The Illinois College of Optometry Student Blog

When you get to optometry school, life is a whirlwind. It’s new classes, new friends, new layouts… a new lifestyle, apparently. I recently had some down time to collect my thoughts. This blog post was my best outlet for the new information I had obtained after arriving and acclimating to the rigors of ICO. Here are the three most important things I have learned: Be selfish. – When you are applying to optometry school, you write essays and reflect upon yourself. Many people st

Believe it or not, long distance relationships are very common in optometry school (and graduate school in general.)  Although they are common, that doesn’t mean they are easy. As students enter a new chapter in their lives, they often find themselves saying goodbye to an old one, at least for a little while. One thing that makes long distance relationships difficult while in health professional school is the fact that you will no longer be as available as you once were. Most

Everyone always says that first year at ICO is the hardest. Well, I think many people would argue that second wasn’t any easier. Now that I have finished one quarter of third year, I can once again ask myself if it gets easier. I asked a few peers which year they found the hardest and why. First Year What makes first year hard? The consensus was that first year is challenging because you are getting used to a new environment, and have to transition to taking a lot more hours

You did it! Congratulations! The time has come. You have finished your undergraduate career, maybe taken some time off, applied, and received your acceptance to optometry school. Phew! Regardless of where you chose to attend (I’m clearly a big ICO fan), there are a few pieces of advice I would like to share as you head into your first year. My biggest piece of advice is to try not to stress out about school, but keep in mind that it is a challenging program. At ICO, we have a

It has been 8 weeks since classes began here at ICO. Those 8 weeks have been packed with tests, labs, events, ups, downs, failures, triumphs, memories, and most importantly, experiences. I remember sitting through the week of orientation hearing students, staff, and doctors bombard us with information, most of which I could not relate to and had no idea what they were getting at. I am just now beginning to understand some of the things they were telling us. For starters, one