Hi! My questions are for any students who are currently attending or have attended PCO. I'm doing some research and was just wondering:
what do you like about PCO?
What don't you like?
How are the professors?
Do you enjoy what you do?
When you selected where you would apply and attend school, what made you pick PCO over the rest?
Thank you for your time
Hey, I can help you out here.
What I like:
The location is very nice (well...the clinic where we work is in a bit of a shady area). The school is close enough to the city to enjoy the bars, restaurants, museums, culture, etc., but the actual campus is in a pretty nice area--it's more calm and quiet than the city and fairly well-to-do. There are plenty of grocery stores, restaurants, and stores nearby.
My fellow students are mostly very helpful and pleasant. We work together well. There isn't a "sabotage" culture. It's very team-oriented.
I'm mostly pleased with professors. They are approachable, and for the most part not arrogant, like I sometimes experienced in undergrad. They aren't here to feed their egos. They want you to pass.
It's a good program here, and the clinical experience is amongst the best in the country.
What I don't like:
High tuition price.
No on campus housing. Rent can be pretty high if you want to live in one of the nice places close to campus. Though my complex is nice, I thought I would get much more space than I do.
Only one building where classes are held. Sometimes we spend all day in one room. Of course, we have little breaks and a lunch break, but there is something a little prison-esque about it too. (I'm speaking more philosophically...the room isn't unclean or anything like that.) I miss switching into different classrooms as I did throughout every other part of my education.
Overall:
If you love optometry and have a true passion for it, then I would definitely recommend this school. The program is very good, and you will be prepared better than in most schools from what I hear. But if you're on the fence or just looking for a job to pay the bills, then I would look elsewhere. The program here is very rigorous. You have to be prepared to give up many aspects of your life for a few years. Sometimes I really wonder if it will be worth it in the end. I think there are subjects for which I am more passionate, and I often daydream about what it would have been like to have gone into another field. That's not to say that I don't care about the patients. I care very much, but like I said, I daydream sometimes...
I fantasize about driving straight to the airport after class and never looking back. You will get worn out.
Also, my family is helping me out quite a bit on the financial front for which I am extremely thankful. If you're planning on doing all of this in loans, then I would definitely make sure that this is your life's passion because it is very, very expensive--especially this school. I personally don't think that it would be worth the loan debt. You would be looking at upwards of a quarter million. Recent grads are not starting in the six figures.
Whoops: I forgot to add that I chose this school because the program is highly regarded, the staff members were always very friendly and helpful when I was in the application process, and because it is close to my family.
