SCO vs. UAB

[eyes28]

hi! i had been accepted to both SCO in memphis and UAB in birmingham and cant really decide where to go, so i would like to know any pros and cons to each before i make my decision. any helpful insights would definitely be greatly appreciated!

thank you!!

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[stevec]

I had exactly the same predicament and went with SCO. SCO has arguably the best clinic in the country, great facilities and faculty, a long southern tradition, and had an overall friendlier feel to me than UAB. SCO's board scores are great, but not 100% passage like UAB (I think it was 100%), but UAB requires you to pass the boards to graduate so of course 100% of the graduates pass...seems like a stupid statistic to brag about in that case. Stuff that some people only read about you are more likely to see here. SCO's clinic is always humming. When I went to UAB, their clinic was practically deserted. I don't care how nice it looks, if it doesn't have the great patient base, it's just not going to be that wonderful. I know they have recently renovated, and tried to give the clinic a more obvious appearance on the street. People passed by it before without even knowing it was there. The student guide told me they lost a lot of patients during the renovation and assured me it would pick up.

The great things that UAB talks about didn't seem all the great to me when I really thought about it. They like to advertise their small class size as a big plus, for the more individual attention that it affords, and then they put you in big classes with the dental and med students. SCO is completely self contained; I like the larger feel, and I get plenty of personal attention in my opinion. The class size is 120 at SCO, but they split us up into 5 groups for labs. We stay in the same classroom, and the professors come to us.

When I went to open house at UAB, the big speaker was Dr. Lawrence DeLucas, the optometrist astronaut. Don't get me wrong, being an astronaut is cool and all, but that has nothing to do with me going to optometry school there. Optometry did not get the guy into space. If you look into UAB at all, they will for SURE let you know about this guy.

If you want to do research, really like the university feel, or Birmingham, then UAB is probably the place for you. If not, then I'd recommend SCO. Research is interesting and important, but I want to be a great clinician. I know there are at least 2 people in my class, myself included, who passed up South Carolina contract seats at UAB to attend SCO instead. The total cost of living (tuition included) is going to be about the same whether you choose UAB or SCO. Memphis is a fun town to live in. Home of the Blues and Birthplace of Rock and Roll! Downtown is great and has a New Orleans feel to it with all the clubs and music. It has it's ghetto parts, but you just avoid those. I live on Mud Island. It's a 10 minute drive to school, and I'm a 5 minute walk from the beautiful park along the river where I like to ride my bike. It's like Mayberry compared to the rest of Memphis and right next to downtown. I pay $340 a month for rent, but I think I got the absolute best deal on the island.

 

[sco1styear]

I pay $340 a month for rent, but I think I got the absolute best deal on the island.

Where on the island do you live and how in the world did you get that rent??? I want it!!!! wait, didn't you say once that you live with three guys? That makes it cheeper.

 

[Kristene9]

hi! i had been accepted to both SCO in memphis and UAB in birmingham and cant really decide where to go, so i would like to know any pros and cons to each before i make my decision. any helpful insights would definitely be greatly appreciated!

thank you!!

Hello,

Congrats on getting into both schools. 😀 I'm a first year at UAB so if you have any questions just let me know. I don’t know how it compares to SCO because I turned down my interview there. I have heard great things about it and the clinic. To be honest, I think if you just picked the city that you wanted to live in, any of the OD schools are going to be good.

For me, UAB was the right choice. The girl who sits next to me turned down SCO even though she had a scholarship there. She is also an out of state resident, so she is paying extra to come to UAB (for the first year).

I live 15 minutes away from campus and pay 325 in rent plus utilities. I'm looking into moving to Southside (about 5 minutes away from campus) were I can get a nice 2 bedroom apt for less than 800.

I’ve heard about this OD astronaut but not met him. I think everyone feels the same way…. Who cares??? I guess he teaches a class, I don’t know. I’ve not heard much about him since the interview.

Let me know if you have any questions. I personally really like the big medical university fell, and the professors at UAB are GREAT! However, I'll be as honest as I can about anything you want to know because what matters is that YOUR happy for the next four years. UAB is dang hard and could be hell if you didn’t enjoy it. So just let me know 🙂

 

[stevec]

Where on the island do you live and how in the world did you get that rent??? I want it!!!! 😱

I live in riverset and definately pay more than that...wait, didn't you say once that you live with three guys? That makes it cheeper.

BTW, if anyone is moving to memphis and interested in living in riverset please let me know so I can be the one who "recommended" it to you. (I get a discount for one month if you do)

We've got 4 people in one apartment at The Arbors. They've converted the living room in some of the 3 bedroom units into another bedroom.

