The Illinois College of Optometry Student Blog

You know that exciting feeling you get when you buy a fresh pair of five-inch heels or get an A on an ocular anatomy exam? Well, multiply that by like a hundred and that’s how my fellow classmates and I felt upon completing our finals and thus finishing our first year of optometry school. Waking up on the morning of our last final, I had an instant smile to my face. Could my first year here really be over? As we sat in the lecture hall waiting for testing to begin, my friends

I was told before coming to ICO that I would be spending approximately $3,000 on equipment. I was skeptical at first, but they weren’t kidding. Here is a break down of the equipment that I purchased so far: 1.  Heine BETA Set 3 + Heine G5 Family Practice Kit Between Welch Allyn, Keeler, and Heine, I decided to go with Heine. Before buying, you get the opportunity to “test” the equipment offered by each company to see which set feels more comfortable.  They vary in handle size

If I had to sum up my first year in one short story line, it would go something like below: Packed my life away in two suitcases –> Happy I got here –> Super excited for orientation –> Exhausted after orientation –> Excited for first day –> Already behind on third day –> Excited to get equipment and learn what to do –> Freak out over practicals –>  Freak out over finals –> Repeat between catching up and freaking out over exams –> WOOHOO SUMMER!! I SURVIVED FIRST YEAR! So… wha