New England College Of Optometry
Boston, MA
Optometry Schools | Public For-Profit
Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 23% of interviews, indicating it is highly regarded. They found the interview mixed with a low stress level, and felt they did well.
⭐ Overall Impressions ▼
How did the interview impress you?
Most respondents felt positively about their interview.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as average stress.
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
Most respondents rank this school above other schools they applied to.
0 = Below, 10 = Above
💬 Interview Questions ▼
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
The most commonly asked interview questions at medical schools include scenarios requiring candidates to describe times they were stressed academically, showed compassion, displayed leadership, managed stress, dealt with failure, and their motivations for choosing the field of optometry and specific schools. Some interviews were structured in an MMI format where questions varied, potentially under a nondisclosure agreement, while others focused on personal experiences, academic challenges, future goals, and qualities essential for an optometrist.
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Tell me about a time you showed compassion.
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Tell me about a time you were stressed academically and what you did to destress.
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Why Optometry and why NECO?
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How do you manage stress?
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Why NECO?
What was the most interesting question?
Students said most interesting question asked at New England College Of Optometry discussed a wide range of topics including grades reflecting intellectual abilities, motivations for optometry, resilience for school, future goals, and even fun questions like choosing a superpower. Some responses mentioned an MMI format with nondisclosure agreements, indicating a structured interview approach with confidentiality requirements in place.
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Do you think your grades reflect your intellectual abilities? When do you think they haven't?
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What were specific aspects of other optometry schools that you found to be beneficial in your mind?
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What about optometry excites you?
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How will I transition to a class size of 130?
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what motivates you?
What was the most difficult question?
Students said most difficult question asked at New England College Of Optometry discussed a wide range of topics including personal challenges, failures, compassion, academic discrepancies, future goals, time management, and self-reflection. Some responses indicated a format similar to Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) with questions about emotional moments, frustrations, and going above and beyond, suggesting possible nondisclosure agreements regarding specific questions.
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What do you think you bring to the field of optometry?
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Tell me about a time where you showed compassion and empathy.
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Tell me about a time you had to be compassionate.
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Asked about a specific semester and why I had W's
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Tell me about a recent failure.
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics ▼
How long was the interview?
Most respondents had an interview of 20 - 30 minutes.
How many people interviewed you?
Most respondents were interviewed by 1 person.
What was the style of the interview?
Most respondents had a one-on-one interview.
What type of interview was it?
Most respondents had an open file interview.
Was this interview in-person or virtual?
Most respondents had a virtual interview.
Data includes both pre- and post-COVID interviews.
Where did the interview take place?
Most respondents were interviewed at the school.
📍 On-Site Experience ▼
Who was the tour given by?
Tours were most commonly given by a Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Most tour guides were enthusiastic about the school.
How do you rank the facilities?
Most respondents rank the facilities as above average.
What is your in-state status?
Most respondents rank the facilities as below average.
What were your total hours spent traveling?
Most respondents spent 7+ hours traveling to the interview.
What was your primary mode of travel?
Most respondents traveled by airplane to the interview.
About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?
Most respondents spent more than $500.
What airport did you fly into?
Respondents who flew to the interview generally used Logan International Airport (BOS)
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logan
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international airport
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Ohare to Logan
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Logan International Airport
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Logan Boston
Where did you stay?
Most respondents stayed either Hotel or at a hotel.
What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?
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midtown hotel
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Wyndham Beacon Hill
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Westin Copley Marriott
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Sheraton Boston
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Rodeway Inn
How would you rate the hotel?
Most respondents rated their hotel as good.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
Would you recommend the hotel?
Most respondents would recommend their hotel.
What is your ranking of this school's location?
Most respondents rate the school location as good.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
Most respondents rate the area’s cultural life as good.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What are your comments on where you stayed?
No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions ▼
How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was friendly.
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was responsive.
How did you prepare for the interview?
Most applicants prepared for the interview by utilizing resources such as the Student Doctor Network (SDN) for practice questions and feedback, researching the school's program and interview format, and reviewing their own application materials to be well-prepared to discuss their experiences. They also emphasized the importance of mock interviews, practicing answers out loud, and being familiar with their personal statement and extracurricular activities to confidently address potential questions.
