Compare Illinois College of Optometry Tuition Cost vs. Average Optometrist Salary

Did you know that Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) was the first optometry school in America? It’s true. The college was established in 1872. As of July 2019, ICO is one of only 23 schools accredited by the American Optometric Association. Almost 600 students attend ICO, with an average class size of 148 students.

Not only is ICO the oldest optometry school, but it is also one of the most expensive. Only a few optometry schools in the U.S. have higher tuition than ICO. Tuition and fees total $43,265 for first-year students during the 2019-2020 school year.

Add in costs like living expenses and equipment purchases, and you’ll quickly see that becoming an optometrist is expensive. What will Illinois College of Optometry cost to earn a doctor of optometry (OD) degree?

Illinois College of Optometry tuition over time

Tuition for Illinois College of Optometry has slowly increased over the past several years. Here’s a look at the tuition going back to 2014-2015 to give you an idea of how it's trending:

Academic year	Tuition and fees
2014-2015	$36,294
2015-2016	$37,710
2016-2017	$39,180
2017-2018	$40,410
2018-2019	$41,823
2019-2020	$43,265

Note that this doesn’t include other costs like room and board, equipment, and other various expenses students face when attending college.

The projected total cost of Illinois College of Optometry

So, if you were a member of the Illinois College of Optometry class of 2023, how much would it cost you to complete a OD degree program? Unfortunately, ICO doesn’t have any data available beyond first-year costs. It would be impossible to accurately give you a true total number for the cost of attendance.

If you took the cost of first-year tuition and fees of $43,265 and simply multiplied that by the four years it takes to complete the optometry program, you end up with $173,060 in tuition and fees. Tuition for the second, third, and fourth year could be more or less based on numerous factors, but this gives an idea of what students may be facing.

Because those numbers only cover tuition and fees, let’s look at living expenses for students as well. According to ICO’s website, students can expect to pay approximately $2,000 in monthly living expenses. That includes rent, food, transportation, personal expenses, and health expenses. ICO’s academic year is divided into quarters. Based on the year-by-year curriculum breakdown from ICO, the average student’s time at ICO looks like this:

Program year	Quarters attended
First Year	3
Second Year	3
Third Year	4
Fourth Year	80 credits

Taking ICO’s academic calendar into consideration, students attending the college for three quarters out of the year should plan for eight months of living expenses. Students attending four quarters should plan for 12 months of living expenses:

3 quarters: 8 months x $2,000 = $16,000 in living expenses

4 quarters: 12 months x $2,000 = $24,000 in living expenses

Let’s not forget about the required equipment purchases for all students. ICO says students will spend around $4,000 total on equipment purchases in their first year.

When all is said and done, that’s roughly $257,060 of college expenses for a four-year degree from ICO. This projection is probably low. This estimate doesn’t take inflation, accrued loan interest or loan fees into consideration. If we were to estimate ICO’s costs based on Student Loan Planner® data, we would need to multiply the estimated cost by 1.25 to get a more realistic picture of how much debt you could end up with:

$257,060 estimate x 1.25 = $321,325 student debt burden

Any students looking to attend Illinois College of Optometry are going to be facing costs well over $300,000 to complete their four-year degree program.

Is going to Illinois College of Optometry a good decision?

With over $300,000 in potential student loan debt along with any debt incurred from undergraduate studies, does it make sense to attend ICO? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for optometrists in the U.S in May 2018 was $111,790 annually. The average annual wage was $119,980. The highest 10% of optometrists’ salaries at that time were more than $188,160.

While there’s good money to be made in optometry, does Illinois College of Optometry provide the best value for students? An OD from ICO may not be viewed differently than degrees from other schools. An educational experience at ICO could add $300,000 to your student loan debt total. If you are attending college to make a good living and maximize your finances, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to attend one of the most expensive optometry schools in the country.

Is loan forgiveness an option for optometrists?

Just because a particular college is expensive, though, doesn’t mean you should mark it off your list and move on. It’s important to know how much college will really cost, but it’s also important to know all of the payment options available.

While you may or may not qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), that isn’t your only loan forgiveness option. Optometrists with federal student loan debt could switch to a federal income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. This would mean you would pay roughly 10% of your income for 20 to 25 years. At the end of that repayment period, your loan balance will be forgiven, but you’ll pay a tax bomb too. You have a couple of decades to plan and invest to cover your tax payment, however.

Using this loan forgiveness plan could save students tons of money and make a school like Illinois College of Optometry a more viable education option.

It’s important to weigh all factors, including total costs, when picking a college. ICO is one of the most expensive optometry schools in the U.S. If you plan to attend ICO, have a strategy in place to tackle your loan debt after graduating.

If you’ve already graduated from ICO and need help with a solid repayment plan, book a consultation with Student Loan Planner®. We can help find the best repayment solution for your specific situation.