CBSE advice for OMFS residency

[ab117]

I jumped 10 points from my NBME average on SA2 3 days before the test, then scored one point lower than that on the really thing. Some people score lower on the real thing, but from all the threads I‘ve read, most go up.

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[fit2]

Agreed. I started a few months ago thinking I’ll go through ALL NBME’s that exist. After a few of the ones without answers I quickly gave up. Definitely UW1/2 and the NBME’s that have official answers for (20-24,18). You don’t even know how frustrating it is to try to figure out hard NBME’s that are hella hella tricky and some of the keys out there have mistakes in them.
Don’t overdo q’s because you’ll do them just to get through and you wanna make sure you get in good habit of thinking every question through. When I make mistakes esp on NBME’s now 5 weeks out I usually get them wrong cause I don’t think every single option through. It takes a lot of focus to go through 200 times questions and go through all 4-5 options.
Practice questions are great for test day but in the end you’ll be tested on what you memorized (FA for most people) so imo i would always focus on reviewing and learning that book. Not flying through all these q’s or even reading random fragmented facts from UW. Key I think is getting up to speed to be able to cover 1-2 systems per days the weeks before the exams. That way you have everything everything fresh on your exams and it’ll connected. Not just a bunch of random test questions.

 

[caffeine jitters]

I totally agree with your thoughts on content review @fit2, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out on some fundamental aspect of CBSE prep. As far as there being official answers for NBME forms 18 and 20-24, are you referring to the highlighting NBME does when you get an answer wrong? You haven’t found official explanations for the answers, right?

 

[fit2]

I totally agree with your thoughts on content review @fit2, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out on some fundamental aspect of CBSE prep. As far as there being official answers for NBME forms 18 and 20-24, are you referring to the highlighting NBME does when you get an answer wrong? You haven’t found official explanations for the answers, right?

Yeah I meant ones that have official key. PM me if you have specific q’s on explanations I can try to help. I’ve only gone through 20 and 21 but this month I’ll hopefully do a few more.

 

[caffeine jitters]

does anyone know when/if we get breaks between sections? NBME CBSSA exams just roll from section to section...

 

[ab117]

there's a break between section 2 and 3. I think 15 minutes.

 

[Ivy.ch]

I totally agree with your thoughts on content review @fit2, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out on some fundamental aspect of CBSE prep. As far as there being official answers for NBME forms 18 and 20-24, are you referring to the highlighting NBME does when you get an answer wrong? You haven’t found official explanations for the answers, right?

When I was going thorough the NBMEs there was a website with all the answers and explanations. Something along the lines of nbmeanswers.com. Just google the questions and I'm sure you could find them somewhere.

 

[Hanumankrupa72]

Hello Docs!!
People who are taking NBME CBSE this feb, whats your plan for this final month?

 

[fit2]

Hello Docs!!
People who are taking NBME CBSE this feb, whats your plan for this final month?

Cover all organ systems. Take 3-4 NBME’s and reread most UW q’s if possible. Still got 1400 q’s so not sure if feasible.
But I think reviewing everything. Especially overloading as much as you can in last week will be helpful.
Don’t get caught in the crazy details towards the end. Focus on the big concepts, “the most likely’s” for pretty much as much as you can handle.

 

[deleted913442]

Cram biostats in my head the week of


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[Demilaax]

Can the people that did well please give us info on how you studied? i'm going to have to retake. I feel like i guessed on every single question /burninginsiderightnow

 

[fit2]

Can the people that did well please give us info on how you studied? i'm going to have to retake. I feel like i guessed on every single question /burninginsiderightnow

Watch BnB. Lots of high yield stuff there. IMO more than UW. It’s like you gotta know FA cold more but the things he says in BNB are always the facts that they tend to test on these NBME’s

 

[deleted913442]

Can the people that did well please give us info on how you studied? i'm going to have to retake. I feel like i guessed on every single question /burninginsiderightnow

Anki anki anki. Bros deck.


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[Charcot-Marie-Tooth]

Can the people that did well please give us info on how you studied? i'm going to have to retake. I feel like i guessed on every single question /burninginsiderightnow

Know all of the treatments for glaucoma

 

[deleted913442]

Know all of the treatments for glaucoma

As In depth as possible... Heard August exam is gonna ask about the exact organic structure of them.


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[DDSER1]

As In depth as possible... Heard August exam is gonna ask about the exact organic structure of them.


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Lmfao, man I felt like they went out of their way to cover microbes and drugs not explained in sketchy

 

[Hanumankrupa72]

It was all about knowing all concepts in depth. Short questions with short options but still going some of them tricky. Also time flew in 5X speed. Hopefully we all get good score so we can get interviews. Good luck.

 

[P7898]

Step 1 is pass/fail now.... I wonder how this will effect the CBSE...

 

[Ivy.ch]

Step 1 is pass/fail now.... I wonder how this will effect the CBSE...

Consensus seems to be CBSE will not be changing.

 

[Hanumankrupa72]

When should we expect the result of Feb 8 cbse?

