Where to Go???? (Nova, PCO, or SUNY?)

[yanksfan422]

Hi everyone!

I got accepted into PCO, SUNY, and Nova. I am really torn of where to go. I would like to know everyone's opinion on each school. Please feel free to share anything (quality of education, boards passing rate, social life, location, professors, etc). There is only so much I can learn from tours and pamphlets. It would be cool to get some of the students' perspective!

Thanks!

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[thanotoriousfob]

Hi everyone!

I got accepted into PCO, SUNY, and Nova. I am really torn of where to go. I would like to know everyone's opinion on each school. Please feel free to share anything (quality of education, boards passing rate, social life, location, professors, etc). There is only so much I can learn from tours and pamphlets. It would be cool to get some of the students' perspective!

Thanks!

So you didn't learn anything when you were interviewing? Didn't you ask them questions that were important to you? Usually it comes down to what school you feel most comfortable with. I know it's a vague response but I think it's the right one.

 

[eheaps]

I have interviews at these three schools in the next 3 weeks so I can try to formulate an opinion for myself and share that with you. Based on your username I can assume your from the New York area? (Go yanks!)

 

[yanksfan422]

So you didn't learn anything when you were interviewing? Didn't you ask them questions that were important to you? Usually it comes down to what school you feel most comfortable with. I know it's a vague response but I think it's the right one.

Well...not really the response I was looking for. I knew someone like you was going to answer with a sarcastic remark like that. But to answer your question, yes I did learn a lot about each school when I interviewed and I did ask a lot of questions...I'm not an idiot. I'm sure you know how it goes...you get down there and you have so many questions and there are so many answers, you see some things you like and some things you don't like (even if they are small things). My point was that all schools have something to offer in their own special way. I was looking for another person's opinion, trying to pick their brains and see what other people thought of the schools. I wanted to see if I was thinking the same thing of if I overlooked something when I was down there. You basically wasted your time responding to my question because your answer got nothing accomplished. You're probably just another one of those pompous, arrogant people who think that their useless opinions are valuable. Give me some credit here. Is it not possible that I do not have a clear cut answer of where I want to go? Or does everyone know exactly where they want to go after their interviews. Thanks for nothing. But I'm sure you are still a nice person overall.

 

[yanksfan422]

I have interviews at these three schools in the next 3 weeks so I can try to formulate an opinion for myself and share that with you. Based on your username I can assume your from the New York area? (Go yanks!)

Lol. Yes, I am from Syracuse, NY. But I try to base my decision on the school and environment, not necessarily tuition. That would be really cool if you would give me your thoughts. I liked them all. I just know when I say yes to one good school, I will be saying no to two good schools as well. And thank you for a nice response. Some people on this forum have too big of an ego and think their sarcastic remarks are valuable. Anyhow, good luck with your interviews!!!!

 

[yanksfan422]

I just want to clarify my question. I know a lot about each school and I know I will be an optometrist in the end no matter where I go. My question was just to see what other people thought. Unlike some people, my decision of where to go is not coming easy. I am weighing the pros and cons of each school by considering everything...curriculum, externships, tuition, location, living/living expenses, life outside of school, etc. I would just like to see what other people think that are looking at these schools. Please do no waste your time by asking me if I did my research or if I learned anything about the schools when I interviewed. Give me some credit here. I like 'em all. Give me you opinion! lol...thanks!

 

[pienfoo]

if you've read other posts by thenotoriousfob you'll know not to pay attention to his/her nonsense.

anyway, i replied to earlier posts about all three schools. here's what I think:

in more seriousness, i know that both PCO and SUNY have a well established and respectable program (PCO's older). Some points about PCO that makes me KNOW that i made the best choice:
- PCO has been around for many years (over 60?)
- PCO has contracts with ALOT of sites at ALL the states in the US for your externship.
- module system (which is wonderful once you figure out how it works) that allows a much more time spent in clinical externships - which in my opinion is pretty darn important.
- VERY high board passing rates (i think 95 or 98%)
- even though PCO has other programs (PA and audiology), they don't mix students together. so you're not going to be learning unnecessary info geared towards another degree.
- a large diverse class. everyone gets along pretty well.
- state of the art gym/ rec center
- excellent faculty, most of them have been around for more than 10 years. very responsible, and most of them are nice and helpful.
- Clinic serves a diverse population, which allows you to see all kinds of ocular conditions. i've already observed more ocular diseases during my first semester here compared to the two years that i spent as a tech at a group practice in an affluent neighborhood.
- no stupid dress codes on campus (but yes, shirt and tie in clinic).

all in all, you get the freedom to learn at your own style. However, they don't baby you so you'll need to have good time management or else you'll probably flunk out by second semester. Either school you choose, you'll get a great education. g'luck!


this is one on my take of NOVA's program:
i also interviewed and was accepted there. Overall i think they improved their program dramatically from before when there were talks of the lost of their accreditation and low board passing rates. What I don't like is that they combine a good number of classes with students from other programs so it's lessly they'll expose to you optometry specific topics in the intro science classes. Another thing is the dress code. You'll be wearing a off-green colored scrub for THREE YEARS. Some students claim that it gives them the convenience of not having to decide what to wear each day but I think it's ******ed. Lastly, i've heard that a good number of people drop out of nova (because of anatomy.. hm) and end up going to/graduating from puerto rico. anyway g'luck w/ everything.

so, good luck!

