Hello everyone...
I am in the process of making decisions about schools and would definitely need some (unbiased!) advice about which school to go to.
UCBSO
NECO
SCCO
Any pros/cons would be extremely helpful, thank you in advance!
I don't know much about NECO...so I'll just comment on UCBSO and SCCO.
Size of university - Berkeley has the benefit of being part of a larger university, so there are lots of outside resources. You will have sports teams and a nice gym. You have access to other classes. You can get together with other grad programs. SCCO's benefit in size is that small colleges can give a lot of personal attention and you won't be just a number to anyone in a financial aid office.
Location - I don't know that this needs a whole lot of explaining - it's SoCal vs. NorCal! They are very different - depends on whether you prioritize greenery or warmer weather and beaches. As for cost of living, it's much cheaper around SCCO than Berkeley. Fullerton is a smaller city and you would have to drive to get into LA to do things though. Berkeley is near wine country, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, the redwoods forest....okay I'm getting bias here
Clinical experience - It's my impression that SCCO is willing to teach you things that go slightly beyond the current scope of practice, which is cool because that's how we can push to expand the scope. Berkeley absolutely does not do that. But Berkeley does start teaching you to use the slit lamp on day 1 of classes, which most schools don't start until second semester or second year (I know SCCO is at least second semester, but I don't remember when). Both clinics see quite a range of patients, but I have gotten the sense that Berkeley has a lot more cases of eye disease. An alum of SCCO told me that he chose them over Berkeley because he didn't want to deal with gross eye diseases, and I told him that was crazy and would be the exact reason I would choose Berkeley then...but to each their own
He made it sound like there are a lot more healthy eyes at the SCCO clinic. I'm sure you will still get a range at either and SCCO's clinical program is really really strong.
External rotations - I don't remember how many SCCO has. That's something to look into though. Berkeley has 4, 1 of which is in house. So that means three around the US (I think there are some sites where you can fill up two of your rotations at the same place if you want...which would ultimately mean only 3). I do know that both universities keep a log about past students' experiences at the sites so that you have lots of information about what students thought of the places, what they were able to do and experience, etc. Both of them will have plenty of partnerships in order to offer variety all over. I think SCCO ranks people based on grades though and the rotation site choices are made in that order. Berkeley does a lottery or some other random system so that it's not based on your grades at all.
SVOSH trips - SCCO holds a lottery each year to see who goes...Berkeley allows anyone to go. Buuuut SCCO's trips are funded by fundraising through the local Lions Club, so you aren't footing the bill. At Berkeley, there's no fundraising for the trips so it's entirely out of pocket.
Academics - I don't think anyone can hold a candle to the academics at Berkeley. You get incredibly strong prep for the boards. That same alum I talked to from SCCO said he felt like he had to teach himself a lot of the stuff because he didn't feel like his profs were doing a sufficient job...but then again, he could have been one of those people who wants his hand held through everything and wanted to be lazy...not sure! I do still think the caliber of the students going into Berkeley allows them to start ahead of most places and give you the strongest academic foundation of any of the schools though.
In the end, you will get a great education and experience at any of those places. In your shoes, I would at least narrow it to SCCO and Berkeley because I think those are the two more selective programs. But you can't go wrong with any of the three either.
Good luck!
