SCCO interview!

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yOyOYoo

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Hello everyone I am new to this board.

Anyone else have an SCCO interview coming up on the 25th? Next Saturday...

Anyone have any hinters or pointers as to what I should be looking out for/ be prepared for?

I'm really anxious to go to my interview, and yet at the same time, really really nervous.
 
I interviewed at SCCO back in 2001. (Spring) It was REALLY laid back. I got a tour from a student.. talked to financial aid.. had my two person panel interview. Everybody was very nice, helpful and made my experience really great. If it had cost the same as a state OD school I probably would have made them my first choice. Their facility is really impressive.
 
If you have an interview....relax...you're pretty much in. The worst that can happen is you're wait-listed. You're scored 50% on academics (which you've already passed considering you have an interview) and 50% "personality/interview" If your total "score" is above a certain number...you're in....no questions asked. I don't know the number though....sorry... 🙂 If you get Dr. Berman, he'll ask you ethical questions like, "would you continue to see a patient if they wouldn't follow your suggestions/treatment?" "Would you see a patient again who didn't pay their previous bill?" A big topic is "Define professionalism." A follow up question is "What's the difference between a professional handyman and a professional doctor?" You have to answer in a way that doesn't put down the handyman. Know about current legislation. What California doctors are allowed to do. (to treat glaucoma you have to follow 50 patients with an OMD for 2 years...blah blah blah) "Where do you see optometry in 5 or 10 years?" blah blah blah. Those are the toughest questions my friends were asked. You're interviewed by one student and 2 professors. The student usually asks one or two fun questions like, "What do you do for fun?"

The essay questions are straightforward. "If the superintendant at the local school wanted to push for school uniforms...would you support him?" "If all the graduate schools wanted to eliminate the interview portion of the application process, what would you do/would you support it why/whynot?" Basically you don't have to prepare for it. If you have 6 people in your interview group, they hand out about 12 cards, each with a different topic and you choose 2 randomly. You only have to answer one. Eat something beforehand....you don't get lunch...only snacks. Okay, I hope that helped. PM me if you need more help. 😀 GOOD LUCK!!!!
 
Eat something beforehand....you don't get lunch...only snacks

I second that! If your interview happens to be during the afternoon, DO NOT DRINK the orange juice! It would have been there since the morning interviews. =)

I also had Dr. Berman, and he asked me the "tougher" questions. If SCCO is not your first choice, why not? What can we change so that SCCO will be your first choice? If you believe that patients that come to SCCO's clinic are less likely to have pathologies or diseases that are common to more low-income areas, how do you think SCCO students still get full training in dealing with those diseases?

Student questions are easy: hobbies, last movie you saw, etc.

The essay question I got, and my friend got the previous year was the same: If you were running for president of your 1st year class, write a letter stating your qualifications and why you could be their leader.

Questions are random, but most ask you to write a letter in a business format.

The interview day lasts about 4 hours, with the interview portion being 1/2 hour to one hour long.

DO NOT be nervous - seriously, SCCO staff is the friendliest. Try to make friends with the other students who are interviewing. You'll be surprised later on how many of them you will see around the interview circuit and how many will become your future classmates.

Good luck!

Rosanna
 
well just to update you all on the thread, I just got my acceptance letter today!! WHOoo Hoo! $500 check is going into the mail tomorrow!

As for interview specifics, I wrote down a pretty detailed list of my experience interviewing at SCCO as well as the questions I recieved.

If anyone wants, I could post it up here, but would that be wrong, giving out that information?? Does it go against some sort of policy??



Also, would it be very rude for me to cancel my interview at PCO?
 
:clap: congrats! of course, post the details 😎
 
Hey C:

Congrats on your acceptance! I told you not to worry about it!

I know you really want to go to SCCO - so cancel your interview at PCO to save some money (unless you want to go there for vacation). Also, you don't want to waste anyone's time if you are for sure about SCCO. It will not be rude to cancel your interview, it would be much worst if you don't even show up - that's the worst.

I'm so happy for you! You'll have a great time there.

Go ahead and post any information to help other applicants.

Best wishes,

Rosanna
 
Ok let me start by saying that the SCCO interview was probably one of the most formal and professional interviews that I have ever went to. The staff there was really really friendly. I have to admit that the interview was really hard imo, they asked a lot of challenging questions, but I felt pretty comfortable, which is very important in an interview. You gotta have confidence.

Well let's start off with the essay question:
"Professionalism has been defined by the characteristic traits compassion, authority, and humility. Choose one trait and write a one page paper elaborating how that trait helps to define what professionalism is."

