The first things you would have to check would of course be the institution’s various credentials. You should check out the basics like their experience and their faculty as well as their curriculum. You should also make sure that you are choosing one that is accredited. They must possess an accreditation from the Accreditation Council On Optometric Education or ACOE. This will ensure that they provide education that is up to standards. It would also be wise to check out how well their graduates perform in the board exam.

It is also important to check out the kind of clinical experience that they give. Make sure that they have a state of the art eye clinic that is large enough to cater to a lot of patients. You would need a large practicing ground for your training, so it would be important that you choose one with a well-established clinic. The clinical experience is more important than the lectures and theoretical background. All schools will have the same foundational courses on anatomy and optometry, but the kind of clinical experience you would get would vary.

You should also check out the various facilities being featured by the institution. Make sure that they have updated facilities and equipments that will help you train yourself with knowledge and experience in eye care. The classroom facilities must also be good as you would be spending the next four years in them as well.

You must also check out their residency program. Again, their residency program must be accredited. It should also have strong points in the area that you want to specialize in. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of their program and rate it accordingly.

The tuition would also be a huge factor in your decision. The least expensive way to obtain your degree is through public in institutions in your own state. If you go for public institutions out of state, the difference in tuition rates can be big. Private institutions in different states does not have huge differences, but they are all more expensive than public institutions.

You should also consider the living expenses you have to make. Cost of living in different areas can vary. Make sure you can deal with the costs before you would be making your decision.

It is also recommended that you choose an institution in the area you want to practice in the future. In this way, you would already be comfortable with the area and would start to create professional connections. It will allow you to plot your career even while still a student.

It is really crucial that you pick the right optometrist school. With these tips, you can be aided in making this crucial choice.

Becoming an optometrist is difficult, but the rewards are well worth it. Prospective optometrists would be advised to attend a well rated undergraduate school and major in biochemistry, biology, or biomedical engineering. After graduation, aspiring optometrists need to apply to optometry school.

There are 21 accredited optometry schools in the United States. Make sure that you apply to an optometry school that is accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE). No other organization is qualified to issue accreditation ratings on optometry schools in the United States.

Getting admitted to optometry school is difficult. Applicants must be very familiar with math and science (particularly the life sciences). Most applicants are rejected, and this is even the case at the least demanding optometry schools.

Once admitted to optometry school, prospective graduates are required to study optometry for four years. Most optometry schools require prospective graduates to also participate in a residency program following graduation which may last from two to four years.

Students in optometry schools are expected to study the anatomy of the human eye, histology, eye pathology; and the use of corrective lenses in correcting myopia, presbyobia, and a variety of other eye conditions. Most students study over 100 hours a week, and optometry school is every bit as competitive as medical school.

After graduation, optometrists from good optometry schools have the opportunity to make up to $150,000 a year. This is, however, not a realistic salary for recent optometry school graduates. Optometrists fresh out of school can expect to make around $90,000 a year. With time and growing experience, most of them can expect to make $120,000 mid-career, and then more towards the end of their career.

There is no doubt that optometry is a well paying profession. In some ways optometrists even come out ahead of medical doctors, because they tend to have far less debt after graduation. Although optometrists do not make as much as medical doctors, the relatively small debt burden of optometry school means that many optometrists can start spending serious money on more than bills much earlier than most medical doctors.

Recent advances in technology are only going to increase the salary of optometrists. If someone wants to get the popular LASIK eye treatment, they must first consult with an optometrist. It is the same situation with the implantation of artificial contact lenses. Before any major surgical work is done on the eye, the prospective patient must be seen first by an optometrist.

Optometrists are also fortunate in that they are in no danger of having their work outsourced. Optometry is a hands-on profession in the literal sense of the word, and there is no danger that optometrists in the United States will one day find their jobs shipped out to China or India. What they do is impossible to outsource and impossible to imitate without serious training. As such, they are ideally positioned to weather negative changes in the national economy.