Pupillary Pathways

Wow! This November marks the 10 year anniversary of OptoPrep being available online to help students with NBEO® preparation! 

The nostalgia is real for me as an original member of the OptoPrep team. It has been incredible and sure makes me feel old, to see where we started and how far we have come. Care to take a trip down memory lane with me?

As you 4th year optometry students begin your final year of school, you’ll find that these last months will fly right on by! Before you know it, you’ll be walking across the stage at graduation and then out on your own as a doctor.

There are several things that you should start preparing for during your final year to ensure that once graduation passes, you’ll be ready to fly solo. We’ve compiled a list of items to help start your transition from optometry student to optometrist.

When you began applying to optometry school, I'm sure you did everything you could to beef up your chances of being accepted. You studied hard to obtain a high score on the OAT, you studied mercilessly to get the highest GPA in your undergraduate studies as possible, you were involved in school activities, and spent time in optometry offices.

You also probably took into consideration location of the optometry school and tuition when you chose your top schools to apply to. But did you realize some of these things about optometry school admissions?

You all have worked so hard to complete the rigorous didactic and clinical training, passed all three parts of boards, passed your state licensing exam, so now it's time to start working!

I'm sure you've heard the argument many times before... there are too many optometry schools (with even more on the horizon) and not enough qualified applicants to fill the seats.

This is leading to the decrease in pass-rates for NBEO® for optometry schools, and less students able to complete the rigorous program in order to graduate and become successful doctors.

So what can be done in order to protect academics and prevent a decline in standards?

Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when optometry students feel as if we have to turn over a new leaf. The time when we imagine that the arrival of a year will provide us the motivation and persistence we need to make some serious changes in our lives. 

Traditionally, New Year’s Day is thought to be the ideal time to kick start a new phase in your life and the time when you must make your all important new year’s resolution. Don’t start off the new year setting yourself up for failure by vowing to make huge changes that will be hard to keep.

Money is a major issue for all kinds of college and graduate students, and optometry school is no different! Good financial habits are essential to cutting costs, managing money, and your making funds last. To keep student loans as low as possible during graduate school, financial management becomes of paramount importance. Remember, the more money you spend now, the higher and higher your loan payment will be in the future! And trust me, making smart decisions now will definitely pay off!

While the excitement of starting a new year in Optometry School is beginning to wear off, and the stress of upcoming midterms, quizzes, proficiencies, and clinic is settling in, we've come up with a few tips you should make part of daily habits to keep optometry students on top of the game throughout this next quarter/semester.