UIW Eye Institute

Very through, so prepare to stay a while. Excellent service.

came here to update my prescription and get a contact lens fitting. spent approx 2 – 2.5 hours per appoint x 3 appointments to do all that and get my eyes dilated. the exams here are SUPER thorough since it’s a school and the students need to learn/​practice every single exam that exists in the history of eye exams. there were so many things they tested that i’d never seen done before and just to warn you, all the testing will definitely give you crazy eyestrain, especially if your vision is nowhere near perfect like mine. i don’t remember it being like this at my old optometrist appointments, but here it seemed like they would dial up the prescription on the thingy you look through to less that your actual prescription so that everything is still kinda blurry. then you have to tell them which is better, «1 or 2.» well when you’re comparing blurry to blurry, it’s really hard to tell. so that was kinda annoying, but i guess a tradeoff considering their eye exams are relatively cheap, especially if you’re a student. also, if you have to go back for repeat appointments like i did (i’d say most people probably have to go in at least twice, unless you have perfect vision and only need to be checked for eye health), expect to get a different student each time, who may not be familiar with your case. you might have to re-​explain a lot of stuff and they may want to actually redo a majority of the exam from the previous appointment if it was done by a different student. also, after the student does his or her exam, the actual eye doctor has to come in and check everything (often redoing the exact same tests again). if you have a question, they usually have to consult the eye doctor. none of this bothered me, but just understand that you have to come prepared for a different experience and have more patience than usual. they have an in-​house optician and you can order glasses or contacts for 40% off as a student. however, despite how amazing this deal sounds (+ it was a better discount than my vision discount plan through my insurance), it is STILL way more expensive than getting glasses or contacts online. for a pair of glasses that i ended up getting online for $ 225, they quoted me $ 450ish after my discount! craziness. it may be cheaper to get your frame here if you qualify for the student discount, then get lenses elsewhere, since their frame is always 40% off of msrp, but their lens prices are just crazy. i would recommend uiw if you have a flexible schedule and don’t mind relatively long appointments. for 2 of my 3 appointments, i was given a call approximately 30 – 50 min before i went in, most likely because someone else had canceled last-​min. if i hadn’t been able to go in that same day, i would have had to wait another couple of weeks. so if you do have that kind of flexibility, take advantage of uiw and its unbeatable prices for eye exams!

Can’t see? Look no further. Go to UIW Eye Institute!
Since attending school again after a long 2 years’ hiatus, it has come to my eyes’ attention that I cannot see as well anymore sadly, especially with sitting in the back of my classes. PowerPoint slides became hazy, the words on the chalkboard looked like little scribbles, and being a student who realizes if you sit more toward the front has a higher possibility of being called on by the professor and being a student who dislikes being called on in class, I have always preferred sitting in the waaaay back so I can chill (and learn). But I couldn’t just «chill» because I was having such a difficult time making out the aforementioned scribbles on the darn PowerPoint slides and chalkboard! Oh, the confessions of a blurred vision graduate student.
Thankfully, a friend of mine who was actually a clinical intern at UIW Eye Institute suggested I check out the institute. I was presented with a very professional staff from all around from the receptionists, billing department to the eye doctors and their clinical interns, you can expect a pleasant, clean, respectful experience that will attend to all of your eye care needs.
They will do a total of 2 evaluations. One will be of your vision and the second will be an evaluation of external and internal eye health.
1^st evaluation — The vision portion of the exam comprises of:
1.) an assessment of visual acuity (how well you are able to see)
2.) detailed testing of eye movements to detect any issues involving the alignment of your eyes
3.) the prescription of glasses (if necessary).
2^nd evaluation — The external and internal eye health portion includes:
1.) A detailed examination of the external anatomy of the eyes (including screening for eyelid and eye surface anomalies)
After this, I got my eyes dilated and that was a tad bit scary for me since this procedure involves blurry vision for the patient for a few hours. However, this allowed the intern and doctor to have a better view inside of my eyes.
Give yourself 1 – 2 hours for the whole eye exam! It’ll all be worth it. I am now rockin’ awesome Ray-​Bans Wayfarers glasses and Salvatore Ferragamo glasses with my correct prescription in the lenses. They have their own little optical store inside and they offer a wide variety of high-​quality frames such as Calvin Klein, Coach, Fendi, Nike, Cole Haan, Salvatore Ferragamo, Vogue, BCBG, DVF, Michael Kors, Lacoste, and Bebe to name a few.
Also, they do offer a sliding scale for those who are low-​income individuals! And they also offer student discounts! Woohoo! Thanks, guys! I can finally see clearly! B)