 

[3eb4me]

I chose SCO, but I have no experience with UAB. SCO has amazing support staff, admissions, students compared to ICO and PCO. They sent me a Christmas card, postcards, letters, etc. You have to see these people for the next 4 years, so make your choice wisely. Also, SCO has the lowest tuition for out of state students like me. That was the biggest factor for me. I want as little debt as possible when I leave. Their clinic was superior to ICO's. Also, TN is a very pro-optometry state.

Good luck and congratulations!

 

[UABopt]

hi! i had been accepted to both SCO in memphis and UAB in birmingham and cant really decide where to go, so i would like to know any pros and cons to each before i make my decision. any helpful insights would definitely be greatly appreciated!

thank you!!

Let me start off by saying that I interviewed at both UAB and SCO a few years back. I am sure that no mater where you decide to go to school you will have a good education. I was offered acceptance to both schools, even though SCO offered me a contract seat, and no contract seat was available for me at UAB, I chose to attend UAB. I initially chose UAB for several reasons:

1. UAB was closer to home for me.
2. UAB was part of a large research University.
3. UABSO is an integrated portion of a biomedical research university.
4. I liked the big school feel, but the small class size.
5. I liked Birmingham much, much more than Memphis (a matter of personal preference I must admit)

If you would really like to learn valuable information about a school, I would rely on the students that already attend, rather than some who may be very well intentioned, but have yet to begin optometry school, and thus have no more insight than you have. In the end you will have to make your own choice, and unbiased information will be hard to come by.

Let me assure you that you will have plenty of patient encounters at UAB. The clinic does not always appear to be extremely busy when interviewees visit, mainly because the tour is given during lunch when no patients are scheduled, and also because most patients do not sit in the waiting room for very long before being called back. UABSO students staff not only the main clinic below the optometry school, but also many other health centers and clinics around Birmingham throughout their 2nd 3rd, and 4th years of optometry school. This is not even to mention the fact that every student will spent ½ of their 4th year away from school on externship at VA hospitals and clinics around the nation (and while many other schools now also offer externships, the program was started at UAB). UAB has only 40 students per class where as SCO has 120 students per class, so SCO’s clinic would have to have 3 times as many patients as UAB for each student to get the same number of patient encounters.

UABSO being part of a large research university has the resources to match. At UAB you will take most basic sciences with dental students taught by experts in their various fields Ph.Ds, MDs, PharmD. O.D, DDS, DVM etc… etc… for one course their might be as many as 15 different profs. UABSO students dissect cadavers during anatomy lab, which I don’t think you have the chance to do at SCO (honestly I am not sure how you are supposed to learn gross anatomy without a cadaver). The optometry class is small so you get lots of one on one time in the classes where you need one on one time like complete evaluation of the Visual system (where you will learn how to be an optometrist). Alabama also has some of the best optometry laws in the nation (next to perhaps OK.)

All of that being said, UAB has a tough program (not really sure how it compares to other schools). School is hard, you are in class clinic or lab from 8 in the morning until 5 at night (sometimes later) only to go home and study, or go back to the school until late to practice gonioscopy one last time before the practical, or go to the cadaver lab to get a good look at the cadaver of the group in the corner which has some sort of normal anatomical variation or another, or to look at some more histology slides. I sometimes think to myself, in the heat of the moment, that I am learning an awful lot of crap that I will never use. In the end though if it makes me a better optometrist it will be worth it.

 

[sco1styear]

If you would really like to learn valuable information about a school, I would rely on the students that already attend, rather than some who may be very well intentioned, but have yet to begin optometry school, and thus have no more insight than you have. In the end you will have to make your own choice, and unbiased information will be hard to come by.

Let me assure you that you will have plenty of patient encounters at UAB. The clinic does not always appear to be extremely busy when interviewees visit, mainly because the tour is given during lunch when no patients are scheduled, and also because most patients do not sit in the waiting room for very long before being called back. UABSO students staff not only the main clinic below the optometry school, but also many other health centers and clinics around Birmingham throughout their 2nd 3rd, and 4th years of optometry school. This is not even to mention the fact that every student will spent ½ of their 4th year away from school on externship at VA hospitals and clinics around the nation (and while many other schools now also offer externships, the program was started at UAB). UAB has only 40 students per class where as SCO has 120 students per class, so SCO’s clinic would have to have 3 times as many patients as UAB for each student to get the same number of patient encounters.

