Admissions
Why Choose SCCO?
Watch the story of the College's first one hundred years – a story of transformation of the profession, of the College, of our students' lives, of the patient's we help, and of our communities. |
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A Second-Year Student takes a fun and informative look at student life at SCCO. |
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Overview
To become an optometrist is to make a life-long commitment to a worthwhile profession – a profession of service to others. To select the best college to assist you in earning the Doctor of Optometry degree we invite you to ask the following 10 questions of each college you consider.
The answers will confirm that your best choice is the Southern California College of Optometry.
Ten Questions You Should Ask When Selecting an Optometry College
1. Who teaches the labs and pre-clinic courses?
All courses and laboratories at SCCO are taught by faculty members and not graduate assistants.
2. How accessible are the faculty?
The majority of SCCO faculty are full-time and are readily available to the students every day.
3. Where do the students live?
There are many nearby apartments and rental houses for housing consideration. About 50 percent of the students live within one mile of the SCCO campus. SCCO is located in a suburban, residential neighborhood.
4. If I call during the day, will someone be there to answer my questions?
Someone from the SCCO Student Affairs Staff is usually available during regular business hours. We are committed to answering your calls personally.
5. When will I see my first patient?
First-year interns at SCCO receive their introduction to patient care in the College's Carling Huntington Childs Family Eye Care Center. Interns begin seeing their own patients in the Eye Care Center in the third quarter of the second year.
6. What kind of preparation assistance is provided for the National Board Exams, and is there an additional fee?
SCCO provides a review course for Part I for currently enrolled students at no fee.
7. What are the opportunities for leadership and involvement in the profession?
Through the SCCO Student Association, of which all students are members, students are invited to take an active part in the governance of the College as student representatives serving on the administrative and faculty committees. The mission of the Student Association Board of the Southern California College of Optometry is to represent and act on behalf of the student body to enhance the quality of education, improve student life, and promote student involvement in our profession and the community.
8. What types of patients will I see?
SCCO's Outreach Clinical Program has been cited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association as "unparalleled in optometric clinical education." Its mission has been to deliver the highest quality patient care and to educate interns in the art and science of optometry in diverse healthcare delivery environments.
Fourth-year interns perform four three-month rotations – one on campus at the Carling Huntington Childs Family Eye Care Center and the other three at one of 81 outreach clinical sites. Interns decide on which sites they want based on their specific interests, allowing them to tailor the last year of their education to meet their needs. SCCO's clinical sites span the United States. We also have sites in Canada, Guam and Japan. SCCO clinical facilities have been very successful in supplying the necessary patient base and as a result, an intern will see upwards of 1,800 patients before graduation.
9. How will I be assigned to fourth-year rotations?
Aside from general optometry, there are five optometric subspecialties – ocular disease, vision therapy, low vision, pediatrics and contact lenses. Interns take into consideration their particular area of interest when deciding upon a rotation site within the Outreach Clinical Program.
A lottery is used where interns who get the most favorable pick for the first rotation get the least in the next round and vice versa. Selection of sites is made in the third year enabling interns to have a minimum of six months to plan for their fourth-year experience. Scope in a clinical program is necessary to provide enough choice and ample opportunity to successfully accommodate an intern's first choice. Our Outreach Clinical Program can accommodate known interests and hopefully, cultivate new ones!
10. Can you get personal counseling for financial planning?
The members of SCCO's Financial Aid Staff are available to assist students and potential students with financial planning from the beginning of the admissions process and continuing throughout the four years of the program. Because of the personalized approach to financial planning, our alumni are well prepared to meet their obligations after graduation. Our graduates' loan default rates are consistently less than one percent.