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Thread: Are certain OD schools better than other?

  1. #1
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    Big Smile Are certain OD schools better than other?

    Hi

    I am currently a college junior and I'm planning on applying to optometry this fall. I am wondering if certain schools are better than others? Do employers or patients or OMD's care where you went to school? I live in michigan and we have MCO instate. I have a very good gpa and oat score so I'm pretty sure I can be competitive for most schools. Besides MCO, I was thinking about Ohio State and Southern in memphis. I was going to apply to Indiana but I cannot get instate tuition which makes it very expensive. Any advice on any of these schools would be great.

    Susan

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    Quote Originally Posted by myeyes
    Hi

    I am currently a college junior and I'm planning on applying to optometry this fall. I am wondering if certain schools are better than others? Do employers or patients or OMD's care where you went to school? I live in michigan and we have MCO instate. I have a very good gpa and oat score so I'm pretty sure I can be competitive for most schools. Besides MCO, I was thinking about Ohio State and Southern in memphis. I was going to apply to Indiana but I cannot get instate tuition which makes it very expensive. Any advice on any of these schools would be great.

    Susan
    I'm partial to UC Berkeley, but MCO and Ohio are both great.

  3. #3
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    One way to measure the quality of an optometry school is to look at their pass rate on the National Boards. Some schools score consistently higher than others. So if you want to increase your chances of passing the boards, you might want to consider this.

    Do I think employers (hospitals, OMDs, laser centers, ODs, opticians, chains) look at the school you went to or your ranking in class?...I think not. BUT, I do think that some of them look at what you did while you were there...things like did you publish, did you do a residency, did you take a master's program as well as the OD curriculum, were you active politically, do you have good "people sense" and good "business sense".

  4. #4
    OptiWizard
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    I'm partial to the state schools. Because of the lower tuition they seem to have a larger applicant pool, so can choose better quality students.

    When I applied many years ago, the state school asked me many "why do you want optometry" questions during my interview. The private school was mostly "how do you plan on paying" during the interview.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by harry888
    I'm partial to the state schools. Because of the lower tuition they seem to have a larger applicant pool, so can choose better quality students.

    When I applied many years ago, the state school asked me many "why do you want optometry" questions during my interview. The private school was mostly "how do you plan on paying" during the interview.
    Had the same experience 20 years ago.

    Go to the state school. Borrow as little money as you can. It is not unusual to see 150K to 200K in debt from private schools. You don't want that debt if you can avoid it by going to a state school.

    Also make sure you have other ouside activities that you are involved in i.e. Sports, clubs, music, work. They look for well rounded students. Not just the ones with good grades.
    :cheers: Life is too short to drink cheap beer.

  6. #6
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    While I have made jokes about Cougar High's one year course of decades ago. I have heard that The University of Houston has one of the best optometry schools going today.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by myeyes
    Do employers or patients or OMD's care where you went to school? I live in michigan and we have MCO instate. I have a very good gpa and oat score so I'm pretty sure I can be competitive for most schools.
    Actually, I think they do care but only for your first year or two after graduation and then your experience becomes more of a factor than your school. I am partial to Southern - great board scores, low cost, quality facilities, great preperation for real world. But any of the schools you mentioned have good reputations. There are only a few that don't have great reputations and I am not willing to post which ones I think they are.

    I also wanted to add to the previous statement that well roundedness is an important factor in the application process. People skills are more highly emphasized than alot of applicants think.

    Sounds like your future is bright, good luck!

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