SCCO Vs. Midwestern (AZ)

[BlackRose95]

Hello everyone,

I have been accepted to Midwestern as well as SCCO and I am trying to decide between them because both are excellent schools. I toured both campuses and I really loved both schools. I am originally from Arizona (about 2 hours from Midwestern) and have lived here my whole life.

Midwestern had new facilities and it would be close to home. Glendale is a very nice area and I would feel totally safe there. Even though it is a relatively new school, their board passing rates have been above average so it is a pretty good school. I also liked the fact that their class size is small (around 50 students) so I can get individual attention if need be. Their clinic is so beautiful and it's right across the street! I liked that there was an on-campus cafeteria too. However, they are still working out some kinks with their program and their staff looked very young and I do not know how well they are at teaching.

SCCO is in Fullerton which is a very safe city as well. The school has been around for 100 years so they obviously know what they are doing. My optometrist also graduated from SCCO and he said he felt well prepared for the real world. Everyone there seemed friendly and experienced. They also built a new clinic which has good and bad aspects. The good is that it looks amazing, and the bad is that it is a ~20 min commute there which can get annoying I imagine (going back and forth between class and clinic). I am also uncertain about the class size because SCCO has one of the largest classes at around 100, so it concerns me if I am going to have a hard time getting help or attention if I am struggling. California's rent is also crazy and about double Arizona's. However, I would like to maybe get out of my comfort zone and try to experience California.

What do you guys think? It would be nice to have some inputs, maybe from current students as well. Maybe I missed something crucial in deciding. What made you choose Midwestern or SCCO?

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[kh93]

I'm currently going to SCCO and love it! While the new clinic is a little bit of a drive it is so nice. I live half way in between the school and clinic so it's about 10 minutes either way. That is what I would recommend! They give us plenty of time to travel between the two so it's nice being about to run home and change/eat. Yes the rent is expensive, there is no way around that. As far as class size, I have never had an issue. The professors know us by name and there are ample opportunities to get help. 100 sounds like a lot, but when you're with the same people every day and work with professors one on one in labs etc. it feels really small! If you have any other questions let me know!

 

[BlackRose95]

Thanks for the reply! During my first year, am I going to be needed to drive to the clinic at all? If not, I could just get an apartment close to campus the first year correct? Do you have recommendations on which apartments are the best and reasonably priced? How much is the average rent over there in Fullerton a month with roommates? And how did you find roommates, through the University portal?

 

[Mik194]

Midwestern is an amazing school. Both schools would give the same type of curriculum. But if you could save living expenses, that could be crucial when you pay off your loans. Midwestern is a new school, has everything SCCO has, and has a high NBEO pass rate. I felt more amazed at the faculty's enthusiasm and vibe during the interview at Midwestern.

 

[BlackRose95]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I was impressed with Midwestern which makes this decision tougher! Are you making a decision about schools right now as well? What other schools have you interviewed at?

 

[kh93]

Thanks for the reply! During my first year, am I going to be needed to drive to the clinic at all? If not, I could just get an apartment close to campus the first year correct? Do you have recommendations on which apartments are the best and reasonably priced? How much is the average rent over there in Fullerton a month with roommates? And how did you find roommates, through the University portal?

On occasional you'll have to go there. They require 2 appointments and then you'll have some shadowing. Not a regular thing, but living next to school would be fine. I'd say rent ranges from 400 if you share a room in a run down apartment to around $1,000. I found my roommate through the portal and we've now lived together for 2 years. I'll PM you about the apartment recommendations! I encourage you to explore this forum in regards to midwestern because I haven't heard great things from some of the students, but obviously I don't go there!

 

[Mik194]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I was impressed with Midwestern which makes this decision tougher! Are you making a decision about schools right now as well? What other schools have you interviewed at?

Yes I am! SCCO, Midwestern, and Western. I was really impressed with Midwestern and have close friends that go there. They love it. All the negative things are from people who don't like the idea of new schools. I think the faculty and staff are amazing and they have all the equipment/curriculum necessary to become a great school in the next few years. My friend goes there right now and he loves it and said all the negative things were not true

 

[Dsgrntldbadger]

Current student at Midwestern AZ. I'm not familiar with SCCO, so I can't really compare the two schools, but I can tell you about Midwestern.
I love it here. Zero regrets. Since you've toured and been accepted, you've probably seen the brand new pre-clinic lab, and the Eye Institute. You're worried about the age of the faculty - that they are young...however AZCOPT's students consistently score well above the national average on the NBEOs (The results for Part III were in just a few days ago, and faculty shared the school's overall results). I know SCCO also scores above the national average on the NBEOs, so perhaps the two are equal in that respect.

I love the small class size of the program here. I feel as if I get to be close with all my classmates, and really get to know each other. Professors as well, since there aren't a lot of us.

AZCOPT also has a close to 100% residency placement rate. I believe that the only reason it isn't 100% anymore is because of one person who received the residency, but eventually turned it down because they had gotten a better opportunity with employment.

Also, a laser curriculum was just added to third year to teach students those skills. I'm not sure what SCCOs stance is on that, but when I applied to Salus, they told me they currently were not interested in adding such a course to their curriculum.

The cost of living here is very cheap - I come from NJ, where a 1-bedroom could run you upwards of $1000 a month. There a lot of options around here on campus, and I see people on the school's facebook page constantly offer rooms for rent, apartments for rent, whatever for anywhere between 400-600 per month.

That's it for now!

 

[jillnichole8]

Hello everyone,

I have been accepted to Midwestern as well as SCCO and I am trying to decide between them because both are excellent schools. I toured both campuses and I really loved both schools. I am originally from Arizona (about 2 hours from Midwestern) and have lived here my whole life.

Midwestern had new facilities and it would be close to home. Glendale is a very nice area and I would feel totally safe there. Even though it is a relatively new school, their board passing rates have been above average so it is a pretty good school. I also liked the fact that their class size is small (around 50 students) so I can get individual attention if need be. Their clinic is so beautiful and it's right across the street! I liked that there was an on-campus cafeteria too. However, they are still working out some kinks with their program and their staff looked very young and I do not know how well they are at teaching.

SCCO is in Fullerton which is a very safe city as well. The school has been around for 100 years so they obviously know what they are doing. My optometrist also graduated from SCCO and he said he felt well prepared for the real world. Everyone there seemed friendly and experienced. They also built a new clinic which has good and bad aspects. The good is that it looks amazing, and the bad is that it is a ~20 min commute there which can get annoying I imagine (going back and forth between class and clinic). I am also uncertain about the class size because SCCO has one of the largest classes at around 100, so it concerns me if I am going to have a hard time getting help or attention if I am struggling. California's rent is also crazy and about double Arizona's. However, I would like to maybe get out of my comfort zone and try to experience California.

What do you guys think? It would be nice to have some inputs, maybe from current students as well. Maybe I missed something crucial in deciding. What made you choose Midwestern or SCCO?

im currently deciding between these two schools as well - which did you end up picking & why?