 

[SarahNC]

One thing that might be of importance to you is that if you do not go to SUNY, you CAN NOT do externships in NY except at the VA.

 

[eheaps]

So I was at SUNY this morning and I can tell you it is very very nice. my overall impressions were that their clinic is wonderful, and seems to be the main focus at the school. I'm not sure what elements are of greater importance to you but some things that stood out to me were the small class size (theres three small lecture halls, one for each of the three years), the clinic was amazing, and the student to faculty ratio is very good compared to larger schools. The vibe I got is that everyone knows everyone, especially the students and doctors, which is good. I'm sure that happens everywhere though. Everything being in one building seems convenient, although they don't have a cafeteria (who knows, that could be a deciding factor for you!). I'll be going to PCO this Friday, so I'll get back to you on my thoughts about them.

 

[yanksfan422]

yea, thats the impression I got when I went there. I think the small class size is a very good thing, but also somewhat of a downer. I like meeting lots of new ppl, so the bigger the better. On my tour by a student, she was saying how the student environment is competitive and it is kind of clicky there. She seemed like a debbie downer but that kind of turned me off a little. But that won't be the deciding factor. Thanks for the response! Good luck!

 

[yanksfan422]

One thing that might be of importance to you is that if you do not go to SUNY, you CAN NOT do externships in NY except at the VA.

Yea, I know that SUNY locks NY locations up pretty tight. Not a big deal to me because I look forward to externing around the country for some experience. Although it is good to network near home, I am not sure if I will end up practicing there. But I may...lol

Thanks!

 

[yanksfan422]

if you've read other posts by thenotoriousfob you'll know not to pay attention to his/her nonsense.

anyway, i replied to earlier posts about all three schools. here's what I think:

in more seriousness, i know that both PCO and SUNY have a well established and respectable program (PCO's older). Some points about PCO that makes me KNOW that i made the best choice:
- PCO has been around for many years (over 60?)
- PCO has contracts with ALOT of sites at ALL the states in the US for your externship.
- module system (which is wonderful once you figure out how it works) that allows a much more time spent in clinical externships - which in my opinion is pretty darn important.
- VERY high board passing rates (i think 95 or 98%)
- even though PCO has other programs (PA and audiology), they don't mix students together. so you're not going to be learning unnecessary info geared towards another degree.
- a large diverse class. everyone gets along pretty well.
- state of the art gym/ rec center
- excellent faculty, most of them have been around for more than 10 years. very responsible, and most of them are nice and helpful.
- Clinic serves a diverse population, which allows you to see all kinds of ocular conditions. i've already observed more ocular diseases during my first semester here compared to the two years that i spent as a tech at a group practice in an affluent neighborhood.
- no stupid dress codes on campus (but yes, shirt and tie in clinic).

all in all, you get the freedom to learn at your own style. However, they don't baby you so you'll need to have good time management or else you'll probably flunk out by second semester. Either school you choose, you'll get a great education. g'luck!


this is one on my take of NOVA's program:
i also interviewed and was accepted there. Overall i think they improved their program dramatically from before when there were talks of the lost of their accreditation and low board passing rates. What I don't like is that they combine a good number of classes with students from other programs so it's lessly they'll expose to you optometry specific topics in the intro science classes. Another thing is the dress code. You'll be wearing a off-green colored scrub for THREE YEARS. Some students claim that it gives them the convenience of not having to decide what to wear each day but I think it's ******ed. Lastly, i've heard that a good number of people drop out of nova (because of anatomy.. hm) and end up going to/graduating from puerto rico. anyway g'luck w/ everything.

so, good luck!

The dress code thing does kind of stink...but wouldnt prevent me from going there. I look at the combining of programs for a class as both a positive and a negative. Like you said, why learn things you don't need to know. But on the other hand, it doesn't hurt to know gross anatomy. I think its nice that you take a class with students in another program...just more people to meet.

Overall, I like PCO's academic set up the best. I like how you do a lot more externships and the module system seems pretty cool.

How is life like there outside of school?

