Compare / Illinois College (ICO) vs SCCO/Ketchum

Illinois College (ICO) vs SCCO/Ketchum

Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, IL, and Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University in Fullerton, CA, side by side on the same measures. Schools are listed alphabetically, and neither is a pick from us.

Last checked Nov 2, 2026. Board results are NBEO 2024–25; class figures are the fall 2025 entering class.

Measure	Illinois College (ICO)	SCCO/Ketchum
Location	Chicago, IL	Fullerton, CA
Type	Private	Private
Seats	125	103
Applicants per seat	5.6	4.1
Class GPA	3.59	3.54
Class OAT	334 AA / 331 TS	343 AA / 340 TS
NBEO ultimate pass rate	86.9% (99 tested)	93.3% (90 tested)
Tuition per year	$53,019 2026–27 first year: three quarters at $17,673 tuition, before fees. Last checked Oct 24, 2026	$55,380 2026–27
Living cost tier	Moderate: $25,000 a year	Very high: $36,000 a year
Est. 4-year cost, out-of-state	$312,076	$365,520
OptomCAS deadline	May 1, 2027	Mar 15, 2027
Interview	One-on-one with faculty or an administrator, on campus or virtual	One-on-one with a faculty member, on campus
Seat deposit	Not published	$1,500
Letters	2: optometrist + science professor	2: optometrist + 1 of your choice

Four-year costs use out-of-state tuition for public schools, four years of flat tuition and a living allowance by tier, before scholarships. For the U.S. as a whole, the board pass rate is 82.5%.

Where They Differ

Board pass rate: SCCO/Ketchum is higher at 93.3%, against 86.9% at Illinois College (ICO).
Class GPA: Illinois College (ICO) is higher at 3.59, against 3.54 at SCCO/Ketchum.
Class OAT Academic Average: SCCO/Ketchum is higher at 343, against 334 at Illinois College (ICO).
Seats: Illinois College (ICO) is higher at 125, against 103 at SCCO/Ketchum.
Applicants per seat: Illinois College (ICO) is higher at 5.6, against 4.1 at SCCO/Ketchum.
Four-year cost, out-of-state: SCCO/Ketchum is higher at $365,520, against $312,076 at Illinois College (ICO).

Class averages aren't cutoffs and pass rates describe past graduates, not you. A higher number isn't a better school; it's a different one to weigh against what you want.

What Each School Page Notes