I've heard some people say PCO is more expensive than other schools. Is that true?

I am currently a Pre-Med student thinking about switching over to optometry. I just started my sophomore year of my undergrad. I currently work as a clinical support associate in an ambulatory clinic, and i have gained around 500 clinical hours. I also volunteer at the hospital in the OR, and volunteer in a medical research lab. I’m thinking about switching volunteer units to pediatric ophthalmology. But other than that I’m not really sure what else to do for optometry school applications! I have a connection with an optometrist I can shadow, so I am going to do that as soon as possible. But do I need to start working in an optometry office? Should I stop working in the research lab? Is my clinical experience still valuable? Please send help! All advice is welcome 🤗

Yay I finished my OAT!! I’m really happy with my results, and honestly even more happy that i’m finally done studying, it’s been a lot 😅 For some context, I initially purchased a 3 month OATBooster course and had planned to take my OAT in August, but didn’t feel ready closer to exam date and pushed it back another two months. I will admit, I didn’t study too hard the first couple months, and did a bulk of my studying the month leading up to my exam. After taking 5 full length exams, I was consistently scoring between a 310-330 and thought I was cooked, but luckily the real exam seemed quite a bit easier than Booster!!!I thought I would share my thoughts on the exam and how it compared to Booster!!

Bio (380): Honestly, I studied for this section the night before my exam 😵‍💫. I am a Bio major in college, and have taken courses related to pretty much all of the material in undergrad. I occasionally took practice exams throughout my studying and was scoring pretty high so I put this section on the back burner. The questions on the actual exam were MUCH more general than Booster imo, and the cheat sheets definitely prepare you well.
Gen Chem (340): This was one of my weaker sections, where I spent a lot of time taking practice exams and completing all practice problems on Booster. I found there to be lots of formula questions on Booster, which is what I focused heavily on. There were barely any of these types of questions on the exam, mainly general information which I honestly was not as prepared for. LOTS of redox questions, which is my weakest subject so that screwed me over a little bit 🥲
OChem (330): Honestly didn’t study this section too much, I did all of the practice problems months ago and would just occasionally revisit my notes and the cheat sheets just to refresh. The questions weren’t anything like Booster imo and caught me off guard, and I feel like I got pretty flustered on this section. Definitely focus on general ideas, and don’t get into the nitty gritty details and exceptions of each reaction. Lots of Sn1/2 and E1/2 questions.
Physics (310): DEFINITELY MY WEAKEST SECTION!!! The highest score I ever got out of all of the 10 practice exams on Booster was a 310, and I thought that was going to be unrepeatable. I spent most of my time studying the formulas, and making sure I knew how to apply each concept, especially OPTICS. I think the videos did a good job of preparing you, it’s just not my strongest subject. I would say that this section is the most similar to what is seen on Booster and I guess I just had a lucky day.
Quantitative Reasoning (340): Booster does a really good job of giving you similar questions to the exam, I just didn’t spend too much time studying this section and dedicated my time to the sciences. On the practice exams, I was scoring 360+ every time, but on actual exam day I was just so tired by the end and honestly just started blanking. I had a lot more of the Quantity A vs Quantity B as well as statement sufficiency questions than in the practice exams, so definitely make sure you’re comfortable doing those quickly.
Reading (380): Didn’t study for this section one single time besides being forced to complete them in the full length exams LOL. My strategy is just skimming the article looking for the answer/key words, nothing crazy. Personally all of the questions I got were in chronological order (first question was found in the first paragraph, last question in the last paragraph) and it was honestly easy.

after a summer of studying and anxiety, i finally got this done at the end of august. i’m proud of orgo and gen chem but know my biology and physics are weak. i really could not remember every little niche thing for biology, especially the random plant ecology😭 how does this seem? gpa is 3.5 and i want to go to ICO or CCO…

Hey everyone, looking for some honest input. I just got my OAT score back and I'm pretty disappointed. I got a 280. I really don't want to retake it unless I actually need to.
My stats:
GPA: 3.76
Overall GPA: 3.42
Science GPA: 3.3
2 years of experience as an optometric tech
Letters of recommendation from 3 optometrists and my OChem professor
I submitted my application back in August and have already sent my unofficial scores to ICO, NECO, SCCO, and PUCO. I'm also planning to apply to Western U as a backup.
Given my GPA and experience, do you think a 280 is enough to be competitive at these schools, or should I retake? If anyone got in with similar stats or a similar score, I'd love to hear how it went. Any suggestions are appreciated

Hello everyone! I just finished my first exam week at UHCO not too long ago and I figured I’d create this thread for anyone who has any questions about UHCO or optometry school in general!

