PCO question

APPLY! my cousin was in the same situation as you (except for NECO) and he decided to apply (on the dealine day actually!). he got in! do it if it is what you truly want! good luck!

 

If you want to go there, then apply asap. You never know unless you try.

 

APPLY!!! GOOD LUCK!!

 

May I ask what your GPA and extracurricular activities are like? Thanks

 

end of march, so you're waaaaay ahead of him! do it!

 

hey you can do better than PCO. Dont go to PCO cos you will regret it.
PCO is very disorganized. the faculty members are not available when u need them. plus they never take student complaint seriously. all PCO wants is money. they provide the worst education ever. I have proofs for all my statements.
First of all, you need to take a class called Evidence based medicine in your first semester. The teacher gives out the most ambiguous test ever. If you hadnt done the old test, u wouldnt know what he is talking about. the lecture doesnt reflect the test. GUess what? when we have questions regarding the test, he is not available. SOme people made an appointment with him, but he didnt show up. The most stupid thing he did was give out the old midterm as "the final exam" with wrong answers. THe students just memorized the old test answers and they got 100 on it. This is very ridiculous. when a few students complain about it, they dont do anything. most students are happy with how they did even though it isnt right. D average students get an A in that class.
2. There is another class called Clinical skill 1 which u have take in ur first semester. The exams for that class is totally ridiculous because he asks you what is the size of pin hole or what is the minimum pupil size, etc. We are never gonna need to know the size of pin hole 1.32 or any number like that.
3. there are lots of students who shouldnt be attending optometry school, but PCO accepted them anyway because they want the money. Head and Neck Anatomy was the hardest of all. Even though the teacher does not need to curve that class due to the average, she curved it anyway because she does not want to give out about 20 Ds and 1F. Her curve gives everybody either A, B or C. there is one D though. No one failed. This is not fair for people who studied hard. What I am trying to say is that everyone passes PCO classes without actually studying. If a lot of people failed, they have to kick them out and they will lose money. PCO education is a crappy education.
4. A lot of people did bad on the Optic final exam because either the teacher does not know how to teach and some people dont just get optics. people were confused. crappy education once again.
5. there is one more class which is all about how good our future is. For that class, u just memorize the answers given by the previous year students and take the test and get As. I am not making any of them up. In fact, they are so true.

For above reasons, we have very low passing rate for the national board exam compared to other schools. The only thing I am concerned about is Evidence based medicine class. This is just too ridiculous. Before you decide to go to PCO, think twice, do I really want to go? if u do, then go for it. I am sure u can deal with above problems. In a way, it is a good thing because u can pass all ur classes without studying.
Good luck guys

 

Wow someone sounds bitter. The other current first year students didn't complain or say anything bad. They actually LOVED PCO from day one. The staff was even SUPER DUPER helpful and Mr. Horne my interviewer was great. If you have any problems, you have to talk to that guy, since he is the Dean of Student Affairs.

Maybe Katalio or Jehu can give some more insight to PCO. Because they are current first years, and they love it there!

 

Actually there are a few of us that complained to Dr. Kaiser and she didnt do a thing. remember? she had to accept 2 answers for EBM midterm. Where have u been? I know the rest of them are happy with what they got because it was an easy A. Go ask Jehu again. he is not happy with EBM midterm either. You might love pco but not all pco students do. stop saying "they" if u dont know for sure. the staff wasnt helpful at all. they give u dirty looks when you ask them questions. Let me ask u a question. do you know which days u will be going to clinic for sure yet? not yet right? I think we should know it by now so that we can plan for trips and stuffs. very disorganized. I was gonna go talk to Dean Horne but people were saying that i need to go from the class president. I did talk to the class president also. I hope he brings up this issue. we paid 26600 for tuition alone. we'd better be treated fairly.

 

Hey dude,
I agreed with you on EBM. It pissed me off too. for the rest, I could care less man. EBM screwed me up also. I HATE EBM.

 

HI poorpcostudents,

First of all, I do agree that EBM itself is a crappy course, it goes against logic thinking and I don't know why the course is tstill there. Let alone that they gave out the exact same test as last yr. That course is kinda crappy..I agree

However, I do have something to say about other things hoping you won't be offended. You have to realized that the diameter of the pinhole is indeed very important. Since a smaller diameter will increase the diffraction of light; and larger diameter (1.5mm) will only correct like..1D I believe? while 1.32 corrects 3D. Dr. W just stressed on that not because we have to konw the number, just that he wants us to know why the pinhole is made 1.32mm diameter. Regarding pupil size, with a pupil size too small, autorefractors wouldn't work properly (or have a huge error) that's why he stresses on that.

