting to hear other opinions. For all of those who have interviewed/been accepted/attended either of these schools, could you give your input on why you chose what you did? If you interviewed but decided not attend one of them, please also share your input on that. I appreciate any/all input!! 🙂

EDIT: now choosing between those and IUSO. Please place input on any of those 🙂

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[DPMStudent159]

NECO all the way

 

[bcalter]

NECO all the way

Hahaha, as much as I appreciate your quick answer, could you explain why? I loved it as well, but want to know why others chose it!

 

[mil123]

I gave you some input on both schools in the Class 2023 forum, but in general, at NECO you will get a way better clinical experience (from personal experience and friends attending both schools) the schooling itself is generally the same throughout all the schools but what makes NECO more prestigious is the clinical program. For an example, you get to practice in one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country allowing you to be exposed to all sorts of issues.

 

[bcalter]

I gave you some input on both schools in the Class 2023 forum, but in general, at NECO you will get a way better clinical experience (from personal experience and friends attending both schools) the schooling itself is generally the same throughout all the schools but what makes NECO more prestigious is the clinical program. For an example, you get to practice in one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country allowing you to be exposed to all sorts of issues.

Yes I appreciate you input!! Just for reference for others who want to know, this was mil123's response in the other feed. (I figured having a separate thread might be nice as not to clog up the other one)

"From personal experience and having family attend NECO I really think the school excels in the clinical aspect way more than the other two schools you have interviews at however I've heard IUSO is a really good school too! As for PUCO I would consider it as a backup choice if the other two don't work out, I know PUCO is much smaller and not as established in the clinical aspect as I have had a couple friends attend that school and they regretted not choosing NECO or bigger named school"

 

[startlearn]

Yes I appreciate you input!! Just for reference for others who want to know, this was mil123's response in the other feed. (I figured having a separate thread might be nice as not to clog up the other one)

"From personal experience and having family attend NECO I really think the school excels in the clinical aspect way more than the other two schools you have interviews at however I've heard IUSO is a really good school too! As for PUCO I would consider it as a backup choice if the other two don't work out, I know PUCO is much smaller and not as established in the clinical aspect as I have had a couple friends attend that school and they regretted not choosing NECO or bigger named school"

Hi everyone!! I have come to the point in the interview process where I have to choose where I wanna go. I think both of the schools have great programs and am wanting to hear other opinions. For all of those who have interviewed/been accepted/attended either of these schools, could you give your input on why you chose what you did? If you interviewed but decided not attend one of them, please also share your input on that. I appreciate any/all input!! 🙂

hi,

PUCO is the Pacific Univer College of Optometry? (in Oregan)?
I have same question as you, I will have intervie on NECO next month and waiting for Pacific

thanks

 

[bcalter]

hi,

PUCO is the Pacific Univer College of Optometry? (in Oregan)?
I have same question as you, I will have intervie on NECO next month and waiting for Pacific

thanks

Yes PUCO is Pacific University! They are both great schools!

 

[eastnet]

Definitely not NECO!

1. MA is the only state who has most limitations of OD operation.

2. NECO had a history of massive cheating in National board exam and now their pass rate is low.

---Optical collusion - The Boston Globe

Jul 15, 2010 - The National Board of Examiners has found cheating so widespread in the 2011 class of the New England School of Optometry that it has invalidated the ... Board of Examiners in Optometryhas invalidated the licensure test

 

[bcalter]

Definitely not NECO!

1. MA is the only state who has most limitations of OD operation.

2. NECO had a history of massive cheating in National board exam and now their pass rate is low.

---Optical collusion - The Boston Globe

Jul 15, 2010 - The National Board of Examiners has found cheating so widespread in the 2011 class of the New England School of Optometry that it has invalidated the ... Board of Examiners in Optometry has invalidated the licensure test

I definitely understand this as a problem, but from what I have researched, they have done a lot to change themselves from there on out. They also just implemented a whole new clinic and have a pretty good curriculum. Do you really believe this scandal that happened almost 10 years ago says that much about them now? (from my understanding, there were other students from other schools involved too).

 

[ChrundleTheGreat]

Hi everyone!! I have come to the point in the interview process where I have to choose where I wanna go. I think both of the schools have great programs and am wanting to hear other opinions. For all of those who have interviewed/been accepted/attended either of these schools, could you give your input on why you chose what you did? If you interviewed but decided not attend one of them, please also share your input on that. I appreciate any/all input!! 🙂

EDIT: now choosing between those and IUSO. Please place input on any of those 🙂

Oh I didn't realize you were the one who posted this! Haha I guess to expand on my answer in my Class of 2023 forum:
So for me, choosing between PUCO and IUSO kind of came down to personal preference and environment. PUCO was great, everyone was really nice, but Forest Grove felt too small imo (I think on TripAdvisor there were only 17 restaurants listed total). Granted you can drive 45 min to Portland, but that's not something you can do every weekend. Bloomington was super lively, all the people were super invested in IU (my uber driver, when he found out I was there for optometry, got really excited and told me he was at their clinic just the other day), plus it's a B1G school, so you have football games, basketball games (IT'S THE HOME OF ASSEMBLY HALL), etc. to look forward to, and you can really get invested in the IU culture. Both campuses were really beautiful, but IU's was much larger and definitely had that "feel" of a university. Also, I really liked the fact that IUSO's clinic was one building right across the street from the optometry building, whereas PUCO has a system where they have multiple clinics in different areas of Oregon and Washington that you're expected to go to. That sounded rather inconvenient to be honest.
I mentioned that I declined NECO's interview because I got accepted into these other schools. This was mainly due to the fact that off the bat, living in a big city like Boston didn't appeal to me at all (not really a city kind of guy).
Ultimately, go where you think you'll succeed and thrive. All three schools have great programs, and I'm sure you'll be successful wherever you end up!

 

[happyOD]

PUCO part 1 first time pass rate is close to or higher than 90%!!!, about 15% higher than the national average in almost every year!!!!! very impressive!

 

[eastnet]

I definitely understand this as a problem, but from what I have researched, they have done a lot to change themselves from there on out. They also just implemented a whole new clinic and have a pretty good curriculum. Do you really believe this scandal that happened almost 10 years ago says that much about them now? (from my understanding, there were other students from other schools involved too).

To be clear, the scandal was the only one which was organized by faculties and invested by FBI. More interesting, the major involved faculties are still in NECO now but all the involved students were suffered a lot.

For the passing rate, you can investigate why NECO removed recent years' from their website.

I hope it helps.