Would you chose to go to PCO? Why or why not.

[99Janna]

Hello there,
I just got notification that I have been invited to PCO for an interview. I'm very excited as it's one of my top choices, but I was wanting to hear some opinions on the school itself.

if you attend it, what did you like and dislike about it?
if you are in a situation like me, what are factors that would cause you to choose a different school, or to choose PCO as being the right choice for you?

I've heard a lot that the clinic is pretty far away from the school so you need a car to transport- but to me it seems as though we should have a car anyways if we're going to be so far away from home to attend school. Although you can take transit to get your necessities- opinions on this? What do you do? Is PCO the only school you'd really badly need a car to attend (and otherwise live a reasonably convenient life)

I like that PCO has higher credit load so that we can start our externship 6 months earlier. But for people in the program, does this make our first 2.5 years much harder than it has to be?

Anyways, just some thoughts would be appreciated
thanks!

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[Retinopathy]

I am not a PCO student so I can't answer your question. I will, however, give you some advice that I took and used while deciding which schools to apply to.

Realize, first, that no matter what school you go to, we all end up with the same OD degree. Sure, different schools will have different curriculum, but it is all centered on preparing us for the profession. We will get different professors, have different clinical experiences, but when it comes down to it.. these are just different ways to approach the same end goal: Passing the NBEO and enabling us to do our jobs. This is reassuring, so no school you chose will be a bad decision, at least to some degree.

Compare living expenses and tuition rates. As mentioned before, we will all end up with the same OD degree, just some of us will be more in debt than others! Try to keep an objective view and make a smart financial decision- choose a cheap school that is in a cheap city. You don't need any insider experience to figure these things out.

Ask the school about board passing rates. This is important!

Consider attrition statistics for the school. http://opted.org/files/public/Enrollment.pdf When I was pre-optometry I looked everywhere for this but to no avail. I stumbled upon it on SDN!

All schools have their pros and cons. No school will be perfect... we learn to deal with the cons and embrace the pros. Many students do not truly regret going to their school of choice. We will sometimes wonder how our lives would be different if we went to another school, though.

Good luck!

 

[ao70637]

Hi,

I had my first interview at PCO, was accepted, and will be attending later this year. I made a list of pros and cons after my interview to help me decide which school I wanted to attend. Granted, these are just my opinions; one pro for me may be a con for you, vice versa.

I agree with Retinopathy... you have to consider the cost; if you are stuck between 2 schools and one is significantly cheaper than the other, go to that school. Another thing to think about is location: living in a suburb, the probability of snow (and having to drive in it), distance from family (if it is a factor), etc. Personally, I like the city of Philadelphia and its proximity to other major U.S. cities.

PROS:
- PCO's reputation as the first institution to initiate a lot in the history of optometry: http://www.salus.edu/optometry/od_history.html
- The Eye Institute is currently undergoing a $10 mil. renovation
- Clinical problem solving labs
- Module-based learning
- 18 months of externships
- Nice campus: modern-looking glass building w/ pond
- Student fitness center w/ lounge
- Offers help in business and practice management
- Student note-taking service & tutoring
- Free parking (vs. having to pay for a pass at other schools)
- Free printing
- The camaraderie amongst students; they all spoke highly about the school and helping each other
- The faculty was very welcoming and friendly
- Close to a SEPTA rail station; easy transportation to the city

CONS:
- Not directly in the city, but in a plain suburb (pro: less distractions?)
- Large class size (pro: you are separated into smaller groups)
- Need to find your own housing
- The main building looks like a renovated office building on the inside; nothing special
- Clinic is a few miles away from the school (~5-10 min. drive)
- Need a car or have to carpool to the clinic
- Moving and finding housing for 5 externships

I'm sure there's more but this is all I can remember for now. I hope this helps. Good luck!