 

[RS94]

Can I get some advice on my situation. I want to do well on the CBSE, But have to choose a school that will give me a better shot at it (none are known for specializing). I got accepted to Roseman (pass/fail block sched) gives one month off for winter and one month off for summer and 4 day weekends after an exam. I also got accepted to midwestern (letter grades) they give 2 weeks off for winter and 3 months off after D1 (They finish basic sciences in D1 year).

Is it better to use the 3 months as dedicated or go to Roseman which gives free time over the course of the curriculum?

 

[Life of Pablo]

Can I get some advice on my situation. I want to do well on the CBSE, But have to choose a school that will give me a better shot at it (none are known for specializing). I got accepted to Roseman (pass/fail block sched) gives one month off for winter and one month off for summer and 4 day weekends after an exam. I also got accepted to midwestern (letter grades) they give 2 weeks off for winter and 3 months off after D1 (They finish basic sciences in D1 year).

Is it better to use the 3 months as dedicated or go to Roseman which gives free time over the course of the curriculum?

In that case, go to the cheaper school. 1 month here or there isn't really going to help IMO. You're going to have to grind hard at both schools.

 

[desertrat12]

Go to the cheapest option, no question. You don’t know what the future holds. The attrition rate of oral surgery hopefuls in my class is about 80%. I’m not questioning your dedication, but things change in school. The cheapest option will set you up better for whatever comes. The cbse is a bear, but if you really want oral surgery you’ll make it work in any setting.

 

[RS94]

Thank you for your advice. So apart from cost, 3 months dedicated has no real advantage?

 

[RS94]

In that case, go to the cheaper school. 1 month here or there isn't really going to help IMO. You're going to have to grind hard at both schools.

Another consideration is that not having to worry about a class rank/ gpa might help when studying for the CBSE?

 

[Life of Pablo]

Another consideration is that not having to worry about a class rank/ gpa might help when studying for the CBSE?

Not at a school like Roseman (no offense). It helps at schools like Columbia/Harvard because they're very well established with program directors and send a lot of residents to specialties. At Roseman, you're going to want a rank to show program directors since its a newer, lesser known school.

 

[Ivy.ch]

Can I get some advice on my situation. I want to do well on the CBSE, But have to choose a school that will give me a better shot at it (none are known for specializing). I got accepted to Roseman (pass/fail block sched) gives one month off for winter and one month off for summer and 4 day weekends after an exam. I also got accepted to midwestern (letter grades) they give 2 weeks off for winter and 3 months off after D1 (They finish basic sciences in D1 year).

Is it better to use the 3 months as dedicated or go to Roseman which gives free time over the course of the curriculum?

Agree with many responses above.

1) You have no idea whether you will actually go through with OS. None of us are questioning your ability - I'm sure you could do it. But many things will happen in the next 4 years you can't predict. So go for the cheaper school which keeps all your options open.

2) 90% of the CBSE studying is on your own time, so when the school finishes basic sciences is irrelevant. I had to learn Pathology, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry on my own before we covered it in school. And even then, dental classes will skip most of what you need to know.

3) Studying for the CBSE is a marathon. It will take studying a little bit every day. Not having huge blocks of free time is not a deal breaker.

4) Programs want to see good ranks. If you go to a P/F school like Harvard or UConn, you get a pass. But a P/F school like Roseman - I'm doubtful. There are also people here who say P/F schools still rank you in letters of rec.

TLDR: Any variation in school can be dealt with - debt cannot.

 

[klownzo]

Can I get some advice on my situation. I want to do well on the CBSE, But have to choose a school that will give me a better shot at it (none are known for specializing). I got accepted to Roseman (pass/fail block sched) gives one month off for winter and one month off for summer and 4 day weekends after an exam. I also got accepted to midwestern (letter grades) they give 2 weeks off for winter and 3 months off after D1 (They finish basic sciences in D1 year).

Is it better to use the 3 months as dedicated or go to Roseman which gives free time over the course of the curriculum?

As others have stated, go to whatever school is the cheapest. If the cost is similar then go to which one you think you'll enjoy more. As far as having pass/fail from a non-ivy, it makes the CBSE even more important for you. The CBSE is already the most important part of your application at any school. Being at a pass/fail school almost makes it your entire application. You won't have a rank to help ease any potential academic concerns that a program might have about you and non-ivy's don't have the reputation to help ease concerns. So if it gives you more free time and you kill the test, great! It completely worked in your favor. If you don't do good on the CBSE, you won't have anything on your application that will help to give programs confidence in your academic abilities. As already mentioned, most pass/fail schools actually do have a rank that is either explicitly stated in the dean's letter or heavily implied. So keep that in mind.

May Dr. Sattar watch over you as you begin your journey

 

[deleted972255]

As others have stated, go to whatever school is the cheapest. If the cost is similar then go to which one you think you'll enjoy more. As far as having pass/fail from a non-ivy, it makes the CBSE even more important for you. The CBSE is already the most important part of your application at any school. Being at a pass/fail school almost makes it your entire application. You won't have a rank to help ease any potential academic concerns that a program might have about you and non-ivy's don't have the reputation to help ease concerns. So if it gives you more free time and you kill the test, great! It completely worked in your favor. If you don't do good on the CBSE, you won't have anything on your application that will help to give programs confidence in your academic abilities. As already mentioned, most pass/fail schools actually do have a rank that is either explicitly stated in the dean's letter or heavily implied. So keep that in mind.

