The School Vs School Thread

[pienfoo]

might as well start a thread since there are so many questions of this type.

It dosen't necessarily have to be X school vs X school. It might actually be easier for everyone if people, especially current students, would share their opinions about the pros/ cons of specific schools.

Anyway my top 2 are NSUCO and PCO, and these are some of the pros and cons i can think of:

NSUCO:
pros:
- Admissions staff was very encouraging and specific in letting me know what i needed to do to gain admissions.
- campus is huge, and the health professions division building is awesome
- nice weather, in the winter anyway; most people seem to enjoy its weather
- plenty of externship sites, even in china.
- interdisciplinary setting
cons:
- dress code; i don't think i'll enjoy wearing scrubs for most of my day. i'll feel like a nurse
- young school; some of the optometrist that i work for does not know about the school.
- interdisciplinary setting
- nothing interesting in ft. lauderdale; u'd have to go to miami.
- rumor about large juicy bugs.

PCO
pros:
- excellent clinical program
- very nice building and facilities
- business center
- cuter girls, from what i saw
- one of the more established schools/ good reputation/ high board passing rates
- large class size
- no dress code!
- note taking service.

cons:
- philly is ghetto; supposedly it's normal to hear gunshots at night..?
- cold
- large class size
- clinic is located some distance from the school, and it's ghetto.
- more competitive?

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[jamieyum]

PCO
pros:
- excellent clinical program
- very nice building and facilities
- business center
- cuter girls, from what i saw
- one of the more established schools/ good reputation/ high board passing rates
- large class size
- no dress code!
- note taking service.

cons:
- philly is ghetto; supposedly it's normal to hear gunshots at night..?
- cold
- large class size
- clinic is located some distance from the school, and it's ghetto.
- more competitive?

I don't know about NSUCO but PCO is in fairly good location in urban philly. The area you are talking about hearing a gunshot is around Temple university campus which is about ~10 min driving to south from the clinic. (If I were you I wouldn't get a housing any southern than the campus itself.)

The clinic is in somewhat ghetto area but that brings lots of patients with interesting clinical problems. That's why PCO has strong clinic program somewhat.

If you are gotta living in ~20min driving housings north to campus, it wouldn't be as much as ghetto like Temple. Besides, between PCO campus and clinics, there is a small Korean town where you can experience lots of curious ethnic foods.

 

[sharpshooter24]

might as well start a thread since there are so many questions of this type.

It dosen't necessarily have to be X school vs X school. It might actually be easier for everyone if people, especially current students, would share their opinions about the pros/ cons of specific schools.

Anyway my top 2 are NSUCO and PCO, and these are some of the pros and cons i can think of:

NSUCO:
pros:
- Admissions staff was very encouraging and specific in letting me know what i needed to do to gain admissions.
- campus is huge, and the health professions division building is awesome
- nice weather, in the winter anyway; most people seem to enjoy its weather
- plenty of externship sites, even in china.
- interdisciplinary setting
cons:
- dress code; i don't think i'll enjoy wearing scrubs for most of my day. i'll feel like a nurse
- young school; some of the optometrist that i work for does not know about the school.
- interdisciplinary setting
- nothing interesting in ft. lauderdale; u'd have to go to miami.
- rumor about large juicy bugs.

PCO
pros:
- excellent clinical program
- very nice building and facilities
- business center
- cuter girls, from what i saw
- one of the more established schools/ good reputation/ high board passing rates
- large class size
- no dress code!
- note taking service.

cons:
- philly is ghetto; supposedly it's normal to hear gunshots at night..?
- cold
- large class size
- clinic is located some distance from the school, and it's ghetto.
- more competitive?

my thoughts exactly m8.

i dont know how much more competition PCO has over NSUCO. in from ft lauderdale and NOVA is only a 15 min drive for me. The scrubs that nova OD students use is totally tacky and ugly. no one comes to school with their white NSU coats except 3-4 year rotation students. the dental people wear nice scrubs. 1st year dentals are dark green and 3-4 are blue.

