Supportive opto programs, vs. sink-or-swim (choosing schools)

[spilanthes]

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I need to decide which schools to apply to, and I can't visit them all! I did visit ICO recently, and was happy to hear the student tour guide explain how supportive the teachers are. This does not mean that they pass people who don't deserve it, but that they care about the success of their students. Examples are helping students outside of normal office hours, or supplying class notes to students, so they can focus on the lecture and just write side-notes. As the students prepare for their first board exams, the faculty provides them with study material.

In contrast, I've heard (from one person, who did not attend) that SUNY is not a friendly school, that students are very competitive with one another, and the teachers are not supportive. I'd like to find out from a student, or someone who visited the school, if her impression is true.

I've only had a few teachers who frankly did not care how poor their teaching was, or how complex the material. If I pay a huge amount of money to be taught a subject, I would like to be taught well, and by teachers who care.

The schools I'm most interested in at present are: ICO, Indiana, Southern, Alabama, Berkeley, SUNY, St. Louis, and Nova. If anyone has information to share, (including for schools I'm not looking at yet) I'd really appreciate it!

 

[KHE]

In contrast, I've heard (from one person, who did not attend) that SUNY is not a friendly school, that students are very competitive with one another, and the teachers are not supportive. I'd like to find out from a student, or someone who visited the school, if her impression is true.

I've only had a few teachers who frankly did not care how poor their teaching was, or how complex the material. If I pay a huge amount of money to be taught a subject, I would like to be taught well, and by teachers who care.

Can't speak for the others but I am a SUNY graduate and I can only think of one professor who was difficult and seemed indifferent to students needs. Every other instructor, whether they were mostly didactical or clinical were very easy going and eagerly willing to help students.

Regarding competitiveness, I do not recall anyone in my class being competitive with any one else. There were certainly students that were more uptight than others about what scores they got but they were also always willing to help out classmates in whatever way they could. In fact, I was very pleasantly surprised because in undergraduate school, people were HYPER competitive and I expected optometry school to be the same.

Thankfully, it was not in any way shape or form.

 

[jefguth]

One thing you might want to consider is what your schedule will be like the month or two leading up to NBEO Part I.

At ICO we have primary care clinic twice a week, one morning of CL lab, two major courses, two minor courses, one or two tests per week and occasional dispensing shifts. NBEO reviews since mid may are held 7pm-9pm. Now I don't mean to complain, but this makes studying for boards a tight fit.

From what I've gathered talking to students at other schools is that some of them provide more focused attention leading up to boards, allowing for more study/prep time. I believe that some schools do not have lecture courses right now to allow for this.

Just something to think about!

 

[4Eyes]

UMSL has been a supportive school, I think. Students are NOT competitive, and I think that's one of the best things about it. In my experience, everyone is totally willing to help another student. Also, there's no weeding out or anything like that.

If someone is struggling with the coursework, they can set you up with a free tutor (another student a year or two ahead of you). Though there's no "note-taking service," all of the instructors are required to post lecture powerpoints online for students to download. There's maybe one instructor who doesn't like to post them until after the lecture (or at least didn't when I was a first year...things may have changed), but you can still write down the extra comments and try to piece it together afterward. This really isn't a problem very often. I think the instructors are all approachable, and they set office hours and stick to them. You can also always call and arrange a time to talk if you want to. Many give you their home phone number or cell number. And most are really good about email.

It doesn't happen often, but if someone is REALLY struggling and could possibly be dropped from the program, they seriously try everything they can to try to help. Sometimes people have a lot of things going on, family-wise or whatever, and they'll put them on a five-year plan.

The summer of NBEO Part I, most students have one clinic day a week (some have two half days in the evenings). You get to pick which day...most people get their first or second choice. This is broken up into two "chunks" in the summer, and both chunks are optional. However, each chunk gets you out of one half day for a semester during your 3rd year. So pretty much everyone does it because 3rd year is pretty intense as it is. I liked this because you still have something of a summer, and it allows plenty of time to study.

The instructors also do board reviews (starting in June, I think) a couple of evenings a week and some Sunday afternoons. I found those to be very helpful.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any additional questions. 🙂

 

[JMU07]

I have visited SCO, PCO and NOVA and can honestly say that I like them all for different reasons. SCO is my first choice, I really liked the school, the people I met were really friendly and willing to talk to me, and the cost of living is LOW! (It's the lowest of all cities in the country with more than a half million people.) I like that it's affordable. NOVA is my second choice, it's a beautiful school in a beautiful location and once again, everyone I talked to was really friendly. Cost of living is much higher. PCO has an awesome school, but I only got to talk to a couple of people and their tuition is a lot higher, not to mention the cost of living. I like that PCO is closest to home (by a long shot too). It all depends on what you're looking for!

 

[blazenmadison]

At SCO....our class is pretty supportive of each other. We email resources and study guides to each other, but I'm sure that is true at other schools.
SCO has a free tutoring service if you need it.

Choose the least expensive path to your optometry degree, unless your parents are paying for it then choose the prettiest school/city. Haha. 🙂

 

[sniklegem]

SCO weeds people out with interview offers... the admissions office only offers a slot to someone who they think will be a great student. Interviews matter a lot and further weeding out happens until the best are offered spots.

The faculty and staff all want you to do well in class and in lab. They want you to graduate and make a positive impact in the field... they want you to pay off your loans and support you family and do something you love until you die in your lane. lol!

But you'll like just about anywhere you go, so pick several places that you like on paper and then go with your gut feeling if you get multiple acceptances!

 

[jc812]

At SCO....our class is pretty supportive of each other. We email resources and study guides to each other, but I'm sure that is true at other schools.
SCO has a free tutoring service if you need it.

Choose the least expensive path to your optometry degree, unless your parents are paying for it then choose the prettiest school/city. Haha. 🙂

Where are some nicer/affordable places to live around SCO? I've read some comments regarding better neighborhoods, but I can't find the thread anymore.