I'm a third year student at the New England College of Optometry. The school itself is excellent, with it's strengths primarily in its 4th year externship sites and faculty. They work you pretty hard in the first two years, but third year is a good mix of clinic (anywhere from 4-12 hrs week) and class time. Fourth year consists of four rotations of 3 months each at sites all around the US, as well as canada, spain, china and south africa. The only downfall I see to this school is the price tag. Though you get what you pay for, it is expensive and does take its toll on you. Living in Boston is horrendous in terms of what you have to pay for rent/living expenses. It's a great city to be in, but the novelty does quickly wear off.