Not to start an Opt. School rivalry...

[DrSpontaneouz83]

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Okay, for us applicants for the 2007 class who are not sure where we really want to go, we often hear about the same 2 or 3 schools being praised so highly and how competitive it is to get in. (I at least here this about Berkeley and SUNY). So as I am putting myself through all this pressure to get interviews from these schools I am alarmed to find interesting facts about these institutions. I am sure many of you know each school specializes in its own discipline of study...but with working in an ophthalmolgists office along with several other optometrists who went to different schools, they brought up some valid points about at least one school. They told me about when they were in optometry school they attended an all-paid Vistakon seminar with students from many different optometry schools. The speaker asked the students to raise their hands for those who fit toric lenses and PCO and another schools (forgot which school) had the highest number of students who had fit 50+ patients with toric lenses, while SUNY students had fit just under 10 patients. Now, though this may seem alarming, I guess it makes sense since SUNY tends to focus more on visual therapy...but to be an optometrist without extensive experience in fitting astigmatic patients which is a significant percentage of the population makes me wonder. At any rate, this post is moreso for students applying and are not sure what school they truly want to attend. Don't base a school on the "highest stats" or getting into a school who has the lowest number of accepted students..base it on what you truly foresee yourself practicing as a future optometrist and which school suits your needs as a future optometrist.

P.S. This post was not made to offend students from these institutions but to inform others that there are differences among optometry schools and they may vary significantly (i.e, some focus more on research).

Good Luck.

 

[still_confused]

To: OP
I have yet to see why suny is known for "vision therapy." The floor dedicated for vision therapy is just as big and advance (or rundown whichever you prefer) as any other floor dedicated to ocular disease, head trauma, contact lens, etc. The students do the same amount of time in each section and i do not see anywhere in the cirriculum that gives vision therapy a higher empahsis then anything else. i am very interested in vision therapy so i guess im disappointed!

Did you get a percentage with those numbers or is it the sheer amount? PCO has a much larger class then suny.

In the month ive been here, my roomate, a fourth year has done 4 fittings for astig patients (under a OD supervision of course).

of course all i have is hearsay, and so do you, but if we want to post hearsay about other schools.....

To: Applicants
what does SUNY offer? they offer PAIN (jk), a good diverse clinic , from what i see a rigourous cirrculum to pass the boards (high pass rate, 90ish on first try), relatively new equipment to practice on, very small class that forces you to get to know your classmates and faculty, and the attitude from the professor " i will you fail if you at the end of the day i cannot trust you to perform the required procedure on my own mother," a MS or PhD program that while may seem disorganized to begin with, is very rewarding once you start on your project, your very own locker to stash your own terrorist survival kit (you laugh but this is NY). A professor that will stay in the library until it closes the night before his exams, and very liberal definition of no eating in classrooms.

Perks I like: free pizza when there is club meetings, desperation by the many out of staters (50%) to make frients which gurantees that you WILL have some friends here ! having all the security guards (10+) know you by the third day, having the janitorial staff know you by the 4th day, upperclassman going out of thier way to minimize pain (the current theory to thier niceness is that if we have less pain, then we will stay out of thier way! jk)

What SUNY doesnt offer: Brand name recognition, PARKING, big spacious campus (its one 18 floor building), super long lists of externship sites, and you wont get pampered at all. They treat you as if you know everything! The line "but im only a first year" only takes you so far when a random guy quizes you on some random facts while trying to find the restroom on a clinic floor. No hand holding, prepare for the pain (jk). Cheap housing (1200 for rent???? now that is pain),

Perks i dont like: making us pick an o-scope and retino ( I JUST CANT COMMIT! THEY ALL LOOK GOOD TO ME! which one minimizes the pain?), elevator sickness, the construction makes it look like im going to work in a construction yard, and of course "WHY cant i see anything in my microscope (histo), o scope (optometry), tear film (biochem), and filters (geo lab)."

SUNY doenst have it all, but I find it very hard to believe that it is turning out unqualified optometrist.

and for those that havent notice, i go to suny, and im biased, but if you have any questions (especiallly on why pain is mentioned so often) feel free to pm me.