More than 30 years ago, the makeup of optometry students reached a tipping point, and that enrollment trend has lasted. In the 1992-93 academic year, the number of women entering optometry school surpassed the number of male students, according to the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. It was as low as 2.9% of enrollees in 1969, ASCO data shows.
In the 20 years that Women In Optometry has been reporting first-year enrollment numbers in the fall, the percentage of women entering first-year optometry classes has been above 60%, with percentages near or above 70 for seven of the past 10 years.
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