The Illinois College of Optometry Student Blog

NBEO exams are the national optometric board certifications required in the United States. OEBC is the Canadian equivalent. Some optometry students only take American boards, and others take only Canadian, but there is a large group of students at ICO taking both. Usually, these students are from Canada and want to have the option of working in both places. Or, they are in a relationship with a Canadian and have to be open to living in either country. I’m the latter. (Side no

In optometry school, we’re studying a lot. While in undergrad, I definitely was not studying nearly as much as I am now. I’ve been finding myself distracted when I’m supposed to be preparing for that big test in two days. It’s truly funny the things I think about or find myself doing, instead. One thing that’s actually a positive distraction is when a good song pops up on my Pandora. I can’t help but lose focus for a bit and sing along. I never realized how big of an impact m

So, here’s the thing- graduate school is hard. Surprising, right? This is actually a really important point to think about when planning your graduate school career. When I decided to go to graduate school directly following college, I didn’t really realize how demanding my program would be. Now don’t get me wrong, I still think I made the right choice for myself when I decided not to take a year off. This doesn’t mean that it is necessarily the right move for you. Here are a

The other day, I was walking on the treadmill at the school Fitness Center when I looked over at the first year walking next to me. She was studying Ocular Anatomy, which brought me back to when I was first learning it. I could hardly believe that it has been over two years since I first learned that. I remember feeling overwhelmed with the packet of information that we received. How could we learn all of this in just one quarter? However, I had actually just gone through all

When I was first accepted to ICO, many of my professors and people I worked with told me how challenging it would be. The words went in one ear and out the other. I figured, “Well, everyone is different, and just because they say it will be hard doesn’t mean it’s something to stress over.” I still agree that it is important not to get too stressed. Now, though, having begun my second year, I also agree that it is definitely not easy. Something that has made my time at ICO a l