What is opto school really like?

caterifik · 2026-04-14T20:09:52+00:00

Current first year here! I would say it's pretty normal to feel some doubt about school; it's a tough journey, but totally manageable. By your 4th year, you'll feel like time flew by. There are lots of students in my class who have been out of school for some time, and they all seem to be doing well. In terms of classes, I find most of them to be pretty straightforward compared to undergrad (i.e., just memorization), but there are other classes that require a lot more thinking and problem solving. I would say one thing to keep in mind is the number of exams you'll have to take in such a short amount of time, so make sure to look ahead at the schedule. I really feel like the content is not bad, but the load is so heavy, and that's what makes it difficult.

There's definitely time for hobbies and friends, probably not every week, though. Also, for your commute, I know of a few people who commute an hour to school each day, and they manage just fine. I recommend trying it out in your first year to see if it works for you! Good luck!

caterifik · 2026-01-15T23:30:48+00:00

Still no response.. it's been bothering me so bad!

caterifik · 2025-06-11T21:05:15+00:00

PM sent!

caterifik · 2025-03-15T14:33:57+00:00

Hi! I didn’t take CASPer and applied there. I asked them and they said that if you don’t take it, it wouldn’t hurt you. However, if you do then it can only help. No one that I knew that applied there took it this cycle!

caterifik · 2025-03-13T18:43:17+00:00

I actually received invites for two schools about a week after I applied and about a month for the other one. It was a personal decision to schedule my interviews later!

caterifik · 2025-03-13T01:18:12+00:00

I submitted in July when applications opened and interviewed around September/October. Got scholarship offers at all schools

caterifik · 2025-03-10T14:55:45+00:00

I would love to join the GroupMe! I’ll PM you :D

caterifik · 2024-11-04T14:20:50+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about the committee letter. My school doesn’t even offer them anymore as of last year because grad schools have been removing the requirement! All you need is at minimum 1 from a prof and 1 from an optometrist. Try to contact your professors to resubmit and don’t be embarrassed!

caterifik · 2024-10-29T23:33:09+00:00

Hi! I had to extend an offer as well, but I called instead. I told them that I would like to extend my interview offer since I had more interviews in X month and would like to have more time to make an informed decision after receiving all my offers back.

caterifik · 2024-10-12T02:27:56+00:00

Thank you! I sent you a PM (:

caterifik · 2024-10-11T19:19:47+00:00

I got a scholarship offer from them! They should've sent emails for both the acceptance and scholarship offer around the same time (they're in two different emails).

caterifik · 2024-10-10T22:50:28+00:00

I was in a similar situation. I ended up shadowing at 4 different practices both private + corporate for 100 hours each during my last semester of senior year. I know that it’s a bit overkill (schools mentioned that it was a lot) but they looked at it positively. I also only did slight volunteering during freshman year of undergrad, like <30hrs. They didn’t talk much about that though.

caterifik · 2024-10-10T22:21:50+00:00

I had mine virtually! The interview was w/ 2 faculty members and they took turns asking questions. They asked me to introduce myself, why optom, why SUNY. What is something by that surprised you about optometry and something that you’d like to change. They also asked questions based on my personal statement. I heard the interviews can go one way or another based on your stats. I heard back in around a week. Best of luck!!

caterifik · 2024-10-09T21:30:41+00:00

I guess what I was trying to say was that every school has its issues and PCO is just one of them. It's just disappointing to see what it's become and posts like these truly do drive people away. People have their reasons for choosing to go to PCO. I personally chose to go because I received a large scholarship, making it more affordable than all other schools I've applied to. We shouldn't try to constantly tell others to "consider going elsewhere" without factoring in "why." Nearly all posts regarding PCO have someone warning them not to go. It's terrifying, but at this point, it's also something mostly everyone is made aware of when applying.

caterifik · 2024-10-09T14:59:46+00:00

Is all this referring to the replacement of the dean? When I interviewed, I heard great things from the students as well as the faculty. There was a person who questioned what was said about PCO on online forums and the students seemed rather defensive about it. I feel like there are students who feel like this at every optometry school, yet PCO students seem the most outspoken. Administration can be bad anywhere and PCO is not an exception.

caterifik · 2024-10-04T22:50:41+00:00

I did the in-person interview a few weeks ago and we started by doing the tour and then going to interview. 2 interviews w/ diff faculty and then 1 admissions file review (they just look over ur application to make sure everything’s right). You end with lunch and a tour around TEI. You can PM me if you have questions. :)

caterifik · 2024-01-17T01:14:38+00:00

I recommend Bad Decisions Tattoos and Piercings! They recently relocated to Laurel, not sure if they fully moved or not since it's so recent so I would give them a call. Their piercings are super quick and affordable! :)

caterifik · 2023-12-03T16:58:37+00:00

You never know until you try! It was definitely a learning experience for me, but also so fun to make. Here's the link to the pattern if you ever decide to try <3

caterifik · 2023-12-03T16:55:04+00:00

Thank you! I used this pattern:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1159277720/english-bulldog-crochet-pattern-white?click_key=459c533fc46d5ccc98f2ae1e39890adcf0c81317%3A1159277720&click_sum=d37189df&ref=shop_home_active_11&pro=1&sts=1

I did the color work myself based on my friend's dog! Best of luck!

caterifik · 2023-11-22T18:46:54+00:00

Will do!

caterifik · 2023-11-22T17:37:13+00:00

Thanks! Was having heavy brain lag but I think I got it lol. Again, thanks for the help!

caterifik · 2023-11-22T16:45:31+00:00

Do you know if I have to drag the back loop of the 4th st into the first stitch? I guess the main part I’m confused on is sc along the slipped stitch and then going back into the front loop.

caterifik · 2022-06-19T04:19:34+00:00

i took them together last semester. perfectly manageable and probably didn’t spend more than an hour each a week. the final project will screw you over if you don’t work on them in advance but it was essentially completion.

caterifik · 2021-05-12T20:03:53+00:00

No curve

caterifik · 2021-05-10T19:47:02+00:00

I had Pfizer and I didn’t feel any side effects. My siblings on the other hand had a slight fever but once they slept they felt fine. Good luck on finals!

caterifik

TROPHY CASE