UABSO being part of a large research university has the resources to match. At UAB you will take most basic sciences with dental students taught by experts in their various fields Ph.Ds, MDs, PharmD. O.D, DDS, DVM etc… etc… for one course their might be as many as 15 different profs. UABSO students dissect cadavers during anatomy lab, which I don’t think you have the chance to do at SCO (honestly I am not sure how you are supposed to learn gross anatomy without a cadaver). The optometry class is small so you get lots of one on one time in the classes where you need one on one time like complete evaluation of the Visual system (where you will learn how to be an optometrist). Alabama also has some of the best optometry laws in the nation (next to perhaps OK.)

I've never been to UAB so I can't really compare it to SCO but I've always heard that it is a really good school.
But...SCO students spend 4 months of their 4th year on externs (it doesn't really matter who started it). SCO's clinic is the largest in the nation (which has been stated here many times) because it is so busy. Memphis is the 18th largest city in the U.S. so there is a large population to draw patients from. Not to mention that the clinic is also 15min from Arkansas and not much further from Mississippi, we draw patients from all around. But our patient base is mainly from the inner city population that cannot afford to pay for eyecare otherwise. With this population you get exposed to lots of pathology so that you will be well able to handle most anything that comes your way once you have graduated and no longer have a staff doctor to run to.
I like the fact that SCO is a private institution so that our classes are geared towards optometry. While you still have to take classes that cover the entire human body, the professors are excellent at making things relevant to us and letting you know when they're teaching about topics the NBEO focuses on. And since the lab groups are broken up you get more individual time with the professors when learning to do procedures...the time when you really need one on one guidance.
And no, we do not work on cadavers but we do learn our anatomy. As our anatomy professor puts it "when are we actually going to be cutting on dead people in our office"?

That being said, both schools have excellent reputations and both appear to graduate the best of optometrists. Any choice you make will be a good one, go with the school and environment that seems to fit you the best and try to dig through and find what is going to be the most important to you in an optometry school. Good luck!

SCO Class of 2008

 

[UABopt]

Memphis is the 18th largest city in the U.S. so there is a large population to draw patients from. Not to mention that the clinic is also 15min from Arkansas and not much further from Mississippi, we draw patients from all around. SCO Class of 2008

sco1styear-

I agree with just about everything you have to say. Both schools are good, as they should be, optometry as a profession would be in trouble if every school could not provide an adequate education.

I do though have to make a comment about Memphis being the 18th largest city. Memphis is the 18th largest city when you consider the city proper only http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763098.html. This though does not consider the metro population and would suggest that Memphis is a much larger city than even say Atlanta which is according to this criterion is the 42 largest city in the nation. To think that Memphis is nearly 2 times the size of Atlanta would be a laughable statement to anybody who has ever been to both cities, to say the least. A much better gauge to city size and influence is the city’s metro population which includes places outside the city proper. http://www.proximityone.com/msa03us.htm lists the cities by metro population (which ranks Atlanta 9th in the nation) and shows that both Memphis (with 1.2 million) and Birmingham (with 1.1 million) have very comparable metro populations.

Also we don't dissect cadavers because we will be doing that in our offices later on... but rather because it really is the best way to gain an appreciation for the complexity of the human body. I have even heard that some medical schools are getting away from cadaver lab because of the extreme costs involved. While cadaver lab might not be necessary I felt it was a great experience.

...
Having trouble deciding which school to go to is a problem many people wish that they had. I can assure you which ever choice you make it won’t be the wrong one.

 

[sco1styear]

sco1styear-


I do though have to make a comment about Memphis being the 18th largest city. Memphis is the 18th largest city when you consider the city proper only http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763098.html. This though does not consider the metro population and would suggest that Memphis is a much larger city than even say Atlanta which is according to this criterion is the 42 largest city in the nation. To think that Memphis is nearly 2 times the size of Atlanta would be a laughable statement to anybody who has ever been to both cities, to say the least. A much better gauge to city size and influence is the city’s metro population which includes places outside the city proper. http://www.proximityone.com/msa03us.htm lists the cities by metro population (which ranks Atlanta 9th in the nation) and shows that both Memphis (with 1.2 million) and Birmingham (with 1.1 million) have very comparable metro populations.

Also we don't dissect cadavers because we will be doing that in our offices later on... but rather because it really is the best way to gain an appreciation for the complexity of the human body. I have even heard that some medical schools are getting away from cadaver lab because of the extreme costs involved. While cadaver lab might not be necessary I felt it was a great experience.

Sorry about the size ranking discrepancy. I was just quoting a statistic that I heard on tv without doing my own research. It's never smart to believe something just because you heard it on tv, that's my mistake..
And I do have to say that some in my class wish they had had a cadaver to dissect, I am not one of those people. I think it's great that you get that experience if that is something you are interested in.
All the best!