For my interview I met with Dr. Susan Shin, and Dr. John Lee. At first I felt sort of awkward because while I was talking to them, they had such straight faces. Like they wouldn't smile, and gave me very serious eye contact. But as the interview progressed, I could see that they were "loosening" up a bit and we even made some jokes and all had a good laugh towards the end of the interview, which was a pretty good sign to me.


Ok as for the questions, boy did they fire a bunch at me. It was almost non stop thorough questioning. I'll post all the questions I remember, but they may not be in the order I recieved them:

Why Optometry?

Are you a good memorizer?

Do you study better with a group or independently?

What brings you to an interview at SCCO? What is it that stands out about SCCO?

What made you choose Optometry as a profession out of any other health related profession such as: dentistry, opthalmology, medicine, pharmacy?

Do you know how many units are in a quarter at SCCO? Do you think you have a problem handling it?

Why would you consider an Optometrist as a primary care provider?

What do you expect to get out of an education at SCCO?

What do you know about the scope of Optometry? What do you see for the future of Optometry?

What type of practice do you hope to pursue and why?

Have you been keeping up on the news lately? What is a current issue that you have been concerned with?

What are your hobbies?

What type of community volunteer service have you done?

What is the difference between an Optometrist and an Opthalmologist?

What types of optometric instruments have you worked with?

Define Professionalism. What about yourself helps define professionalism?

Yea as you can see it was a lot of questions (well in my opinion)
The interview lasted a little over an hour, maybe 1 hour 15 minutes.

I hope this helps you guys! and again, if i'm not supposed to be posting all of this, someone let me know so I can take it off right away! If you guys have anymore quesitons, feel free to drop me a PM or an email.

😀
 
Hey yo! Congrats on your acceptance....my interview is on december 1st so your post surely helps a lot! THANKS!
 
hey yo!

looks like we'll be classmates! i just received my scco acceptance yesterday =) yay!
 
Originally posted by JG777
hey yo!

looks like we'll be classmates! i just received my scco acceptance yesterday =) yay!

Yay!! Congrats JG777!!:clap:
 
I'm so nervous! my interview is next Tuesday. I am a shy person so I am VERY scared. I just get nervous around people I don't know. I am friendly and somewhat talkative around my friends but people I don't know and especially in an uncomfortable, stressful situation like an interview that is this important is going to make me go crazy! Any tips from anyone to prepare me and calm my nerves? This is my first and only interview and I just HAVE TO get in. My life depends on it! OK not really but I have been out of school for 4 years now and desperately need to take my life in a new direction. I think I am ready for optometry school now, I just have to get in. I'm so scared!!
 
How many interviews are granted at SCCO and how many people actually get accepted? Do you guys all have a BS in a science field?
 
WildOrchids27 said:
How many interviews are granted at SCCO and how many people actually get accepted? Do you guys all have a BS in a science field?

interviews granted at scco should be around 2000
 
actually, i believe a little over or under 200 were interviewed... and about 160ish were accepted for c/o 2008 and 98 matriculated. i believe the majority accepted were bs although there are a handful with ba's. oh ya and 400+ applied for c/o 2008. so basically, you're half in (assuming you reach their academic standards) by the time you reach the interview. all you have to do is to do well in your interview and you're in.
 
Can anyone tell me if there will be an essay question during the interview at SCCO? I mean, do you have to write the essay right there at the spot in front of the interviewers? Are there going to be always an essay portion during the interviews at all of the schools such as PCO, ICO, and etc?
 
h6ppygirl said:
Can anyone tell me if there will be an essay question during the interview at SCCO? I mean, do you have to write the essay right there at the spot in front of the interviewers? Are there going to be always an essay portion during the interviews at all of the schools such as PCO, ICO, and etc?
Speaking about the schools I have experience with:

PCO --> no essay
SUNY --> essay
 
ICO does have have an essay.
 
i know im kinda late but congrats anyways lol... i just wanted to say thx for the info u posted... gives me a good idea wat to expect
 
I believe they want students to write an essay on the spot because most people submit essays along with their apps that have been edited by many professors and others. They just want to know if you are capable of writing an essay on your own, using proper diction.
 
congrats and see you next year.
 
yOyOYoo said:
What do you know about the scope of Optometry? What do you see for the future of Optometry?

What kinds of things are they looking for when asking these questions?? Thanks!
 
1st of all Congrats in getting into SCCO. and 2nd of all thanks for sharing all the info from the interview. thats what make OD students different, we are helpful to each other. 🙂
 
HI,
I was wondering for those who have submitted their applications how long do the 3 essay questions have to be? Thank You
 
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