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Sdn and practice
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SDN
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Read SDN questions.
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Reading over SDN questions and preparing answers
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Practice questions.
What impressed you positively?
Applicants were consistently impressed by the friendly and welcoming atmosphere at NECO, noting the friendliness of faculty, staff, and students. They appreciated the beautiful campus, the well-organized interview process, the emphasis on clinical experience, and the school's affiliation with numerous clinics around Boston. Suggestions included continuing to foster a sense of community and maintaining the focus on providing hands-on experiences for students.
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faculty, friendly students, clinical program structure, the campus is beautiful, location, ammenities
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The interviewer's response to my questions, he was very detailed & offered great advice. It was overall casual and felt welcoming.
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The interest that the faculty showed in getting to learn more about me.
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How casual the interviewer was speaking to me.
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Everything
What impressed you negatively?
Applicants commonly expressed negative impressions related to disinterested interviewers, outdated facilities, unorganized processes, high cost of living and tuition, a feeling of being 'sold' the school, and cramped or off-campus clinic locations. Suggestions included improving interviewer engagement, updating facilities and equipment, streamlining processes, providing clearer information, and considering cost and location factors for applicants.
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Interviewer seemed pretty disinterested and was just reading off a paper. Was not super conversational and seemed very formulaic.
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A little awkward in the sequence of questioning.
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Nothing
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Haha it wasn't longer.
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Attitude of faculty/students, location of clinic, bus breaking down multiple times while we were driving to the clinic.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Many applicants wished they had known ahead of time that the interviews were more relaxed and conversational than expected. They also suggested preparing more questions, being aware of the multiple interviews, and wearing comfortable shoes for walking.
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Nothing in particular, knew the questions but wish I had maybe practiced more to answer about a challenging course and how I overcame it. I essentially already answered the question briefly earlier in the interview then wasn't sure if I should use the same example.
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It is very conversational, and not nearly as stressful as I thought it would be.
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I didn't feel like that. I asked plenty of questions and talked to most everyone there. I feel like I made the most out of it
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Prepare more questions for lunch with a current student
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That we got unofficially but officially "interviewed" by students at lunch! This was a bad surprise and it is very difficult to eat a messy veggie wrap while trying to stay poised and answer questions eloquently that are being fired at you by a student!
What are your general comments?
Applicants generally praised the school's strong community health and research focus, friendly atmosphere, and beautiful campus and location. Some feedback included concerns about the interview process and the school's reputation, as well as suggestions to be oneself during interviews and to ask questions to learn more about the school.
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Seems like a great school especially if you are interested in community health and research. I liked how they have research seminars in the first year so you are able to get a better sense if this is something for you or how to get involved exactly.
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Wonderful campus, wonderful environment.
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Fantastic program, great location, friendly atmosphere
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I was not impressed with the interview day at NECO. My interviewed talked about himself more than I felt like I got the opportunity to talk about myself (it was MY interview after all!), and the general 'vibe' of the school was rather pretentious. Sure, it's a good school, but it's almost like NECO is trying to fit in with the big shots in Boston (Harvard, MIT, Tufts, etc.) but just isn't on the same level. I really thought I was going to love NECO until this interview day so make sure you go in to any interviews with an open mind and be open to changing your mind!
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overall good experience
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants appreciate the friendly and supportive approach of the admissions office. Suggestions for improvement include providing email confirmations for scheduled interviews, removing unnecessary lectures during the tour, and ensuring accuracy in communication about required documents.
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None. They were super friendly and made me feel more confident in the process.
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Keep doing what you're doing!
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Get more enthusiastic student tour guides! My tour guides were drinking coffees, leaning against walls, and half-heartedly answering questions. They seemed bored!
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An e-mail confirmation after the interview was scheduled would have been nice.
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1. Email confirmations for scheduled interview. 2. PLEASE take out the lecture given before the clinic tour. At that point I had already been at the school for over 5 hours. Going through a slideshow of optometric equipment was unproductive and not fun at all.
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