Need Honest, Educated Opinions on Midwestern College of Optometry

[0ptometrist]

I hope that some of you are able to offer me some good advice.

I have applied and been accepted to Houston, Ohio, Southern and Midwestern. They all look like great schools, but Midwestern was not able to prove to me that they are going to be worth the money (it would be most expensive for me to attend there).

That being said, my wife is from Arizona and I would like to attend Midwestern for her sake. I don't want to offend anyone who is attending Midwestern, it is new and it could turn out wonderful. They have great facilities, but the lack of a track record and the slightly lower entrance stats bothered me a little bit.

What are your opinions? Most people I have heard from so far have just been viciously attacking each other about which school is the worst... it has been unhelpful at best.

If you have an idea of the major cons and pros that would be very helpful. If you believe that it would be a mistake to attend this newer school... or if you believe that it would be a great decision let me know why it is that you think that.

Thanks so much for your time.

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[optom123]

I'm sure if you told your wife about the cons of western, she would be totally supportive, and it's only 4 years.

If I had multiple acceptances I would never attend one of the newer colleges. Too much uncertainty....what if your applying for a job and the other applicant is from ICO, which is superior? The employer would hire the grad from the more established school.

Also the quality of education you will receive from western will probably be poor. I just looked at the faculty and they are a joke compared to other optometry colleges.


Also, it's cheaper for you if you attend another college, which makes the question about attending western a no brainer.

 

[optom123]

I'm sure if you told your wife about the cons of western, she would be totally supportive, and it's only 4 years.

If I had multiple acceptances I would never attend one of the newer colleges. Too much uncertainty....what if your applying for a job and the other applicant is from ICO, which is superior? The employer would hire the grad from the more established school.

Also the quality of education you will receive from western will probably be poor. I just looked at the faculty and they are a joke compared to other optometry colleges as the majority are recent grads who will be teaching. Why pay equivalent tuition for relatively poor education?

Also, it's cheaper for you if you attend another college, which makes the question about attending western a no brainer.

I'm making many assumptions here, but most of it is common sense.

 

[Jason K]

That being said, my wife is from Arizona and I would like to attend Midwestern for her sake. I don't want to offend anyone who is attending Midwestern, it is new and it could turn out wonderful. They have great facilities, but the lack of a track record and the slightly lower entrance stats bothered me a little bit.

It's no secret how I feel about these new programs and what they're doing to optometry. Putting that aside for a moment, you should probably consider moving to a school with a track record for producing quality interns. One of the most important aspects of an ODs training, if not the most important, is the quality of the external rotation sites. Those take time to develop for a school. I imagine the first few classes will be short on excellent clinical experience, although that's an educated guess. I've worked with interns who've been shuttled through low-quality sites, VT offices, community clinics where 3 interns share one patient every 2 hours, and private offices where you're basically a tech. The results are terrifying. I've worked with "experienced" 4th year interns who have the clinical knowledge and abilities of new 3rd years from other programs. All OD programs are definitely not equal in terms of their training and the belief that "everything is equilibrated by NBEO" is crazy. The test is of absolute minimum competence (and I mean absolute minimum.)

You're almost certainly going to have to relocate after graduation, no matter where you go, so you might as well do it now and at least get a quality education.

And finally, you should by trying to minimize your expenses in getting an OD. Going to the most expensive school on your list is not the way to go.

 

[blazenmadison]

Talk to any senior OD at annual meetings. I bet you none of them will hire a new grad from any of the new optometry schools.

It takes many years to work out the 'kinks' in a new program (ie. Nova).

You only attend a non-accredited school if you cannot get accepted anywhere else.

 

[Eyes Only]

I don't know if ODs will discriminate against grads of the new schools, but it is a possibility. I can tell you that while nobody wants an OD with poor clinical skills, good skills are no guarantee of success. You can go to the best clinical program in the world and still end up in a lousy retail job if you let the student debt get out of hand.

 

[Meibomian SxN]

......If you have an idea of the major cons and pros that would be very helpful. If you believe that it would be a mistake to attend this newer school... or if you believe that it would be a great decision let me know why it is that you think that.

Thanks so much for your time.

I would not attend the new school. You do not want to be caught up in the kinks of a new curriculum and it will take them a while to do that.

