The Illinois College of Optometry Student Blog

The first quarter of optometry school is definitely an experience I don’t think I will ever forget. It was a mix of every emotion you can imagine- happiness, loneliness, stress, excitement, and a little bit more stress. I grew tremendously in such a short period of time and am grateful for it. Life is a compilation of the memories we make as we change. Optometry school will change you… and the change will be for the best. You will move to a new city, have a new home, make new

At ICO, externship selection occurs early during third year. This means that students have essentially their entire third year to plan what fourth year may bring. As a current fourth year, now halfway through my third externship, here are a few tips for those beginning to prepare: How to find housing Finding a place to live every few months is most definitely not an easy task, especially while on a grad-student budget (a.k.a. broke.) Here are a few ways to find a temporary ho

Having completed my first quarter of optometry school at ICO, I’ve come to realize there are some things that I just can’t live without. While study methods, workout plans, and sleep schedules change, here are a few essentials that I know are here to stay: iPad Pro with Apple Pencil I’m the type of student who loves taking aesthetically pleasing and color-coordinated notes. Before I started graduate school, you could always find a pack of 20 colored pens and 5 colored highlig

Throughout my life, I have had people try to teach me lessons and share wisdom so I can be better prepared for whatever may come next. Some of that wisdom or knowledge has been very helpful. However, some of it has also left me thinking, “What was the point of that?!” Applying the good knowledge has helped me, but sometimes, I feel like I learned the most from the mistakes or the “bad” wisdom. One piece of “bad wisdom” came from my dad, when he tried to tell me, “You don’t kn

The first round of lectures has begun for the graduating class of 2022! I am an ICO first year coming to Chicago from Nashville, Tennessee. With classes underway, I can’t help but anticipate the major changes I’m about to be thrown into. My life is about to be turned upside down. ‘Work Life in the South’ vs. ‘Optometry Student in the Big City’ are two very different concepts that are sure to present some exciting and unexpected challenges. While I know I can’t predict what li