PCO has a superior program than NOVA, but then again PCO has been aroun since 1919 if memory serves me well.

one thing you forgot pienfoo: i did some recon on how the exam schedule is at PCO. its the same as NSUCO but you have an average of 2-3 exams per week and they are all spread out. NSUCO, forget it, its a cramfest 5-6 exams every few weeks, you will have 4-5 exams in a one week period. and i know this very well too becuase i have done it at the grad level. trust me block exams will drain your energy and make u stressed out faster.

but then again, PCO has more credits per class than most schools. your first semester is 30 credits i believe. and you have more info per exam than nova.

one final point: PCO offers head and neck anatomy only. NOVA gives gross anatomy and head and neck anatomy all in one semester. I have done gross anatomy where i did my own dissections like every person in class. not to brag, but i am very good at it. got A's in gross anatomy. I know Dr. Lutfi teaches the head and neck at NSUCO. i know lutfi well because he was my teacher at barry. He is a podiatrist/

 

[BrownOreo]

I'm having a hard time deciding between SUNY and ICO.

I find ICO to have a more close-knit community and the area is not too busy and the living expense is really cheap but New York on the other hand is located in a busy area and I'd probably end up living in Queens and having to commute because its expensive to live there. But I think SUNY has one of the best programs and amazing equipment.

I have no idea which one i'll decide for in the end (I have been accepted to SUNY but am waiting for a reply from ICO)

Does anyone have anything to say about these two?

 

[JAZZEYE]

I'm having a hard time deciding between SUNY and ICO.

I find ICO to have a more close-knit community and the area is not too busy and the living expense is really cheap but New York on the other hand is located in a busy area and I'd probably end up living in Queens and having to commute because its expensive to live there. But I think SUNY has one of the best programs and amazing equipment.

I have no idea which one i'll decide for in the end (I have been accepted to SUNY but am waiting for a reply from ICO)

Does anyone have anything to say about these two?

I don't see how that could be hard to decide.... New York is New York, either you should be thrilled with the chance to live there or wouldn't want to live there if they paid you. Personally I'd take New York but I looooove the city !

 

[curiousGuy]

I am curious about political activism within the field of optometry.

Does the college of optometry at Berkeley have a strong affiliation to the AOA, COA? Are there many oppertunities to get involved in the law making process with regard to issues of optometry at Berkeley? Do they encourage this kind of involvement?

What about SCCO?

 

[mthwong]

I am curious about political activism within the field of optometry.

Does the college of optometry at Berkeley have a strong affiliation to the AOA, COA? Are there many oppertunities to get involved in the law making process with regard to issues of optometry at Berkeley? Do they encourage this kind of involvement?

What about SCCO?

Well in regards to Berkeley, the school itself has a liberal history, and it's the main school in the U.C. system. I would expect the faculty to be pretty politically focused and aware of policy making and legislation in the field of optometry.

As for SCCO, the new president of the school (as of July 08) will be the former president of the AOA. Also SCCO has a lot of publications regarding the field of optometry and improvements as I've read in the California Optometry magazine.

Most optometry school would see it as a plus if you can contribute to the legislation or have and interest in the future of the scope of practice in optometry. From my experience, Berkeley seems to have a lot of science research publications and SCCO has publications regarding the practice of optometry.

 

[od2bn2009]

Well, not many of us here at NSUCO love the dress code but you get used to it. most ofthe faculty don't care so much. if you choose scrubs, fine. if you choose "dress code" you can dress pretty much how you want if you don't offend anyone with ripped stained ugly etc clothes. some of the
(female) faculty don't like other female students in sexy clothes ie clevage and bellies showing but honestly (dont quote me) doctors shouldn't dress like that unless they are at a bar. i love it here, great program and 99% great professors.

 

[hfpepperbean47]

About PCO

Yeah, parts of Philly are ghetto. The clinic is bordering a "not-so-nice" neighborhood, but the school itself is in a wonderful and quiet community. It is not usual to hear gunshots every night. The area around the school is quaint, very conducive to studying/being a student.

First semester you have about 27 credits, second semester nearly 33.

Clinic is about three miles (give or take) from the campus. This is not the ghetto part of Philly. There are areas much much worse. There have been shootings in the area, however. Head south for worse areas (near Temple). Large cities have their drawbacks as well.

Doesn't get very cold here. Depends on where you are from. I am from Minnesota and the winters are extremely mild.

And yes, the girls are pretty cute here. Probably because their is a larger number to choose from. Large class sizes and a female to male ratio more than 2 to 1 will do that.

 

[KHE]

Cmon guys, grow up a little bit here.

You are all talking about spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a professional education and you're worried about things like the dress code, or how cute the girls are? And since when is a more competitive school a con?

 

[hfpepperbean47]

No need to get preachy, KHE. Sometimes "quality of life" matters when deciding which school to go to. I personally don't think its all too important, but some people like to be in a comfortable environment and can only do their best when they are.