 

[stevec]

UABSO being part of a large research university has the resources to match. At UAB you will take most basic sciences with dental students taught by experts in their various fields Ph.Ds, MDs, PharmD. O.D, DDS, DVM etc… etc… for one course their might be as many as 15 different profs.

I think it is a matter of opinion whether this is even a good thing or not. Personally I'd rather have a professor that spends most of his time teaching or the clinic. That's the way I looked at it. Every professor at SCO is actually a practicing optometrist, not just the ones for the "how to be an optometrist" type classes. We have Ph.Ds for most of the science type courses and even one MD PhD OD (weird I know...has at least one masters too). My undergrad was spent at a research university, and I can't say there was any correlation between good teaching and how much research the guy did. In fact, sometimes all they care about is their research and the class sucks, but it's usually not that bad.

 

[sco1styear]

Every professor at SCO is actually a practicing optometrist, not just the ones for the "how to be an optometrist" type classes.

Not true...Dr. Saxon and Dr. Steinman do not practice optometry even though Steiny might have at one time. Dr. Steinman is interested more in research. But the vast majority of them are practicing optometrist.
btw - don't forget dr. GB is also now a certified ophthalmic coding specialist, the only optometrist with that certification! He never stops!

 

[eyes28]

Not true...Dr. Saxon and Dr. Steinman do not practice optometry even though Steiny might have at one time. Dr. Steinman is interested more in research. But the vast majority of them are practicing optometrist.
btw - don't forget dr. GB is also now a certified ophthalmic coding specialist, the only optometrist with that certification! He never stops!

what is an "ophthalmic coding specialist?"

 

[stevec]

Not true...Dr. Saxon and Dr. Steinman do not practice optometry even though Steiny might have at one time. Dr. Steinman is interested more in research. But the vast majority of them are practicing optometrist.
btw - don't forget dr. GB is also now a certified ophthalmic coding specialist, the only optometrist with that certification! He never stops!

OK, I guess I could say that, but I'd be wrong. Saxon had me fooled. There are a few exceptions, but generally people have their ODs and spend some time in the clinic. What the heck does Saxon do all the time? I guess I just assumed. I know his son is an optometrist, and he's talked about his son doing optometry stuff. Steinman has his OD, and I would say he still practices optometry but just in a research setting. That's the way I look at it.

 

[UABopt]

I think it is a matter of opinion whether this is even a good thing or not. Personally I'd rather have a professor that spends most of his time teaching or the clinic. That's the way I looked at it. Every professor at SCO is actually a practicing optometrist, not just the ones for the "how to be an optometrist" type classes. We have Ph.Ds for most of the science type courses and even one MD PhD OD (weird I know...has at least one masters too). My undergrad was spent at a research university, and I can't say there was any correlation between good teaching and how much research the guy did. In fact, sometimes all they care about is their research and the class sucks, but it's usually not that bad.

I suppose it is all a matter of perspective. Certainly there are those who would say that an optometrist can teach you all of the relevant information, but I think there is only so much that an optometrist would reasonably be expected know about histology, biochemistry, microbiology etc. etc. I for one would rather have experts in those particular fields teach those courses. I have no clue as to how those courses are taught or who teaches those courses at SCO, but at UAB we get a very broad background in general medical knowledge (sometimes perhaps a little too broad, and according to some of my classmates way too broad). Most of the optometry professors are also attending in our clinic as well.

 

[eyes28]

I suppose it is all a matter of perspective. Certainly there are those who would say that an optometrist can teach you all of the relevant information, but I think there is only so much that an optometrist would reasonably be expected know about histology, biochemistry, microbiology etc. etc. I for one would rather have experts in those particular fields teach those courses. I have no clue as to how those courses are taught or who teaches those courses at SCO, but at UAB we get a very broad background in general medical knowledge (sometimes perhaps a little too broad, and according to some of my classmates way too broad). Most of the optometry professors are also attending in our clinic as well.

UABopt,

do u think u would rather get more of a medical background than u r getting at uab? do u think it would help u be a more qualified and competent optometrist?
thanks!

 

[sco1styear]

OK, I guess I could say that, but I'd be wrong. Saxon had me fooled. There are a few exceptions, but generally people have their ODs and spend some time in the clinic. What the heck does Saxon do all the time? I guess I just assumed. I know his son is an optometrist, and he's talked about his son doing optometry stuff. Steinman has his OD, and I would say he still practices optometry but just in a research setting. That's the way I look at it.