Did Dr. L curve up anatomy? I'm not sure, but my friends got exactly what they calculated. Unless she did some scaling IN the test, but I highly doubt it.

Optics: Which doctor do you think that does not know how to teach? Dr. G? Coz I think Dr. S and Dr. M teaches pretty effectively. If you are referring to Clinical Optics, then bascially, the concept is rather simple. Perhaps people just didn't study it enough because we had anatomy on Monday leaving us with only 1.5 days for optics?

OHCS:I agree.. ehhe.it's a dumb course! =). But hey, in a way it did help those who aren't doing too well to pull up a bit of their GPA!! Significance wise, I agree it's not a good course; but grades wise, I don't think a lot of people will complain.

EBM 2 answers: Yeah, it's so weird. I don't know what even happened. I don't think they should have the same doctor teaching the course ever again.

I'm sure ppa93 and Jehu will agree with me in most of the stuff I said above; we are all friends in PCO, you can msg Jehu as well, I'm sure they'll give you more explainations! I apologize if anything I said sounds negative. But I just found it a bit unfair to view PCO negatively just because of some minor issues.

BTW: I emailed a certain profs, but got ignored! So in a way, there are a few things I"m not happy about.And yeah, some profs don't really help you that much. They tend to selectively read and reply emails. They are also pretty behind regarding next term's schedule, we don't know when we have clinic, so those who has clinic early that week will be in trouble.

Poorpcostudents is right, make sure that you guys actually WANT to go to PCO before going. There's a lot of pros about PCO, but its' not nearly a perfected school or anything. There are a lot of stuff that still needs to be changed or improved upon.

 

Good Job kylvin. I just do not know how to explain like u did haha. For the record, I talked to Dr. W about EBM. Dr. W agreed with me. I just don't know what will happen next. Have a nice break kylvin

 

You too Leo! =) Enjoy ur california sunshine while we deal with the rainy weather in Vancouver! -_-, and thx for letting me know Mod 1 grades are out. But I don't think we would like to know our grades coz we actually WANT to enjoy our holiday! =P.Not everyone gets A's like you man!

Happy Holiday [email protected]

 

JEEZ

I got accepted to PCO, do you guys recommend me attending?? so far i got accepted to pco and neco and I plan to go to pco since its cheaper, closer, and i got a scholarship for the school.

For all those who attend pco, I have two questions:
DO YOU GUYS ENJOY/LIKE THE SCHOOL???????
WOULD YOU PICK IT AGAIN??????

 

well, there are pros and cons for PCO. Well, I like PCO, but I hate the EBM teacher haha. I dont think he is coming back to teach though. I would pick it again if I am choosing between NECO and PCO. However, since I am from CA, I would rather go to school in CA.
Decide for urself. I am sure PCO is better than NECO.

 

jeez,
iam definitely applying to more schools!!

 

PCO is a good school overall.

 

I'm sorry, but I think you all are being a bit ridiculous. Are you really saying that you don't like your school because of a few picky questions on a Clinical Skills test? Or because a course that you have ONE semester your first year seemed unnecessary to you? We all love to complain after finals, and after grades come out, but PCO is a great school, which gives you a great clinical education. I'm a second year, on scholarship, and I'd choose the school again, especially after talking to others from other schools. I think you all need to relax a bit

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7233934/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1535036/posts

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/philadelphia_county/philadelphia/13344991.htm

so hows the area around PCO?????????????? When i visited during my interview it looked very safe. are the Apartments generally located in an safe area??

Any info would be great, thanks!

 

The school is in Elkins Park, not Philly, which is totally fine. The clinic is in Philly- which is a city- and a not so nice one in my opinion. Just be smart about it, you'll be fine. The parking lot is well lit and there is security.

 