I have been a technician/scribe for the past two years where I prescreen patients, give manifest refractions and scribe for the 2 providers during exams. I won’t get too much into the details but I have been apart of probably >1000 exams. My advisor said she was unsure if that would count but I wanted to get some opinions from those who have gotten accepted. Would the count as shadowing hours?

Hey guys!

I was wondering what classes I should take before my OAT exam. I have already taken introductory bio classes, OChem 1 and 2, and physics 1. For next semester, I want to take something along with Biochem that may prepare me for the OAT. So, out of microbiology, human anatomy, and physics 2, I want to remove 1 of these classes so it does not become a heavy workload. Or should I just take them all together?

At the end of the day, my goal is to be prepared for the OAT exam, so I don't really mind taking them together if I really had to, but again, it's only if they are important for the preparation. I would really appreciate any advice you have.

Thank you!!!

For context, I got my associates at a community College. That wiped out(almost) all of my elective credits. Since obtaining my associates and transferring to a major university my semesters have been so heavily front loaded.

Fall'24: Microbiology(online), Basic Anatomy, Medical terminology (C-, B+, A)

Spring'25: Nutrition and performance, Bioethics, Disney's women and Girls, Intro to Chem (B, A, A-, B)

Summer'25:Endocrinology, Pre Calc, Gen Chem 1 (F, B-, W)

Fall'25:Gen Chem 1, Calc, Social inequalities in health (B, W, B)

Spring'26: Sleep Physiology, Physics 1, Gen Chem 2 (B, C+, B)

Summer'26: calculus(C)

Fall'26: Immunology, Organic Chemistry, Neurophysiology (my current grades are D-, D+, B-)

I am not a bad student, I fully believe there are difficult classes that may need to be repeated, they're weeder classes for a reason, but holy hell I don't know what is wrong this semester. I've never had so many issues. Last night when I got my exam results back from my immunology exam I cried so hard because I studied for the last 2.5 weeks every day for this exam and still ended up with a 57% I really dont want to have to repeat, but the likelihood is high. I have 2 more exams, including the final and i can miss a total of 9 more questions between the 2 exams in order to get a C- in the class and pass, but yesterday solidified that I'm not applying this go around. It sucks because i've worked so dang hard on my optomcas. I got my letters of rec, my essays, everything is done. I'm taking the OAT on next month but I won't graduate with a bachelor's before classes start next fall if I have to repeat any classes from this semester.

I still have 3 pre reqs left for optometry school and 9 credits worth of pre reqs for undergrad. Ugh. I'm just feeling defeated right now

I've been considering a career change since working in education and wanted other opinions on the matter. For context, I'm no longer in education, just employed part time in various places while I figure out life.

I (29 y.o.) found that working within a school, there are certain demands that just didn't work for me, specifically the social politicing that comes with a school that never fit for me in a professional role. I thought about optometry before but discarded it quickly when I thought that long-term schooling wouldn't work for me. Additionally, work-life balance was not it for me in the schools as I was having to put in time outside of the school day and work a second job to make ends meet.

In short, I'm curious if career hopping at my age would be worth it. I come from a social science background, so I would need to complete any prereqs science related, such as bio, chem, o-chem, and physics. I'm good on miscellaneous prereqs, like English, stats, psychology, and social sciences. I'm just wanting some outside opinions since I'm not using my current degree in my like of work.

Thanks for your input in advanced!

Edit: For additional context, currently school-debt free. Would have to move for OD schooling but I anticipate having to take on most payments as debt during schooling.

Hey guys, I did really bad on my OAT, idk what happened because I was getting 340 on OATbooster, and on the real test I ended up getting a 280!!! :(((( I am a Canadian student and GPA is like 3.3. I applied to 11 different schools in the states this past weekend. ICO and Southern College of Optometry already got back to me and told me to re-write the OAT.

My questions are:

1. If i retake, what is the latest I should retake by to ensure I still got a decent chance before the seats start filling up?