Have you not noticed? Saxon spends all his time memorizing his notes, he doesn't even have to glance at them!
For those who don't know, Dr. Saxon teaches us histology and anatomy classes. He has been teaching at SCO for 30 years and knows more about those subjects than I would ever wish to know!
And he is famous for sayings such as..."you could say that, but you'd be wrong"

 

[UABSO2010]

UABOpt, I will be attending UABSO next fall 😀 ... Wondering if you have any suggestions on housing? I checked out rent.com so far, and there seems to be quite a few nice (and relatively cheap) apartments within 3-8 miles of campus. Any particular places you would suggest, or on the contrary stay away from? Any area/distance that you would say is too far/too much of a pain to drive from in the morning????
Thanks for any help in advance!

 

[UABopt]

UABopt,

do u think u would rather get more of a medical background than u r getting at uab? do u think it would help u be a more qualified and competent optometrist?
thanks!

I don't see how we could get more of a medical background than we are getting at UAB, short of increasing the length of time for the program. If you look at the study from last year in optometric education comparing the optometry schools, UAB was among the schools with the most hours spent on basic sciences. That being said I think that a strong background in the basic sciences, and systemic medicine will make you a much more competent clinician. As we are told over and over again... our patients are more than just a set of eyes.

 

[gsinccom]

If you look at the study from last year in optometric education comparing the optometry schools, UAB was among the schools with the most hours spent on basic sciences. QUOTE] where can I read this? thank you🙂

 

[UABopt]

UABOpt, I will be attending UABSO next fall 😀 ... Wondering if you have any suggestions on housing? I checked out rent.com so far, and there seems to be quite a few nice (and relatively cheap) apartments within 3-8 miles of campus. Any particular places you would suggest, or on the contrary stay away from? Any area/distance that you would say is too far/too much of a pain to drive from in the morning????
Thanks for any help in advance!

Really it is all a matter of personal preference. I would not recommend any places down 280 as traffic out that way can get out of hand fast. I think you would be happy anywhere in Vestavia, Mtn. Brook, or Hoover... though traffic down that way can be bad too i.e. I65 south of University. Southside is hit or miss some areas are nice and some are very shady. Directly north and north west of UAB can be shady... and some would consider it rough. Once you get outside of "North Birmingham" things get better again and into Fultondale and Gardendale are nice. Some of my classmates live up that way (Fultondale and Gardendale) and they love it. While it may be a little further out the traffic is not nearly as bad going north on I65. The only real problem I hear is that there is not a whole lot in the way of shopping out that way... ie anything outside of walmart or K-mart you would have to drive a little further.

 

[UABopt]

If you look at the study from last year in optometric education comparing the optometry schools, UAB was among the schools with the most hours spent on basic sciences. QUOTE] where can I read this? thank you🙂

The article can be found here:

http://opted.org/teampublish/uploads/winter05curriculum.pdf

Notice UAB with 566 hours has more time than any other school on the basic biomedical sciences.

 

[gsinccom]

The article can be found here:

http://opted.org/teampublish/uploads/winter05curriculum.pdf

Notice UAB with 566 hours has more time than any other school on the basic biomedical sciences.

thank you

do you know of any place, other than contacting each school individually, where board scores for all schools are compared?

 

[UABopt]

thank you

do you know of any place, other than contacting each school individually, where board scores for all schools are compared?

Sorry... as far as I know no such resource is made available to the public.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

This is a great thread everyone... I love to see students so passionate about the school they have selected. I've been accepted to ICO, but am still considering apply to SCO, especially because of all of the wonderful things I've read on this thread as well as the SCO Class of '06 thread. Thanks to everyone who is contributing! Keep it coming...

 

[sco1styear]

This is a great thread everyone... I love to see students so passionate about the school they have selected. I've been accepted to ICO, but am still considering apply to SCO, especially because of all of the wonderful things I've read on this thread as well as the SCO Class of '06 thread. Thanks to everyone who is contributing! Keep it coming...

Why not apply? It would be better to apply and have the option than not and wonder what you may have chosen if you had. I'm not saying that ICO is not the school for you, it very well may be. But check SCO out and see what you think. 😀

 

[eyes28]

hi!

thanks to all of u for the great amount of helpful information! keep it coming!
as like with anything else, i'm sure there have to be at least some negatives to each school, and perhaps the area.

what r some of those negatives of uab and sco??

thanks in advance!

 

[sco1styear]

hi!

thanks to all of u for the great amount of helpful information! keep it coming!
as like with anything else, i'm sure there have to be at least some negatives to each school, and perhaps the area.

what r some of those negatives of uab and sco??

thanks in advance!