Also, explain to your wife that you will only be doing 2.5-3yrs of classroom; the remaining 1-1.5 will be clinical rotations.

 

[DawgOD]

I
If I had multiple acceptances I would never attend one of the newer colleges. Too much uncertainty....what if your applying for a job and the other applicant is from ICO, which is superior? The employer would hire the grad from the more established school.

Also the quality of education you will receive from western will probably be poor. I just looked at the faculty and they are a joke compared to other optometry colleges.


Also, it's cheaper for you if you attend another college, which makes the question about attending western a no brainer.

this to the T!! Family is a factor though and I can understand where you are coming from.. but just bring it to her as a new experience, a chance to see and live somewhere else can be good. Family will also understand money. Save as much as you can, especially if you plan on opening your own practice.

 

[0ptometrist]

Thank you so much for your helpful responses.

In general, I am very much against the new optometry schools... especially Western (20 minutes from SCCO is absurd)... and the school announced in Virginia seems to be a pretty bad idea.

There isn't a huge lack of optometrists, and I worry that some osteopathic medicine schools decide to open optometry schools just to increase cash flow.

I have been researching it a lot, and have found that Midwestern is not necessarily bad for any of these reasons—but they are new and have no track record. So I really appreciate your help and educated opinions on the subject.

Just to put out all of the facts, if I were to go to Midwestern then I would probably buy a home in Glendale which (depending on the housing market) could end up being financially beneficial. I haven't had so much luck looking into housing in Tennessee or Houston yet (though there are amazing places to rent).

Anyway, that is the financial loophole that has helped to complicate my decision a bit more.

Thanks for your help and pointing these things out.

 

[Visionary]

Just to put out all of the facts, if I were to go to Midwestern then I would probably buy a home in Glendale which (depending on the housing market) could end up being financially beneficial. I haven't had so much luck looking into housing in Tennessee or Houston yet (though there are amazing places to rent).

I wouldn't buy a house ANYWHERE, when planning to move again in 4 years. The housing market is still very unstable and likely hasn't yet hit rock bottom. You can find a lot of really nice rental houses nowadays (because people can't sell them). Student debt, plus practice startup (if you plan to go solo), plus upside down home loan is a formula for disaster.

 

[JMU07]

Thank you so much for your helpful responses.

In general, I am very much against the new optometry schools... especially Western (20 minutes from SCCO is absurd)... and the school announced in Virginia seems to be a pretty bad idea.


Just to put out all of the facts, if I were to go to Midwestern then I would probably buy a home in Glendale which (depending on the housing market) could end up being financially beneficial. I haven't had so much luck looking into housing in Tennessee or Houston yet (though there are amazing places to rent).

1) yeah, I'm from Virginia. The new school is in the middle of nowhere. I don't get it.

2) I'm an SCO student and my husband and I have had our house on the market since April, so if you end up coming here... chances are our house won't sell anytime soon, so there you go. 😉 I have to agree that we took our chances buying, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. It's been SO nice having our own place!

 

[optom123]

I wouldn't buy a house ANYWHERE, when planning to move again in 4 years. The housing market is still very unstable and likely hasn't yet hit rock bottom. You can find a lot of really nice rental houses nowadays (because people can't sell them). Student debt, plus practice startup (if you plan to go solo), plus upside down home loan is a formula for disaster.

Might wanna change that ANYWHERE to ANYWHERE but florida.

http://www.homes.com/listing/152786273/1235_Nw_3rd_Avenue_FORT_LAUDERDALE_FL_33311

NOVA seems like the ideal school to attend due to the cost of living. You could purchase that and in 4 years after grauating you could sell it at 50% of the amount you purchased it for, reducing your overall debt by a decent sum. If you had just rented for 4 years you would have lost 30k and could never retrieve it back.

But, I am not sure about the taxes, insurance and all that crapola that goes with being an owner. 🙁

 

[JMU07]

NOVA seems like the ideal school to attend due to the cost of living

Really??? You can get foreclosures for that price in Memphis that are three times the size, lol. Cost of living in southern FL is pretty high. 😉 I agree though, I'm glad my husband and I didn't just throw rent money away for the past three and a half years.