Sup everyone, I see that Im being mentioned in this forum so I thought I'd make a guest appearance. Poorpcostudents...bro, if you got problems...get the **** out. Who goes around and says **** about how bad their school is?? If you dont like it, leave. The door is wide open. Ever since you've been accepted all youve done is whine and complain about every aspect of the school. Do you realize nobody gives a ****?? We're all here workin our asses off to be the best practitioners we can be, in an Insitution that provides outstanding education. I didnt like EBM, I think the course is stupid, but you dont see me sitting here late at night in my pj's dwelling on a forum about how stupid one class is. It however, is beneficial to those students who wish to work in a research environment. Again, if you dont like the school...leave, because the rest of us 160 love PCO and will stand up for our school against dip****s like you. You wonder why they dont take your complaint seriously?? Listen to yourself man, youre in ****in professional school, yet all you can do is whine and cry like a baby...dude grow up, this is the real world. You dont like it..?? LEAVE. Nobody is gonna stop you. The fact is this, you put in your time to study, you will get the grades. Simple as that. It is a challenging course thats not made for everyone. I dont regret coming to PCO and I never will, its by FAR, the best choice I've made in my life. Again dude, I agree about EBM, it was ****ed up...yes i got jacked in that class...but youre not a baby so why you cryin like one..suck it up princess, **** always happens, nothin you can do about it. They are restructuring EBM for next year and dont bring Dr. Kaiser's name into this, if it wasnt for her, your grade would not have changed. She did us a favor, be grateful you damn bastard! For head and neck anatomy, you know what you selfish punk?? we all studied hard for that exam, the fact that she made it difficult..and im sorry, nobody in the class is super genious like you...and I had a high B average, but I'm happy with that and I'm happy to see my classmates doing well. There is no competition so why the **** do you think youre better then everyone.
For the rest of you out there...one bad apple spoils the batch...Im sorry you had to hear such negativity about PCO. I think it is by far the most outstanding school for optometry. There are pros and cons to every school but I think PCO provides a much better understanding of Optometry and the future of Optometry. I would think someone would have more class then to just come online and say **** so I appologize for this individual and I would hope he comes to me next time as I am the AOSA Trustee-elect and I can voice his/her opinions at a much higher level, rather then coming online and being very negative. Everyone I know at PCO loves the school. There is no point in being at a school that you dont like...simply leave. Please do your research well when picking your school, PCO is very hands on oriented which may not suit everyone needs. As well, I can get 160 signatures out of the 161 in our class that would recommend the school to you. It comes down to this, if you dont put in your time, you wont do well...simple!! and the people who arent doing well, its because they didnt put in the time, and they realize that. Please email me if you have any concerns or want to clarify any rumors you may have heard about PCO....just remember, this is professional school, people who bad mouth their school are not being very professional to their school or their profession.
good luck to everyone applying!! Happy Holidays

 

Listen man, if you think its so easy to run a school why dont you??? chek blackboard and your email, the schedule is up...either you think everyone is out to get you...or youre really impatient

 

What is your first name poorpcostudents?

 

Yo Jehu, arent you being a little harsh on this guy/girl? haha. I am just joking. By the way, my flight got delayed too. I agree with you about PCO being a good school but I dont like the area around the Clinic because it is very ghetto. However, don't worry about it (upcoming students) because Elkins Park is a safe place to stay. Just don't live around the clinic and you should be fine. TEI is the best because you can see many patients with eye diseases. You will be well prepared after you get out of PCO because you have an extra half year of experience compared to other students. PCO is very expensive, but PCO has many scholarships and state contract grants. for people who got scholarship offer, take advantage of it. you can get more and more scholarships each year. PCO is a good school overall.

 

PCO may have its disadvantages (as do all schools), but it is a good school. The school completely revamped its curriculum in 2000 and is still experiencing some growing pains. However, I think that it is sensitive to the needs of its students. As many of you have mentioned, I struggle to understand why we had to bother with Evidence-Based Medicine? However, the school is changing the prof. and trying to get it right. It is just going to take some time. One thing I have read that is simply not true is that you can pass whether you study or not. If you come to PCO and want to do well, YOU WILL WORK! Remember, you're not just studying to pass a class...there are boards right around the corner. BTW, I have heard that PCO's pass rate was about 90%, this year. So for those of you who are considering Optometry, apply to many schools and consider which one is best for you. Personally, I am very satisfied with the choice I made. Best wishes to all!!!

 

I do agree that the EBM course was disorganized and not well presented. However, I feel that all of our other courses were challenging. Yes, there were a number of us who got screwed by EBM (me being one of them) but just one course doesn't make the whole program a bad one. I'm still glad that I came to PCO. Head and Neck anatomy was awesome and the professor did a great job of challenging us. Also, OHCS served its purpose. If you think about it, the course did a good job of introducing us to the different issues that optometry is facing. We need to understand these issues and continue to advance the profession once we graduate. To poorpcostudents I hope that your second semester will be better. Remember there are gliches in every program. Besides, according to Dr. K, they are replacing the EBM teacher for next years class. So the school is doing something about it. Good luck and Happy New Years everyone.

