SCO vs ICO

[optogirl888]

Hey guys!

Thinking about Southern and ICO. I am so torn. I know both are good schools but ICO is just too expensive. I’m leaning more towards Southern just because of expenses. But if money was not an object I would choose ICO. Does anyone have any advice or personal experience for either school? I am in such a tight bind and any input would be so appreciated！

 

[oatstudentadvice]

Hi! I was actually in a similar position as you. I was set on ICO for a few weeks until I got accepted to UHCO with in-state tuition. If money was not an object, I would have chose ICO too. But UHCO is a great, reputed program and I believe SCO is too. My flow of thought was that I would get a similar education at both schools, and at UHCO for half the cost (also provides better networking opportunities within Texas). Some things I would look into are where do you want to practice in the future (which school provides the best networking/externship opportunities for that), your feelings about the location/lifestyle (since it'll be your home for the next 4 years), which school is better equipped to prepare you for specialties you're interested in, and how much the cost difference is worth the experience at another program. For me, double the tuition was not worth a degree at ICO (however, I was kinda sad about letting go of the idea of experiencing a different city). These are just a couple of my thoughts and I hope I made the right decision too! Either ways, you'll come out to be a great doctor at both programs!