Southern College of Optometry
Memphis, TN · Big city · Private · First class 1932
Fully accredited
- seats per class
- 140
- applications
- 813
- average GPA
- 3.68
- average OAT
- 332
- resident tuition
- $32,832
- four-year cost
- $195,723
Getting in
- Average GPA
- 3.68
- OAT
- 332 academic average · 332 total science
- Entering with a bachelor’s
- 100%
- From in state
- 24% of the class · 38 states represented
- Women in the class
- 66.9%
- Bachelor’s degree
- Strongly recommended
- Prerequisites
- Organic chem, biochem, microbiology, statistics, psychology
- Shadowing
- Strongly recommended, 30 hrs in 2+ settings
- Deadline
- 3/1/27 · fee $50
What it costs
$135,954resident, four-year total
$195,723non-resident, four-year total
$214,208median across all 27 programs, for reference
- Tuition
- $32,832/yr resident · $45,902/yr non-resident
- Median graduate debt
- $160,678
Board results
NBEO Part I — 81%first-time, n=399
Part II — 94%first-time
Part III — 84.7%first-time
Ultimate pass rate — 97.5%including retakes
- Attrition
- 1.1% a year
Living there
92°FJuly high
32°FJanuary low
4″snow a year
90errands score
1.3Mmetro people
- One-bedroom rent
- $1,154/mo · all rentals $1,274
- Cost-of-living index
- 92.2
About this program
Private, but state contract seats give many regional residents a reduced rate (≈$18k/yr average reduction — ASCO 3.7 note).
ACOE program directories & accreditation actions, theacoe.org (retrieved Aug 3, 2026)