Which school should I apply to? This question has plagued the minds of countless pre-professional students preparing to enter post-baccalaureate studies for a variety of professions. When considering each possible school, one must seek to discover that school's strengths and weaknesses. With the vast number of professional schools within the United States and Canada, choosing the right school can be extremely difficult. The applying process to optometry schools is no different from any other medical profession. True, there are only nineteen optometry schools in the United States and Canada, but an optometry student must go through the same necessary steps as all other pre-professional students in order to find the school that fits him best. There are many aspects to consider when choosing the right school. When a student studies the admission requirements, the course schedule, and the geography of each school he desires to apply to, he will discover the best one for him. This essay will compare these aspects to the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO), Southern College of Optometry (SCO), and the College of Optometry at the University of Houston (UHCO). All the information given will be according to the 2003 year.
One of the first things that impress a pre-optometry student about a school is the admissions process. He is drawn to information like cost, course schedule, and certain statistical information. This little knowledge he has will leave a big impression upon him, and could mean the difference between applying or not to that school. SCCO is a private college, whose tuition is $22,065 a year. It admits around 98 students a year into the Doctor of Optometry program. Out of those 98 students, 64 were in-state students and 34 were out-of-state students. The average GPA for students accepted by SCCO is 3.34 and the average OAT score is 335. At SCO, the tuition is $13,610 for in-state and $18,610 for out-of-state.