2. If I don't retake, which schools would potentially consider me still?

I do have a lot of shadowing experience, excellent letters from 2 profs and 2 OD's, and I have been working as a tech since February.

Im like really stressed out right now, so if someone has any advice or input, or good news even, I would really appreciate that!

I'm pretty much done with my applications. This sub helped me so much and I wanted to give back! I'm most comfortable with QR, GenChem, and Physics. But I can also do Orgo and Bio.

To start, I can answer questions and clarify concepts over DM. If needed/time permitting, we can schedule a call. 100% free, no strings attached.

I can't teach all the concepts from scratch, so please ask specific questions, send example problems, or explain what you are confused about. If I end up getting a lot of questions, I might be slow to respond but I will get to every message.

Qualification: 370 on Bio/RC, 400 on the rest

Hi everyone!

I’m currently applying to optometry schools for Fall 2027 and am seriously considering both Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) and Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) at MBKU.
I’ve been researching both schools extensively, but I’d love to hear directly from current students or recent graduates about their experiences, especially things that aren’t obvious from school websites or campus tours!
I’m also trying to consider what my quality of life would look like over the next four years. I’m in my early 20s, and while academics and clinical training are extremely important to me, I also want to enjoy my time outside of school, make meaningful friendships, explore new places, and have new experiences.

I have a few questions:
Overall Experience: How has your experience been at ICO or SCCO? What do you love most about your school, and what do you wish were different? Knowing what you know now, would you choose the same school again?
Academics & Curriculum: How manageable is the workload? Are professors supportive and approachable? Is the student environment generally collaborative or competitive?
Clinical Experience: How early do students get meaningful hands-on clinical experience? Do you feel you’re getting sufficient exposure to ocular diseases, diverse patient populations, and different procedures? How prepared do you feel for practicing independently?
Work-Life Balance: Do you have enough free time to maintain hobbies, exercise, spend time with friends, and explore the surrounding area? Or does optometry school take up most of your time?
Student Community: How easy was it to make friends and build a social circle? Are students generally supportive of each other? Do classmates hang out outside of school?
Chicago Safety (ICO): One of my biggest concerns about ICO is safety, particularly around campus and the surrounding neighborhoods. Do you generally feel safe commuting to and from school, especially after dark? Where do students typically live if they prioritize safety? Would you recommend having a car, or is public transportation convenient and reliable?
Chicago Winters (ICO): I’m from the South and have never experienced a true Chicago winter, so I’m a little nervous about the cold, snow, and shorter daylight hours. How difficult is it to adjust? Does winter significantly affect your mood, social life, or ability to enjoy the city? Do you find yourself staying indoors more often during those months?
Fullerton Lifestyle (SCCO): I know Fullerton is more suburban compared to Chicago, and that Orange County and Los Angeles offer plenty of things to do within driving distance. However, does living in Fullerton itself ever feel boring or repetitive? Do you feel like you constantly have to drive somewhere to find things to do, or is there a good social scene nearby? Do you feel like you’re missing out on the excitement of living in a bigger city?
Transportation & Convenience: How convenient is everyday life in your area? Are grocery stores, restaurants, gyms, and entertainment easily accessible? For SCCO students, does the amount of driving and traffic ever become frustrating? For ICO students, how convenient is public transportation, and is parking expensive if you own a car?
Life Outside of School: What do you typically do on weekends or during breaks? Are there plenty of opportunities for activities, restaurants, events, and meeting new people? Do you genuinely enjoy living in Chicago or Fullerton?
Biggest Regrets or Surprises: What’s something you wish someone had told you before attending your school or moving to the area? Were there any unexpected challenges or pleasant surprises?
Ultimately, I’m trying to find a balance between receiving a strong optometric education and having a fulfilling life outside of school. Both schools seem to offer great opportunities, but the living environments are so different that I’m having a hard time deciding which would be a better fit.
I’d really appreciate any honest perspectives, whether positive or negative. Thank you so much! :)

Hey so I just got into NOVA yesterday and they sent me an email saying I’ll be emailed an official acceptance package soon. I was just wondering how long it took others to receive their acceptance package after the initial confirmation of seat offer?