I think something people see as a big negative is the crime in Memphis. Although the majority of it happens in areas that you stay away from in the first place, it does make it a more dangerous place to live. But like any city, you just have to know where to go and where not go to and be smart about it. Another thing that could be taken as a positive or a negative is one of our professors who teaches mainly pharmacology is extremely tough. You have to really know your stuff to even think of passing his tests but supposedly by the time you get to the boards, the questions seem like a joke. He definitely makes second year tough (he's also our professor that has an MD, PhD, and no telling what else) but his thought is that if we are going to be Rxing meds, we need to know our stuff. This same guy also holds a board review at no charge to us and does an excellent job at preparing students.

 

[eyes28]

hi!

uab seems very expensive compared to sco. is it worth the money (and the time to repay those loans) to go to uab?

if so, do any of u know any sites for scholarships or financial aid (other than fafsa and fastweb) that give pretty substantial amount of scholarship for tuition that is so very high? as of now, i got in without a contract seat and supposedly all the school scholarships have been already given out...which sort of comes out to about 7 or so people that have to pay out of state tuition with no outside help from the school?? is that fair?

pretty disappointed at the moment...

thanks in advance!

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Why not apply? It would be better to apply and have the option than not and wonder what you may have chosen if you had. I'm not saying that ICO is not the school for you, it very well may be. But check SCO out and see what you think. 😀

I'm definitely going to apply! I really liked ICO, and coming from a tiny town of one stoplight... Chicago was awesome! But, my husband and I are hoping to buy a house, and from what I can tell, the Memphis housing market is very reasonable, whereas Chicago is not. (I live in Sparks, NV right now...and 250,000 will get you a shack... if you are lucky!!!) What I liked so much about ICO was the clinic and the exposure to such a variety of populations and pathologies. The other school I'm applying to, Pacific, doesn't seem to offer the same variety. Enter SCO, and I may have found the best of every world! We'll see... I'm finishing up my app this week!

 

[Kristene9]

hi!

uab seems very expensive compared to sco. is it worth the money (and the time to repay those loans) to go to uab?

if so, do any of u know any sites for scholarships or financial aid (other than fafsa and fastweb) that give pretty substantial amount of scholarship for tuition that is so very high? as of now, i got in without a contract seat and supposedly all the school scholarships have been already given out...which sort of comes out to about 7 or so people that have to pay out of state tuition with no outside help from the school?? is that fair?

pretty disappointed at the moment...

thanks in advance!

I’m paying out of state tuition for UABSO. I'm surprise they didn’t tell you this at the interview, but you only pays out of state tuition for the first year. After that you are considered instate, so it’s really not that much more. If you were good with your money you could probably make up the difference (~10,000 I think?? Sorry I should know this), or at half of it by the time you graduated.

And! I think 10,000 if you really want to go there isn't that bad. Looking across the board its still ALOT less then some of the other choices

 

[sco1styear]

I'm definitely going to apply! I really liked ICO, and coming from a tiny town of one stoplight... Chicago was awesome! But, my husband and I are hoping to buy a house, and from what I can tell, the Memphis housing market is very reasonable, whereas Chicago is not. (I live in Sparks, NV right now...and 250,000 will get you a shack... if you are lucky!!!) What I liked so much about ICO was the clinic and the exposure to such a variety of populations and pathologies. The other school I'm applying to, Pacific, doesn't seem to offer the same variety. Enter SCO, and I may have found the best of every world! We'll see... I'm finishing up my app this week!

Good luck!

 

[UABSO2010]

I’m paying out of state tuition for UABSO. I'm surprise they didn’t tell you this at the interview, but you only pays out of state tuition for the first year. After that you are considered instate, so it’s really not that much more. If you were good with your money you could probably make up the difference (~10,000 I think?? Sorry I should know this), or at half of it by the time you graduated.

And! I think 10,000 if you really want to go there isn't that bad. Looking across the board its still ALOT less then some of the other choices

Um, actually I just interviewed (and will be going to next fall) @ UABSO in December. They made it quite a big deal that UAB has - as of this next fall's entering class in particular- outlawed being able to change your residency status once you enter UAB. So any of us entering for the class of 2010 or later will have to pay out of state tuition all 4 years if you're not from a contract state. And if you don't get a scholarship, its a difference of about $20-21,000 more per year for in state vs. out of state, not $10,000 ( I believe its like $10k vs $31k a year 🙁 ) ... So it is quite expensive if you're out of state and don't get a scholarship, but really not that much more than a lot of other schools- especially when you figure in living expenses in Birmingham vs. say New York, Philly, or Chicago...
I'm no expert on this, just repeating what I was told by UAB staff during my interview (although there were a lot of faculty/staff missing the day of my interview to some conference out West, so who knows- maybe the presentation was wrong?)... they did mention that if you get a full time job on the side (yeah right!), are/get married when you're down there and your spouse works full time etc... that there's probably no way they could deny you residency, but with the changing policies I wouldn't count on it...

