The Road to Becoming an Optometrist

This essay is from a winner of the 2019 Student Loan Planner® Scholarship.

“Prepare to fail or fail to prepare.”

These wise words were once spoken to me about preparing for my future. I knew that getting accepted into optometry school would require a lot of preparation, planning and determination, but I was willing to do the work to fulfill my dream of becoming an optometrist.

Most of my fellow biology and chemistry majors had applied and been accepted to professional schools during our junior and senior years at the small, liberal arts focused Georgetown (Kentucky) College. Among them were the University of Kentucky Medical School, University of Louisville Dental School and UK Pharmacy School.

While I was elated for them, I recognized that I must take a different, less traditional approach to graduate school.

With help from a strategic, self-guided path, I only aided myself in properly navigating the crucial years of professional school that were ahead.

The Financial Stress of School Applications

During undergraduate, pre-med advisors and upperclassmen stressed the importance of grades and scheduling hard courses; however no one ever mentioned the financial stresses associated with professional school applications.

After doing a quick estimation of the fees associated, I found it roughly costs more than $1,500 to apply, including application fees for OptomCas, the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT), and the cost of getting to interviews (i.e., flights, gas, food, hotels and business suits).

While at Georgetown College, I worked at the library on campus 10 hours a week and was in a financial situation where I could have never afforded to do this by myself.

Thus, after graduation I decided to take a year off and work in order to pay for the many costs associated with applying to optometry school. I started working for my local optometrist’s office in Lexington, Kentucky, as a front-desk receptionist who earned $10 per hour.

After a year’s time, I was accepted into Indiana University School of Optometry (IUSO) and started in the fall 2015. After a long year of working at a private practice I couldn’t wait to get back into the classroom.

Unfortunately, at IUSO, if you do not claim residency in the state of Indiana, you must pay the hefty price tag of out-of-state tuition for four years of optometry school. This is a huge deal as it is a $13,000-plus difference for in-state vs. out-of-state tuition.

A piece of advice for future students applying is to look into tuition prices.

After your first year at some optometry schools you can claim residency in that state and thus pay in-state tuition for your second to fourth years, which is significantly cheaper. This is monumental and could potentially save you thousands of dollars in just tuition alone.

As for schools that are private and have the same cost of tuition for both in-state and out-of-state, this really doesn’t apply.

The Importance of Balance While Going to School

Navigating through optometry school was hard. There was always a constant pressure to perform to a high standard, practice new skills, all the while you were studying each day for your next exam.

This was challenging, but I always said learning the balance between school life and home life was the biggest hurdle. I was recently engaged so moving to a new state with two new puppies made transitioning back to student life a difficult switch to flip.

The initial three years of optometry school were about maintaining a homeostasis of doing well in school, but also taking time for myself and husband. We enjoyed going to the farmers market on Saturday mornings, exploring our new environment, and finding inexpensive ways to have fun.

One of the tips I would share from my experience is to learn to take time for yourself. Mental health is one of the most undervalued concepts of our society today.

As I came home from a gruesome day of lecturing, I would wind down and watch one episode of Netflix. That was the best $8.99/month I have ever spent. It was my time to decompress and have “me” time.

I wish I could say I went to the gym and ran a couple miles, but truly I was having a glass of wine and eating Cheeze-Its on my couch.

Saving $7,000 by Living with Friends and Family

Every optometry student dreams of the day that their fourth-year externship sites are released. During the fall semester of third year came the highly anticipated time to rank rotation sites.

Many sites are highly sought after because of their strong clinical experience, but also come with a high cost of living. During this year-long rotation, each student is responsible for their own housing and travel, as well as providing their own furnishings.

Originally being from Kentucky, I sought out most of the Kentucky based locations. I knew if I were to go to these sites I could live with friends and family for free or at a highly reduced rate.

Many peers were estimating housing costs of more than $1,500 per month for a three-month short-term lease with a furnished apartment. My mouth dropped when learning about these expenses, so I knew I had to be strategic about my placements.

I saved more than $7,000 in living expenses by being placed at rotation sites where close friends and family lived.

For future students ranking their rotations sites, I highly recommend reaching out to former interns about cost of living as well as expected rent per month. This is an easy way to either save money or unnecessarily splurge.

I recently graduated in May 2019 and my total debt exceeds well over $300,000 for both undergraduate and graduate loans. Actually, typing that number out is hard, because I know that my debt is very large compared to most of my peers.

Although just graduating I can’t wait to purchase a new car, finally own my own home, and start to travel. My husband and I hope to achieve financial peace, but know it will require strategic planning, determination and sacrifice – exactly what was needed for me to get accepted into and get through optometry school.