 

[blysssful]

I just want to clarify my question. I know a lot about each school and I know I will be an optometrist in the end no matter where I go. My question was just to see what other people thought. Unlike some people, my decision of where to go is not coming easy. I am weighing the pros and cons of each school by considering everything...curriculum, externships, tuition, location, living/living expenses, life outside of school, etc. I would just like to see what other people think that are looking at these schools. Please do no waste your time by asking me if I did my research or if I learned anything about the schools when I interviewed. Give me some credit here. I like 'em all. Give me you opinion! lol...thanks!

Your question was valid; I've done all I can do to research SUNY, SCCO & UCBSO... and am still at a loss myself. Someone else from this site gave me his $0.02 on my dilemma, so I'll post his pros/cons for SUNY here:

SUNY
(+) One of the most prestigious and top-rated optometry schools. Very strong academically with high board passing rates
(+) Great facilities and clinic with the latest in technology
(+) Faculty and staff seemed very welcoming during the interview process
(+) Diverse patient population
(+) After a year, instate tuition with books and equipment would be less than 20K
(+) Its freakin' NEW YORK CITY! The school is located almost smack-dab in the middle of Manhattan. Can't ask for more! Not to mention NY pizza

(-) Cost of liviing is insane. 1 grand a month to live in the slums of queens. Not to mention the subway commute and the weirdos of NYC.
(-) Out of state tuition was recently raised to ~34K a year. Whaaaa?
(-) Weather. The winters are BRUTAL! I am a born and raised Cali boy and I don't know the meaning of freezing rain.
(-) Probably the biggest negative for me was SUNY's reputation of being a hardcore academic school. So hardcore, that you will spend many hours of the day studying. From other student's opinions, they said the faculty there was very "tough and unforgiving." I prefer to have a life outside of school, especially living in the great city of NY


Also, a friend of the family just graduated from PCO & loved it.

 

[eheaps]

Not to bring up an old thread, but to yanksfan...have you made a decision? I've now been accepted into both PCO and NOVA so I am deciding between those two. If you've decided either of those if you don't mind sharing what made you lead in one direction over the other that'd be great!

 

[thanotoriousfob]

Nonsense? I don't think I was trying to come off as insulting. If you are referring to my other posts you might be speaking in reference to the ones concerning saveyourself. I have solid conversations with many people on here through private messaging. I'm not here to start problems but rather learn. I might throw in a silly post or two but my posts are not intended to offend.

if you've read other posts by thenotoriousfob you'll know not to pay attention to his/her nonsense.

anyway, i replied to earlier posts about all three schools. here's what I think:

in more seriousness, i know that both PCO and SUNY have a well established and respectable program (PCO's older). Some points about PCO that makes me KNOW that i made the best choice:
- PCO has been around for many years (over 60?)
- PCO has contracts with ALOT of sites at ALL the states in the US for your externship.
- module system (which is wonderful once you figure out how it works) that allows a much more time spent in clinical externships - which in my opinion is pretty darn important.
- VERY high board passing rates (i think 95 or 98%)
- even though PCO has other programs (PA and audiology), they don't mix students together. so you're not going to be learning unnecessary info geared towards another degree.
- a large diverse class. everyone gets along pretty well.
- state of the art gym/ rec center
- excellent faculty, most of them have been around for more than 10 years. very responsible, and most of them are nice and helpful.
- Clinic serves a diverse population, which allows you to see all kinds of ocular conditions. i've already observed more ocular diseases during my first semester here compared to the two years that i spent as a tech at a group practice in an affluent neighborhood.
- no stupid dress codes on campus (but yes, shirt and tie in clinic).

all in all, you get the freedom to learn at your own style. However, they don't baby you so you'll need to have good time management or else you'll probably flunk out by second semester. Either school you choose, you'll get a great education. g'luck!


this is one on my take of NOVA's program:
i also interviewed and was accepted there. Overall i think they improved their program dramatically from before when there were talks of the lost of their accreditation and low board passing rates. What I don't like is that they combine a good number of classes with students from other programs so it's lessly they'll expose to you optometry specific topics in the intro science classes. Another thing is the dress code. You'll be wearing a off-green colored scrub for THREE YEARS. Some students claim that it gives them the convenience of not having to decide what to wear each day but I think it's ******ed. Lastly, i've heard that a good number of people drop out of nova (because of anatomy.. hm) and end up going to/graduating from puerto rico. anyway g'luck w/ everything.

so, good luck!

 

[AresTheGodOfWar]

Does anyone know Nova's NBEO passing rates? I'm debating b/t Nova and SCO and I'm not sure where to go. SCO has very good passing rates and is a very established program. Nova I have heard there are problems there but I don't know about now. I'm from Florida so I like how Nova is near home. Cost wise they are about the same considering Nova has cheaper tuiton but higher cost of living and SCO has a bit higher tuition but lower cost of living. So economics isn't a problem. City wise I think Fort Lauderdale is better than Memphis. What is everyone's opinion. Thank you.