 

[UABSO2010]

For UABopt or anyone else currently @ UABSO,
I'm wondering about spring visit? This year it's scheduled during the middle of march, and I have a undergraduate percussion ensemble performance (a group I've been a part of every semester during undergrad, so I do like to support them if possible) the exact same day as the first day of spring visit. Right now I'm leaning towards skipping the ensemble performance in order to make it to spring visit- because I don't want to make my transition etc... any more difficult than it needs to be next year, but I'm wondering just how important/necessary spring visit really is? I'm from out of state (about 13 hours away), so I'll have to find a roomate(s), apartment, etc... Is it going to be rough dealing with all of that if I miss spring visit, or is it really not much of a big deal??? I know that Keely and others at UAB say that its not mandatory, but is very strongly encouraged - just wondering your personal opinions on how helpful/necessary it is for next fall????
THANKS!

 

[UABopt]

For UABopt or anyone else currently @ UABSO,
I'm wondering about spring visit? This year it's scheduled during the middle of march, and I have a undergraduate percussion ensemble performance (a group I've been a part of every semester during undergrad, so I do like to support them if possible) the exact same day as the first day of spring visit. Right now I'm leaning towards skipping the ensemble performance in order to make it to spring visit- because I don't want to make my transition etc... any more difficult than it needs to be next year, but I'm wondering just how important/necessary spring visit really is? I'm from out of state (about 13 hours away), so I'll have to find a roomate(s), apartment, etc... Is it going to be rough dealing with all of that if I miss spring visit, or is it really not much of a big deal??? I know that Keely and others at UAB say that its not mandatory, but is very strongly encouraged - just wondering your personal opinions on how helpful/necessary it is for next fall????
THANKS!

For me the spring visit was a great experience. It was really nice to get to meet all of your classmates several months before you even start school. I meet my roommate at spring visit, and went around looking at many of the apartments available, as did many of the people in my class. The school hired an “apartment location service” for us, which was really nice because most of us were not at all familiar with the area, and they drove groups of us around on sort of an apartment tour. The only thing to sort of be aware of is that these apartment locators are paid a kick back to have you sign with certain apartments that they are affiliated with, so be aware that there is more available than they show you. There was a lot of talk about financial aid, school policy etc, etc… but all of this will be covered again in great detail during your very extensive, exhausting and boring orientation the first 4 days of class. I don’t think it would be the end of the world at all if you had to miss the spring visit. In my year something like 30 out of the 40 of us showed up.

 

[UABopt]

Um, actually I just interviewed (and will be going to next fall) @ UABSO in December. They made it quite a big deal that UAB has - as of this next fall's entering class in particular- outlawed being able to change your residency status once you enter UAB. So any of us entering for the class of 2010 or later will have to pay out of state tuition all 4 years if you're not from a contract state. And if you don't get a scholarship, its a difference of about $20-21,000 more per year for in state vs. out of state, not $10,000 ( I believe its like $10k vs $31k a year 🙁 ) ... So it is quite expensive if you're out of state and don't get a scholarship, but really not that much more than a lot of other schools- especially when you figure in living expenses in Birmingham vs. say New York, Philly, or Chicago...
I'm no expert on this, just repeating what I was told by UAB staff during my interview (although there were a lot of faculty/staff missing the day of my interview to some conference out West, so who knows- maybe the presentation was wrong?)... they did mention that if you get a full time job on the side (yeah right!), are/get married when you're down there and your spouse works full time etc... that there's probably no way they could deny you residency, but with the changing policies I wouldn't count on it...

I was not aware in this change in policy. For the longest time it had been the unofficial policy of UABSO to give in state residency to every student after the first year provided you had completed a list of things random things… ie get an Al driver’s license, a business license etc etc… Also take note that very few people in each class are “out of state students.” Most of the surrounding states without optometry schools have “contract seats” at UAB. If you fit into this category and fill one of the contract seats, the state that you are from will make up the difference between in state and out of state tuition. Note though that some states put stipulations on this, for example some require that you come back to your home state to practice for a predetermined length of time. Other states have no strings attached to their contract seats… terms vary from state to state.