May Dr. Sattar watch over you as you begin your journey

I chose a state school over Columbia, UPenn. I don't regret it-I saved a lot-like over $200k, before interest. And compared to NYU Dental, I saved over $300k I think (again before interest)-its even more now for NYU Dental than when I would have started, which is borderline criminal in my opinion.
Now that my school is P/F for this semester (it was not before the coronavirus pandemic), I am experiencing what everyone else at those 'prestigious' schools has had-its quite nice, but not sure if its worth the extra debt. As an OMFS you can pay back even an NYU-sized debt load, so I guess it doesn't matter. The thing is, if you went to a more expensive school and got a low CBSE (these days a score in the 60s doesn't really cut it most of the time) you might just have overpaid to become a general dentist which has a much lower income potential on average. Plus, we all know that the more 'prestigious' schools have more intense didactics at the expense of hand skills. Columbia students have way worse hand skills compared to most kids coming out of state schools. But, that doesn't matter if you're going to be an OMFS.
Basically, like everyone says, pick the cheapest school-with one caveat-the cheapest school with an OMFS department, just so you can easily shadow, get exposure, do research, etc. Grad plus loans do not have good interest rates.
Oh and one last thing-just because you don't go to Columbia, Harvard, or UPenn for dental school doesn't mean you can't do well on the CBSE. I go to a state school and still have a CBSE in the 80s.

 

[RS94]

Thank you all for such genuine advice! I’m just trying to keep the door open and give myself the best possible chance if I do decide to pursue OS. With that being said Roseman is cheaper, and has sent a student to buffalos 6 year program pretty much every year. This past week the dean put me in touch with one of the D3’s that took the CBSE recently and scored an 83. I’ve had a hard time finding anyone in residency that attended Midwestern IL which sucks because I would’ve enjoyed going to school in Chicago more.

 

[Charcot-Marie-Tooth]

Thank you all for such genuine advice! I’m just trying to keep the door open and give myself the best possible chance if I do decide to pursue OS. With that being said Roseman is cheaper, and has sent a student to buffalos 6 year program pretty much every year. This past week the dean put me in touch with one of the D3’s that took the CBSE recently and scored an 83. I’ve had a hard time finding anyone in residency that attended Midwestern IL which sucks because I would’ve enjoyed going to school in Chicago more.

This blog post I found actually addresses your specific questions... It essentially agrees with a lot of what has already been mentioned previously but does give some other suggestions.

As you noted, a student from Roseman did well (and a handful have in the past), however, most of the posts above are simply suggesting that it may be more difficult - not impossible. Just go nutso on the CBSE

 

[RS94]

This blog post I found actually addresses your specific questions... It essentially agrees with a lot of what has already been mentioned previously but does give some other suggestions.

As you noted, a student from Roseman did well (and a handful have in the past), however, most of the posts above are simply suggesting that it may be more difficult - not impossible. Just go nutso on the CBSE

Wow this is perfect!! Thank you so much!

 

[mynameisno]

February D2

 

[bloodytoothguy2]

Hey everyone! Looking for some general advice. I am a D1 just starting my CBSE studying and have heard different things about when to start incorporating UWorld into my schedule. I was planning on buying the program once I had a good grasp on the material and focusing on UWorld mainly towards the last couple months of studying. Any suggestions?

 

[Teeth and Titanite]

Hey everyone! Looking for some general advice. I am a D1 just starting my CBSE studying and have heard different things about when to start incorporating UWorld into my schedule. I was planning on buying the program once I had a good grasp on the material and focusing on UWorld mainly towards the last couple months of studying. Any suggestions?

Ay good luck! I’m a D1 starting to study for this too, bit overwhelming isn’t it? 😅.

I’ve heard different things about when to get UWorld as well. Altho if you’re trying to take it in July like I am, I can tell you that I’m probly gonna buy a six month subscription of UWorld. I was originally planning on getting it during my last 3 months of studying, but I’d rather have access to it for a bit longer so that I can do a more manageable number of questions per day and possibly do a second pass for my incorrects at least.

 

[Warrior Babu]

Hey guys! I'm a D1 and I'm planning on taking the exam next August and I want to give myself time before I start hardcore studying. I was wondering if there were any good flashcards to memorize Micro or Pharm stuff before I get really dialed in. I was looking at Zanki and Sketchy Anki decks and I was wondering if one of those worked better. Thank you!

 

[0Mik3cho]

Hey guys! I'm a D1 and I'm planning on taking the exam next August and I want to give myself time before I start hardcore studying. I was wondering if there were any good flashcards to memorize Micro or Pharm stuff before I get really dialed in. I was looking at Zanki and Sketchy Anki decks and I was wondering if one of those worked better. Thank you!

Anking is most comprehensive and has tags for Sketchy, Pixorize, Pathoma, BnB, Physeo, First Aid and more. It’s based on Zanki but has the same content coverage and more.