But...some of the reasons are kind of flaky. The school with the cuter girls? There is an argument to be made that if you went to the school with the cuter girls you would be more distracted and therefore not perform as well...LOL (this from a male's perspective).

Didn't matter for me...but, to quote Jim Morrison, "People are strange"

You're right though...having a more competitive school is not a con. It may be a con for people who aren't competitive enough to compete. Wow...that was a terrible sentence...ish

 

[sharpshooter24]

Well, not many of us here at NSUCO love the dress code but you get used to it. most ofthe faculty don't care so much. if you choose scrubs, fine. if you choose "dress code" you can dress pretty much how you want if you don't offend anyone with ripped stained ugly etc clothes. some of the
(female) faculty don't like other female students in sexy clothes ie clevage and bellies showing but honestly (dont quote me) doctors shouldn't dress like that unless they are at a bar. i love it here, great program and 99% great professors.

not to bash nova but i remember in the past, most OD students in nova come with their optometry white coat with the green patch plus professional attire. now its scrubs and that jacket has in my opinion an uglier patch. trust me when i say this, ive seen worse

i rather come to school everyday with professional attire ( my friend in IU medical school does this everyday) with the nova jacket, than the scubs. just my 2 cents. but then again the scrubs is more convienient since you look like you come to school with your pajamas on.

 

[shirazyterp]

I am going to PCO next year! I need to start learning a little more about the area!! I need a place to stay, any recomendations? Or anyone interested in rooming?

 

[goomba29]

not to bash nova but i remember in the past, most OD students in nova come with their optometry white coat with the green patch plus professional attire. now its scrubs and that jacket has in my opinion an uglier patch. trust me when i say this, ive seen worse

i rather come to school everyday with professional attire ( my friend in IU medical school does this everyday) with the nova jacket, than the scubs. just my 2 cents. but then again the scrubs is more convienient since you look like you come to school with your pajamas on.

at the nova interview they told me you can wear either scrubs or professional attire

 

[aDubs]

I think every school is different when it comes to what to wear. Ive seen schools where most students are wearing ties and look very professional, while Ive seen schools where students wear a t-shirt and jeans. I guess the best advice, is to wear what is appropriate, but if there is an option, wear what your most comfortable in.

 

[od2bn2009]

not to bash nova but i remember in the past, most OD students in nova come with their optometry white coat with the green patch plus professional attire. now its scrubs and that jacket has in my opinion an uglier patch. trust me when i say this, ive seen worse

i rather come to school everyday with professional attire ( my friend in IU medical school does this everyday) with the nova jacket, than the scubs. just my 2 cents. but then again the scrubs is more convienient since you look like you come to school with your pajamas on.

For pity's sake. You can't be serious with this post. Guess what? You don't know what you're talking about. You seem to have all these opinions but you aren't actually in optometry school because...why again? STOP with the misinformation because - and I hate to be the one to break it to you - but YOU'RE NOT IN OPTOMETRY SCHOOL. Stop acting like you know everything about NOVA!!!

 

[sharpshooter24]

For pity's sake. You can't be serious with this post. Guess what? You don't know what you're talking about. You seem to have all these opinions but you aren't actually in optometry school because...why again? STOP with the misinformation because - and I hate to be the one to break it to you - but YOU'RE NOT IN OPTOMETRY SCHOOL. Stop acting like you know everything about NOVA!!!

and will you stop assuming everything i say about nova is a bash.. all i said is i am more confortable dressing up professionally and i dont like their scrubs.. geez cant i disagree with something.

if you want me to say nova is a nice school,. the best OD school in the country, everyone is nice, people there care, blah blah blah.. it aint going to happen sister.. there are things i like about that school and there are stuff i dont.

 

[hfpepperbean47]

For pity's sake. You can't be serious with this post. Guess what? You don't know what you're talking about. You seem to have all these opinions but you aren't actually in optometry school because...why again? STOP with the misinformation because - and I hate to be the one to break it to you - but YOU'RE NOT IN OPTOMETRY SCHOOL. Stop acting like you know everything about NOVA!!!

Wow...so defensive. You'd think somebody just killed your cat. Love the words in all caps, very forceful.

 

[pienfoo]

I Caught The d@mn Flu And Wasted My Weekend... In Bed. Arrrrrgh All Caps.

weird... won't let me post in all caps. darn