 

[eyes28]

I was not aware in this change in policy. For the longest time it had been the unofficial policy of UABSO to give in state residency to every student after the first year provided you had completed a list of things random things… ie get an Al driver’s license, a business license etc etc… Also take note that very few people in each class are “out of state students.” Most of the surrounding states without optometry schools have “contract seats” at UAB. If you fit into this category and fill one of the contract seats, the state that you are from will make up the difference between in state and out of state tuition. Note though that some states put stipulations on this, for example some require that you come back to your home state to practice for a predetermined length of time. Other states have no strings attached to their contract seats… terms vary from state to state.

as far as they told me during my interview that once u get accepted as out of state, then u pay the out of state tuition price for the next four years. is there a way that they still do it, just unofficially? bc it would surely help!!! any ideas on where to look for scholarships though...?????

 

[eyes28]

Um, actually I just interviewed (and will be going to next fall) @ UABSO in December. They made it quite a big deal that UAB has - as of this next fall's entering class in particular- outlawed being able to change your residency status once you enter UAB. So any of us entering for the class of 2010 or later will have to pay out of state tuition all 4 years if you're not from a contract state. And if you don't get a scholarship, its a difference of about $20-21,000 more per year for in state vs. out of state, not $10,000 ( I believe its like $10k vs $31k a year 🙁 ) ... So it is quite expensive if you're out of state and don't get a scholarship, but really not that much more than a lot of other schools- especially when you figure in living expenses in Birmingham vs. say New York, Philly, or Chicago...
I'm no expert on this, just repeating what I was told by UAB staff during my interview (although there were a lot of faculty/staff missing the day of my interview to some conference out West, so who knows- maybe the presentation was wrong?)... they did mention that if you get a full time job on the side (yeah right!), are/get married when you're down there and your spouse works full time etc... that there's probably no way they could deny you residency, but with the changing policies I wouldn't count on it...

laddison2002,
how did they let u start in december??

 

[UABopt]

laddison2002,
how did they let u start in december??

I think he meant he interviewed in December.

 

[eyes28]

I think he meant he interviewed in December.

ur right! i misread!

 

[eyes28]

does anyone know about how many students usually get in without contract seats and no scholarships to uab? just wanted to get a tough estimate... bc if u figure 20 / 40 r for alabama residents so they do get in state tuition, then about 13 r for contracts, who also pay instate tuition...that leaves about 7 who r out of state residents. however, admissions committee tells me that they have several scholarships and does anyone know who gets them and how they distribute them?? the way i figured is that, they should probably have more than 7 scholarships available (im just speculating, not know for sure) that should cover the rest of the class at least somehow with tuition that is so high?? what do u all think about that? or does this indicate that they only have like 3-4 to give out?? i just feel like i am probably the only one who got in with no scholarship nor contract seat....or r there others out there like that?

 

[sco1styear]

Sorry to throw the current thread off but something I really just found out today was that since tennessee allows injections, we are able to actually practice doing injections into the upper eyelid and the eyeball instead of just watching a video/reading about it. It was really cool!
I believe Alabama allows periocular injections, just not injections into the eyeball (please correct me if I'm wrong). But they still seem to have slightly broader laws than a lot of states.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Good luck!
And I have you beat, my town's one stoplight is now a blinking 4-way stop 😎

Thanks for the well wishes! If you don't mind my asking... what town did you grow up in? I grew up in Lovelock, NV. Our graduating class had 69 people in it... we didn't get a McDonald's until 1994, and that was a MAJOR event. (Odd way of judging civilization... the number of fast food joints!) Back to SCO... Does the school have any sort of private practice club or any clerkships w/ practices in the area where you can get some exposure to business aspects of optometry? In other words, do you think SCO will have prepared you to run your own practice? I was also wondering if you knew anybody at SCO who has purchased a house in the Memphis area? Any insight?

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Sorry to throw the current thread off but something I really just found out today was that since tennessee allows injections, we are able to actually practice doing injections into the upper eyelid and the eyeball instead of just watching a video/reading about it. It was really cool!
I believe Alabama allows periocular injections, just not injections into the eyeball (please correct me if I'm wrong). But they still seem to have slightly broader laws than a lot of states.

AHHHHH! That is the one thing that FREAKS me out! Injections INTO the eyeball? One skill test I will definitely flunk!

 

[sco1styear]

AHHHHH! That is the one thing that FREAKS me out! Injections INTO the eyeball? One skill test I will definitely flunk!

We just finished the injections into the eyelid and they weren't anywhere near as bad as we had imagined! 🙂
I'll let you know about injections into the eyeball next week 😱