 

i'll first tell you this, there are pros and cons to every school, i could probably make a dirty laundry list of everything i wanted to about NECO as well and then make you think that really maybe you should fill out another couple of applications for some other optometry schools, haha. but fact is, there are problems at every school, if you want to be anal and nit-pick at every little crack and chip you'll never be content. i understand that NECO may not be the #1 optometry school in the world, and yes we have superiorly weak board scores and i may be unsatisfied with particular resources available to us, the organization and structure of certain courses and etc but am i happy here? yes, i'm the happiest i've ever been in my entire life at this institution. i feel great going to school everyday and it makes me enthusiatic about my studies and that's what's important to me. when you choose a school, just do what feels right for you, don't be swayed by "oh i heard this was bad, that was bad etc" in the end it's you yourself who defines who you will be and where you career goes not your school, so it doesn't matter what school you attend just apply yourself the best you can and i think it will come together right in the end.

and about board scores, sure whatever school you attend might help you pass them more easily, but even if you attend the best school to prepare you for them and you don't even study for them....obviosuly you're going to fail, again it's down to yourself and what you do.

 

very well put!! couldnt have said it better myself!
maybe we'll meet in Vegas!!

 

I'm heading to PCO in the fall. Can someone give me some tips on what apartments to look for and what ones to stay away from? I want something close to school and safe.

 

i live at Trilogy apartments, about 2 miles from school. they are somewhat pricey but welll worth it...their website is trilogyapts.com . they are the best in terms of safety because they have a security guard at a gate you have to get through to even get to the buildings and a 24 hour concierge working at the door to each building . their apartments are brand new renovations with hardwood floors, they are really nice. if you have any questions let me know

if you want right across the street (walking distance) from school there is colonade, which i have heard horrible things about or wyncote house which i heard is nice, but i have never seen. I am sure there are others but this is just what i know of!

 

Me too!

I'm gonna chekc out Wyncote though, cuz my friend in 1st yr lives there and likes it.

How much are you paying for Trilogy? Do i need a car in philly?
I know to get to the clinic, but apart from that?

 

Wyncote IS pretty nice!! But they kinda jacked up the price (not in rent, but like... you have to pay for your utilities etc, that's like 50 more per month)

And yeah, you have to drive to PCO and TEI if you live in Trilogy, but trilogy is nice... better than Wyncote/Colonade at least

 

Can somebody tell me what books I should buy for my first semester, and what ones I really don't need. Somebody told me I really don't need any of them.

 

At the beginning of the semester, you will spend about $200 for class notes. These are basically notes taken for every lecture in previous years. These notes are all you will need to study for exams. The only book you REALLY need to buy is the Atlas of Human Anatomy (Frank H. Netter, M.D.) for the Anatomy of the Head and Neck course.

 

When will we get all our financial aid papers and academic calanders?

 

Oh ya i remember the tour guide telling us that. Some note-taking program? We were around the mailbox area when she told us that...if that matters.

 

To answer KelliMW's question: you will need to complete the FAFSA form. You can do this online. It seems like I got some financial forms from PCO shortly thereafter. I completed all my paper work by February of last year and got my financial awards (loans) notice from the school in the mail around the end of March.
It seems like we got an orientation schedule via e-mail. During orientation, we were given our class schedule for the entire Fall semester.
ML1983: You will be given a very thick stack of notes (from the previous year) for all classes when you pay the note-taking service the first week of classes. However, you will also receive new notes from the lectures you attend throughout the semester in your mailbox. There really isn't much of a difference between the old and new notes.

 

When is orientation?

 

I don't know when your orientation will be, but ours (class of 2009) was from Thursday, August 25th through August 27th. This might give you an idea when your orientation could be.

 

The Colonade has more than one building. I've heard some are bad, but the E apartments (the only ones I've seen) were okay in my opinion. The desk workers are pretty nice and the apartments are fairly spacious. Maintenance is just like any other apartment building (slow, a bit shady), so I wouldn't worry too much. For the convenience of living right next to PCO, it really wouldn't be that bad. I never had a problem with the parking lot there, except when they were repaving it. Plus, the area right around there, especially as you get in toward Jenkintown, is pretty nice - a huge step up from the area closer to the city.

 

Car insurance in Philadelphia is pricey (one of the highest, if not the highest in the nation), so check it out before you make a decision on whether to bring a car. The public transportation is pretty good around there, especially the trains.

 

Crap, yea i have to figure all that insurance stuff out. Since I am from Toronto, i wanna change my plates to Philly, so the flyer fans don't mess my car up LOL.

 

Is there plenty of student parking at the school? Do I need to buy a parking pass?

 

PCO has tons of parking space they said. Like over 750 spots if I remmber correctly. And it's free too, if I'm remembering things right.

 

yes yes, lots of parking and its alllll free