Prerequisites & Requirements - New England College of Optometry
Skip to main site navigation
Prerequisites & Requirements
Requirements at NECO are designed to ensure students have the academic skills they need to succeed without slowing down the momentum of their career journey.
In many cases, a student can apply and be accepted to a program while in the process of fulfilling these requirements—just make sure these courses are completed before enrollment.
If you have any questions, contact the admissions office or send us your transcript for review.
Program Details
Application Details by Program
Four-Year OD Requirements
Requirements for all other programs are listed in their respective program and application pages.
Prerequisite courses form the entering knowledge base for our optometry program. Therefore, to demonstrate mastery of this knowledge base, we require a grade no lower than C in these courses.
If a grade of less than C is attained in a prerequisite course, the requirement might be waived if the student has received a score of no lower than 300 on the corresponding section of the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT). This is done on a case-by-case basis and is not guaranteed.
Prerequisite courses taken at a community college may be accepted; however, we strongly prefer courses taken at the college or university at which your degree will be conferred.
Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses may be used for prerequisites as long as the appropriate number of credit hours was received. These courses must appear on your official college transcript, in a letter from your university registrar’s office, or on an official score report.
A letter grade is required for prerequisite courses; However, pass/fail grading is accepted for terms previously affected by Covid-19.
Courses
Biology (with lab)
– 2 semesters or 3 quarters
Chemistry (with lab)
– 2 semesters or 3 quarters
Physics (with lab)
– 2 semesters or 3 quarters
Organic Chemistry (with lab)
– 1 course
Biochemistry
– 1 course
Microbiology
– 1 course
Calculus
– 1 course
Statistics
– 1 course
Psychology
– 1 course
– 2 courses
An entrance exam is required for admission, with a majority of applicants taking the Optometry Admission Test (OAT) or Graduate Record Exam (GRE). MCAT and DAT are also accepted.
To be eligible for an open position at NECO, applicants must:
Be enrolled in another accredited school or college of optometry.
Have satisfactorily completed courses equivalent to those at NECO.
Provide a personal statement with supporting documentation demonstrating a compelling need to transfer in order to complete their optometric education.
Have an official acknowledgement of the transfer request by the dean at the applicant’s present optometry school.
Provide certification of good academic standing.
Apply through OptomCAS.
Transfer credit policy
You can simultaneously participate in the four-year OD program (entering with 90 qualifying credit hours) and apply for a Bachelor of Science in Optometry from NECO.
Earn the latter by completing 12 semester hours of humanities and 12 semester hours of social sciences prior to entry and meeting other requirements. The Bachelor of Science is awarded alongside the OD degree at the completion of the program.
Contact the Admissions Office for more details.
Learn more about us.
Request Information
Apply
Take a virtual tour of NECO