Workload during Optometry School

[Ocean Breeze]

Hi, I wanted to know how heavy the workload was for optometry school. More specifically, on average, how many hours do you study per day, and do you study everyday? Which school do you attend? I know this differs for everyone, but I'm just trying to get an idea of how much commitment is involved in optometry school. Thank you.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[cpw]

optometry is a huge commitment no matter how much you study... you have to really want to do it.. or you'll question the amount of work you're doing in school (and once you graduate)

 

[rpames]

I attend ICO (3 weeks until 3rd year)! I study nearly everyday. There are some days I skip b/c there is not a test for a couple days, but you will be studying pretty much everyday. There are some days I only study a couple hours, and there are those that I study for 15 hrs. It all depends on if there is a test the next day.

CPW is correct. Optometry school in not just learning how to say, "which is better, one or two." It is a huge commitment. There are a few people I know that have said that they would not have gone if they knew how much work it was going to be.

At ICO, your first year is about 22 credit hours per quarter, one is 24. Those are real credit hours, not some inflated strange credits. You have around 18 hours of lecture a week and 8 hours of lab. Plus all the outside lab time you will be putting in. Last week the first year class had 3 test, 2 quizzes, and 4 assignments due (or something very close to that).

This quarter is ending in three weeks. Our last final is Saturday and we have clinic orientation on Tuesday. Our first patients are on Wednesday, plus the quarter's classes start too.

It is do-able...if you really want it. The first two years are pretty tough, but 3rd and 4th year are much easier. There are fewer classes 3rd year, and if you pass boards the first time, it is pretty relaxed. 4th year there are no classes, but you are doing externs and basically working crappy hours, some have told me they have worked 60 hrs a week 4th year.

So...how much a commitment is it?... I'll just say there are much easier ways to make a living than going through Optometry school. If someone is looking for a easy way to be called doctor and make a nice salary, this is not the path you want.

 

[smith351]

Yikes! 15 hours a day studying? I guess it's necessary in order to succeed.

 

[rpames]

Yikes! 15 hours a day studying? I guess it's necessary in order to succeed.

15 hrs. is an extreme, but it happens once in awhile. During Finals I think that is about right, but for a regular test that doesn't happen very often.

What my posts are saying, is that optometry school is not something you can just breeze through.

 

[UABopt]

Hi, I wanted to know how heavy the workload was for optometry school. More specifically, on average, how many hours do you study per day, and do you study everyday? Which school do you attend? I know this differs for everyone, but I'm just trying to get an idea of how much commitment is involved in optometry school. Thank you.

Some people study more some people study less… but I can tell you for certain that I studied more, by far, in my first quarter of optometry school than in an entire year of undergrad. 20-30 hours of didactic a week, in addition to labs is not at all uncommon for us. We have some classes that are two hours each day 5 days a week, that is 10 hours a week of solid lecture, for one class!!! We have had days in which we attended 7 solid hours of lecture. Compare this to undergraduate course that averages no more than 3 to 4 hours of lecture a week. As you can imagine it is very easy to fall behind very quickly if you do not stay on top of the material.

I think in the end it will be worth it, but that does not mean that there are not days that I don’t question what I have gotten myself into (I think everybody in my class does). The beauty of it is that everybody is in the same boat; which places the emphasis on learning rather than competition.

My class is filled with brilliant people. It was hard at first to get used to the fact that you are no longer at the very top. Eventually you figure out that as long as you are learning to master the material, you just need to pass to move on. The emphasis in our class is making sure that everybody is competent, because even the bottom of the class will have an OD at the end of their name when it is all over and done with.

Studying during the week when an exam is not eminent is not so horrid. An average day would be about 2-4 hours in addition to going to class. Depending on the class though, it is not unusual for me to only get 2 hours (or less) of sleep the night before a major exam. There have been a few days that I spent more than 18 hours studying in a single day (though that is very rare, it does happen). I have to say though that the absolute worst is finals week when you have 5 of those 15+ hour days in a row. In the end though, I can’t see myself doing anything else.

Below is the schedule for the first quarter of the first year (sorry you have to cut and paste or the links won't work):

http://buycamper.tripod.com/Sched.GIF

Below is the schedule for all four years in EXCEL format:

http://buycamper.tripod.com/Schedule.xls

as you can see we stay busy.

 

[r_salis]

Some people study more some people study less… but I can tell you for certain that I studied more, by far, in my first quarter of optometry school than in an entire year of undergrad.

Just wait until 2nd year! 😱

Only 4 weeks 2nd year to go...

 

[rpames]

Everyone I've spoken to at ICO agrees that 3rd quarter 1st year is by far the worst. The course load and the individual classes are horrible. I think 2nd year was better than 1st year. Some of my friends think the opposite is true. 2nd year is more clinically direct where as 1st year has a lot of basic health science courses. Clinical classes make more sense to me so I have found this year to be better, but, "To-each-is-their-own."

In the end, it will be worth it.