What to Expect

Optometry students learn to work with patients to preserve and enhance their eyesight.

Ruby Arthur took the program at the New England School of Optometry. She says students shouldn't panic too much about the admissions exams -- she found them "not that bad, just long."

Like other successful optometry students, Arthur has worked hard to develop the academic skills she needs. Organizing her studies and persevering each day are now old habits for her.

"This is a profession with a lot of teamwork and [you] need to cooperate with others," she says. "You need to be well-rounded, able to interact with patients -- it can't be all about the books."

Arthur is happy with her choice of study. "I can interact with patients and give them immediate help. I can see immediate results in something that really improves their lives."

Her studies kept her very busy, with little time for extracurricular activities. "It is a lot of work, and not much time for them," she says. "This is a crash course for four years."

Nathan Knezdcek studied at optometry school. He is still excited about the rotations he completed in Florida and Jamaica.

In a typical week, he spent four of five days in the clinic working with patients. One day a week was spent in academic study.

His clinical work began in the first year and he was very nervous. "You are working not just under your own professors, but also visiting doctors [who are] refreshing their skills, here to get experience with the Excimer Laser at the laser center on campus," he explains.

Knezdcek estimates that homework took about nine hours a day for the program in the first two years, and more in the third and fourth year as clinic work increased.

How to Prepare

"It is important to get a good basis in all the sciences," says Arthur. That's because tests and study later all require "the ability to comprehend a lot quickly."