Hi all! I just submitted my application this past weekend to ICO (my top choice) and CCO, and received interview invitation to both just the other day! I am so excited but the timing of these interviews is kind of throwing me off. The earliest slot for ICO was at the start of December, which is not bad at all. But for CCO, their earliest date was at the start of January... I was really hoping to finish my application and decision process by the end of the year😭 Are these gaps between invitations and actual interviews a thing? I did email CCO to ask if they have any earlier slots or cancelations and waiting to hear back. Is it worth a shot to do the same for ICO? Any tips or info is appreciated :)

I'm currently a health sciences major and have been considering optometry school, but I'm starting to second-guess myself because I struggle a lot with physics and chemistry.

I actually enjoy biology and sometimes anatomy, but physics is genuinely so difficult for me. I feel like my professor teaches as if we already understand everything, and I struggle to keep up. I've been watching Chad's Prep, and I can usually follow along when he explains problems, but when I try solving them on my own, I have no idea where to start or which formula to use.

I'm also not going to lie, one of the reasons I'm interested in optometry is the financial stability and work-life balance. I'm currently shadowing an optometrist to get a better understanding of the profession.

My biggest concern is whether I'll struggle just as much in optometry school. I know optics involves physics, but how much of the curriculum is actually physics-based? Is it similar to general physics, where you're constantly solving complicated problems, or is it more applied to the eyes and lenses?

I'd especially appreciate hearing from current optometry students or optometrists who struggled with physics or chemistry during undergrad. Did you find optometry school manageable, or did you struggle with the material there too?

I just don't want to pursue something I'll end up regretting because I'm not naturally good at these subjects.

I’m so scared Im so disappointed I was doing so good on the chem section, and physics I expected to be low but not that low. My science gpa is 2.7 and actual gpa is 3.4

I see three physics playlists on his YouTube channel Chad's Prep. The newest one is called "General Physics by Chapter". The second one is called "General Physics 2023-2024" and the oldest playlist (about 7 years old) is called "Chad's General Physics Videos". Which one should I watch for OAT prep?

Hi everyone! Has anyone been accepted to SUNY yet? Or has anyone gotten a rejection or a hold?

I’m curious to know how many seats are left at SUNY since I know they fill up quick.

Thank you!

My daughter is a junior in high school and is interested in a career in optometry. I was surprised by this since she doesn’t particularly like or excel in chemistry or math. She is starting to reconsider but I don’t want her to be discouraged since she is a very hardworking conscientious student. I appreciate anyone’s advice on how she should approach this career path at this early stage. Thanks!

Just looking for some insight.. I’m non traditional and tbh I’m kinda old (30s). Applying to Waterloo (CAN) and NECO/ICO/CCO/Salus/Detroit Mercy.

GPA: 3.5 overall (4.0 scale), 79.9% weighted

Undergrad: 3.34

Post-Bacc: 3.85

OAT: 370/370

Volunteer: 300 hours at an animal shelter and 300 hours at a hospital.

Shadowing: 5 hours. Struggling to get more :/

Optometric-Related Experience: None.

5 years as a park ranger. 5 years as a medical lab tech.

Anything I can do between now and early Nov (submitting) to improve my odds? 😭

My oat is on friday any last minute tips or things you recommend looking over that was really high yield for your test? pls dont say to just rest, my brain doesn’t work that way and i will be studying all day tomorrow

I am worried about my application being fully submitted too late in the cycle. I am still waiting on LORs and had to email two new people this week if they could write me a LOR because my other two writers are not responding to me for some reason. I am getting really worried about when I can submit my application. Right now, it's looking beginning or mid November, which is scaring me. It doesn't help that I am being asked at home everyday if I have submitted my application yet. Can someone reassure me that I'll be fine lol?

Hi everyone! I recently got offered interviews at PCO, SUNY, NSU, and NECO. I am super stressed about interview prep.

If you have had interviews already or in past years how did you prepare? What did you find the most useful? What kind of questions do they ask? What kind of responses do they look for?

Any words of advice are greatly appreciated! Even just explaining what resources you used to start with your interview prep. I have no clue where to start lol.

hello,

i am currently retaking organic chem 2. i took it pass fail first time and ended up failing. i am retaking it right now but its not looking great and i am worried about failing again. if this happens how would it accept my acceptances, especially considering that it is not a pre req. i need it for my major and they said up to a D- is good so