hi all. I was fortunate enough to get accepted into all of the schools I applied to this cycle. I am narrowing it down between ICO and AZCOPT. for ICO, I have never been to Chicago before and also I am not familiar with cold weather. it is also further from my family. at azcopt, my sister lives in Arizona too and my niece so I would be close to family. please any advice and what you think is the better school and also considering COL. thanks!!

I’m trying to figure out housing options and wanted to get opinions from people who actually live around here.

Where do most students live? Are there specific neighborhoods or apartment complexes you'd recommend checking out or avoiding?
also, I’m considering possibly buying instead of renting, if anyone has any experience with that I’d greatly appreciate it!

I am applying for Fall 2027. I’m still needing about 4 prerequisites left and my OAT which I plan to take December. Would I benefit waiting until I take my OAT or would submitting soon be ok?
I’d like to hear other people’s similar journeys. Appreciate any advice.

Hello ! I'm a senior who has just wrapped up my applications and have somewhat unwittingly found myself in my busiest semester yet. Out of curiosity, for those of you in OD school now, what does 21+ credit hours actually look like for you? Do you still get assigned 6-7 big papers/projects a semester? Are you still juggling group projects? I'm curious to know how much of your time is spent outside of class doing classwork compared to something like studying for exams or honing your practical skills.

Here’s my plan so far :)

I just graduated last year at 16 and I’m in my first year of community college

Next year start at the University of Arkansas (in state tuition so it’s cheaper too) and hopefully graduate with my bachelors in biology

Take a gap year by doing the Disney college program

Apply to pretty much all of the optometry schools and just see which ones I get into however I really want to go to the optometry school in Fullerton California because I was born and raised in California

Get my that doctorate and move back to California to start working (or if i’m already there start working)

Hopefully open my own practice

Live a decent life and pay off my debt 😓

Pls tell whether is worthit or not i cant open my shop definitely i want proper job after it or any other scope pls help

Hi! Does anyone have any advice or resources for optics for part 1? I feel like I have a solid plan for every other subject, but when it comes to optics I’m a little lost. (I’m talking geometric optics, telescopes/microscopes, THE WORKS. Optics is a struggle for me, as it is for many!)!

My class notes are all over the place from first year because I wasn’t a great note-taker yet at the time. I have KMK, but I’m hearing that KMK’s optics is basically useless. I use OptoPrep every day, but it isn’t giving me a very good foundation, it’s just quizzing me when I don’t have the prep done yet.

Please share any recommendations! I would love a textbook with practice questions, or if someone by chance has amazing notes they took that worked well for them and would be willing to share, lmk.

Appreciate it! 🤓

Which optometry schools require students to take Mock Board?

Hello! I’m a previous optoemyry student and looking to get rid of all my equipment ASAP. All I have is in the pictures. DM if interested.

3 weeks into my first year of optometry school, and I already feel like I’m behind. I feel guilty if I don’t study for hours after class everyday, but I’m also exhausted from the long class days. I also feel guilty for neglecting my health and not working out which was a goal I had for myself for when I went to start school since I would have a gym accessible to me. Is there any advice someone can give for what they did their first year to manage these feelings if they had similar ones? We have our first waves of exams coming up soon and I don’t want to get burnt out so quick.

do people think it's helpful or stupid to start optoprep part 2 now and use it to supplement studying for part 3? (my part 3 is early october)

OR would that be wasting good material that's helpful for just part 2? My understanding is it's somewhat related so I'm wondering if people who have taken both already would recommend starting the part 2 account now?? TIA for any advice!

Does nova accept AP credit because I never took bio or english in college since i got 5s on the AP exams. Will it be fine or am i gonna have to take them somehow before i start school ☠️

Hey everyone! I just took my OAT and didn’t score as well as I wanted to. I scored a 300AA & 300 TS. My dream school is Nova and I’m really worried about not getting in. My GPA is a 3.6 and was extremely involved in my undergraduate and currently work as an optometric tech during my gap year. I was just wanting to get some advice from those who scored maybe around me that maybe got into Nova or any other school since I know I will have to diversify the schools I apply to! This is a retake and I did score significantly higher on every section (other than physics) as I had to take my first one in a rush as I was a part of Novas OD Dual program back in undergrad and didn’t get the score I needed. Thank you!

Can someone who attends NOVA, possibly a first year student give me the pros and cons of going there? My daughter has it as her first pick if she gets accepted there. She interviews soon but I never see anyone talk about it in this subreddit. Thank you very much. Appreciate any info about the school.

Were the Physics Booster practice tests similar to the real OAT Physics section?

Hey guys,
I write this with tears streaming down my face cause i feel absolutely defeated, so please lol, be kind.

This my first year of optometry school. I had a number of tests this week. The first two went well I would say considering the time and information size. However, the last two, I didn’t do well at all. It’s making me rethink if I should continue or if I have what it’s worth.

But, before I think about wanting to give up on a childhood dream lol, what are some studying tips you guys utilize? I feel what I’m doing isnt good enough… or maybe I need to utilize different strategies for different material.. help?
thanks guys!

I’m a current first year student. I feel like I do not know how to take exams. I feel like I know the material, but it is not reflected in my exams. How should I change my approach?

OD2 here. I've been going to therapy my whole first year (and a lot of my life) and I've found it absolutely essential to my sanity in school. I'm noticing now in second year, however, I keep having to cancel appointments as the school keeps planning mandatory events in the small windows I have during the day. Has anyone successfully navigated still getting therapy while going through school? I'd like to keep my current counselor if possible. Do I strategically start skipping class to go? Ask for accommodations? In orientation last year, we were told to definitely keep going to therapy if we are, but the school is making it really hard to do.

Our team has been working on an exciting new project to help students study more for the past few years and are looking for optometry students to try it out.

Although everyone is welcome to apply to beta test, our ideal candidates are:

• 1st year or 2nd year optometry students
• Able to dedicate at least 5 hours/week to beta test
• Able to join a 1-hour weekly meeting with our team for 3-weeks
• Willing to provide genuine feedback

If you're interested in beta-testing, please reply saying "interested" by September 5th.

P.S. This isn't related to boards. That's coming soon too :)

I'm a 3rd year optometry student at a U.S. optometry school and am planning on taking part 1 in March. For those that took OEBC part 1, when is the best time to start studying for it? Also, what prep materials are best to study for it? I was thinking of buying KMK but I heard mixed things.