Which is a Better School SCCO or Pacific?

[Eolus1]

I have applied to both SCCO and Pacific University and got accepted to both schools. Now I have the tough decision of deciding which school? Does anyone believe one school is better than the other? I am leaning towards SCCO.

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[rpames]

I don't have any personal knowledge but one of the profs here are ICO said Pacific is the best OD school because the administration is very student oriented.

 

[Kristene9]

Does anyone know why Pacific is the only school to still have the 21point exam? To me this exam seems pointless and also because it only allows you to see 4 patients a day, wouldn’t it hinder you in your clinical experience?? Also can anyone justify spending 60K more at pacific (at the end of 4 years) rather than going to a state school??

I really liked Pacific, but these are the reasons I'm consitering other places.

 

[docvisionX]

Well, I don't think you'll be seeing PATENTS on too many days, but you'll probably be seeing patients--and a bundle more than 4. I'm not sure where you're coming up with those numbers Pacific is exactly what rpames said. They are extremely student oriented and their docs are primed for the real world. As for what you say about the cost, that doesn't make much since either. Pacific is no more expensive than most of the schools out there. State schools are nice--if you're a resident in that state. Plus, some people qualify for WICHE, which is verrryy nice. I qualified for this and will be at Pacific this fall. Pacific is the real deal and I'm looking forward to starting.

 

[chester]

I have applied to both SCCO and Pacific University and got accepted to both schools. Now I have the tough decision of deciding which school? Does anyone believe one school is better than the other? I am leaning towards SCCO.

Eolus1,
I was also accepted to SCCO, and I have an interview at Pacific in 11 days. IF accepted to Pacific, it would be a very difficult decision. So far I have considered SCCO's very elaborate externship program as a major plus. It is a good way to network, and networking is valuable when looking for future work. However, Oregon is so much nicer than LA (sorry LA lovers).

Is it inconvenient for the Pacific students to travel to Portland clinics in order to see patients?? I would think this would be wasting valuable study/relaxation time (even though it is only 45 minutes) compared to having a major clinic at the school (like SCCO).

In terms of money, yes tuition is more at Pacific, but the cost of living is much less than in Fullerton.

A few ODs have also told me that SCCO prepares their students very well for private practice/business skills. Like every other OD student, my goal is to have my own practice (and I have a good idea of where to do it, successfully & happily), but personally, I think ANY optometry school should prepare their students well for private practice or business skills.

Pacific does cover many aspects of optometry, including Vision Therapy. An OD was telling me that vision therapy is not very well proven and many insurance companies will not cover it. Anbody have any feedback on this?
Sorry, not much help for you, Eolus, but some things to think about!

 

[Kristene9]

Well, I don't think you'll be seeing PATENTS on too many days, but you'll probably be seeing patients--and a bundle more than 4. I'm not sure where you're coming up with those numbers Pacific is exactly what rpames said. They are extremely student oriented and their docs are primed for the real world. As for what you say about the cost, that doesn't make much since either. Pacific is no more expensive than most of the schools out there. State schools are nice--if you're a resident in that state. Plus, some people qualify for WICHE, which is verrryy nice. I qualified for this and will be at Pacific this fall. Pacific is the real deal and I'm looking forward to starting.

Hey don’t take it personally, I really liked the school. For me, a resident of Texas, I would pay 60K more if I went to Pacific. Also 21 point exams take 2 hours each (I heard this from a student when I interviewed) so in an eight hour day you can only see 4 patients. Also, since I’m guessing you go there, why does Pacific do 21 point exams??? no other optometry school does, but I’m sure Pacific has a good reason.

 

[xmattODx]

Does anyone know why Pacific is the only school to still have the 21point exam? To me this exam seems pointless and also because it only allows you to see 4 patients a day, wouldn’t it hinder you in your clinical experience?? Also can anyone justify spending 60K more at pacific (at the end of 4 years) rather than going to a state school??

I really liked Pacific, but these are the reasons I'm consitering other places.

Don't knock the 21 point exam. Its not pointless, rather, it allows you to look at "vision" rather than eye-sight. Anyone can be a refraction jockey it takes skill and insight to look at "vision" and its impact on a patient's life.

I can't justify spending 60K more to go to school at Pacific or any optometry school. If you can get into a state school and get in-state tuition more power to you. I loved my time at Pacific and the commute to PDX is not a big deal. At most you do it once a week in third year, and then in fourth year you can live closer to the PDX clinics and commute out to Forest Grove once or twice a week for the three months you have internal clinic.

Pacific is also pretty cool in its fourth year externship opportunities you can see a lot of the US while experiencing varying modes of practice.

I should add that you will succeed no matter what school you go to. You have to decide where you want to spend three years of your life, what school makes you feel more comfortable, and what optometric philosophy you want to study under. In the end you leave school with the same degree and the same opportunity.

 

[Kristene9]

Pacific does cover many aspects of optometry, including Vision Therapy. An OD was telling me that vision therapy is not very well proven and many insurance companies will not cover it. Anbody have any feedback on this?
Sorry, not much help for you, Eolus, but some things to think about![/QUOTE]

I shadowed a guy whose mainly does vision therapy with children who have reading problems in school. I think he said that that insurance doesn't cover it, so he has to make a payment plan for his patients. Even with insurance not covering, his is still making over well over 100,000 a year.

 

[HYCW]

Also wanted to point out that Pacific is strong in sports vision, what with Nike in the same town. When I went for my interview, they had a lab set up for testing new contact lenses for golfers. Pretty cool.

I interviewed at both Pacific and SCCO and got into both. Both schools had friendly students and very welcoming faculty/staff (Pacific in particular seemed to go out of their way to get to know you). But in the end, to me, SCCO wins overall because of their awesome new clinic, hard-to-beat externship list and their location (I just couldn't see myself in Forest Grove!). However, I think either school would give a great education.

 

[heretic]

Also wanted to point out that Pacific is strong in sports vision, what with Nike in the same town. When I went for my interview, they had a lab set up for testing new contact lenses for golfers. Pretty cool.

I interviewed at both Pacific and SCCO and got into both. Both schools had friendly students and very welcoming faculty/staff (Pacific in particular seemed to go out of their way to get to know you). But in the end, to me, SCCO wins overall because of their awesome new clinic, hard-to-beat externship list and their location (I just couldn't see myself in Forest Grove!). However, I think either school would give a great education.

congratulations on your acceptance. see you in august.