CBSE - Feb. 2023

[Pleurodynia]

Now we wait. What did you guys think? Last block was the toughest for me.

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[odontogenesis]

 

[machine14]

Last block was tough. Some weird questions throughout, but resembled the practice NBMEs a lot

 

[odontogenesis]

Scores back when? Friday?

 

[Punished Angeleno]

I thought the last two sections were much more fair than the first two lol. Scores should be out by Friday probably, yeah.

 

[Struck by Whitening]

I thought overall it was fair but a tough exam for sure

 

[IndifferentOsteoblast]

Is there any data on how applicants from this past cycle did in terms of equated percent correct? Some might have had the old 2/3 digit score, but there was probably a decent amount with EPC

 

[DMD12345]

Not many I for sure knew, a hell of a lot of pretty confident guesses, and a nice amount of what the **** is this. I feel good though. But we'll see. Are people usually pleasantly surprised with their score? Wonder if there's any bit of curve. Took 2 NBMEs and the EPC they gave for both was 2% lower than the actual percent correct I got on them lol

 

[whothat0]

Heavy on the fundamentals. First section was tough, felt better about the rest. Was time an issue for most people? Feel like I read pretty good but damn I was crunched.

Enjoying a nice beverage on a Sunday. Hope you all are following suit

 

[Symptoms are asymptomatic]

Blocked most of it out from my mind at this point, but I used every last second on the first section whereas I had about 5-10 minutes left over in the other three sections.

 

[TeethAreKewl]

Overall test was tough, but considering I'm only 13% through UWorld and being my first actual full length test, I'll take what I can get

Actually audibly chuckled out loud to that Lou Gehrigs communications answer choice in Block 4, so that was a nice stress reliever:

Edited: Removed specifics as I was notified we aren't to share question stems/answers on this forum. Sorry!

 

[DMD12345]

Overall test was tough, but considering I'm only 13% through UWorld and being my first actual full length test, I'll take what I can get

Actually audibly chucked out loud to that communications answer choice in Block 4, so that was a nice stress reliever:
How would you approach this patient?
"You have Lou Gehrig's Disease and you are going to die"

I can neither confirm nor deny this question existed...but I will say that there were some answer choices on this test that were hilarious lol

 

[odontogenesis]

I’d say overall I thought it was remarkably fair. I thought UWorld questions were quite a bit harder. There were more first order questions than I was expecting. Obviously I don’t know what I made so totally could’ve failed it… but definitely not what I was expecting - in a good way.

 

[IndifferentOsteoblast]

Can’t forget the “You have HIV. However, that’s not a surprise because you also have herpes.”

 

[IndifferentOsteoblast]

Scores back when? Friday?

This was my first time, but those I know who have taken it before said at least 2 weeks. Can anyone who’s taken it before vouch for either story?

 

[odontogenesis]

 

[Pleurodynia]

This was my first time, but those I know who have taken it before said at least 2 weeks. Can anyone who’s taken it before vouch for either story?

Last February scores came out the Friday after the test, and this summer scores came out two Tuesdays after. This wait is painful I haven't been able to focus on class at all haha

 

[DMD12345]

Scores out

 

[Struck by Whitening]

Are we using the "leaked" chart to convert our score: EPC --> Old Scaled Score?

 

[0Mik3cho]

Are we using the "leaked" chart to convert our score: EPC --> Old Scaled Score?

This one?

 

[Struck by Whitening]

Yes that one

 

[DMD12345]

That's what I've been told is accurate so I'm using it

 

[Struck by Whitening]

So the score range they tell us, that is not the "score" perse? It's slightly lower than what the "leaked" chart provides

 

[JJayJoe]

So the score range they tell us, that is not the "score" perse? It's slightly lower than what the "leaked" chart provides

I took that to mean the EPC score range not old scaled score range (it correlates to the green dashed lines outlining the EPC range on the graph)

 

[Pleurodynia]

Are you guys talking about the score range on our report?

This is what they mean, it's not a conversion:

To convert your score you should take the score listed at the top of the report and use the leaked table

Congratulations though everyone, so glad to be done with this test! Gonna celebrate tonight with a drink or twenty

 

[odontogenesis]

If you follow the trail of EPC -> Old 2 digit -> 3 digit it helps. It is confusing though because depending on how you convert (EPC directly to 3 digit versus EPC to 2 digit to 3 digit) you get different resulting 3 digit/Step 1-equivalent scores.

 

[odontogenesis]

.

 

[pookatooth]

I'll start it off.

Got a 68 EPC. Not a stunner score but I'm happy with it.

Studying nights/weekends during GPR since August. 57% correct UWorld random, untimed first pass. USWA1 213, USWA2 200, FREE120 67%, NBME 30 67%. So practice exams were predictive for me.

Fair play to anybody that really commits to this test, it is an absolute beast to prepare for.

 

[Punished Angeleno]

1. Glad I don't have to take this exam again
2. UWSA1 really is an over-predictor LOL

 

[Pleurodynia]

Quick write-up as these were invaluable for me when I was preparing to study:

Score: 84% (~243)
Length studied: 9 months
Resources: Anki, UWorld (2.5x), practice NBMEs
Background: Ranked school, no med school curriculum

Strategy: I essentially only used Anki to learn/review material, did not open First Aid once or watch any Pathoma / Boards and Beyond videos. I very rarely supplemented with 3rd party videos for concepts I did not understand through Anki (I'm talking less than an hour of total watching). To study this way comes at a price though, in the end I had just under 32k flashcards in my master deck, I had done over 330k total reviews, and matured 31k of my total flashcards. My average over the 9 months was about 1400 per day. I think there was a 2-3 week stretch where I averaged 3.5k per day, yeah....

My advice would be to compile the major resources, try them out for a month and then create a comprehensive game plan with the resources you like best for the remaining time you have. I learned very quickly that Anki was the way to go for me, but it will not be the best for everyone.

I took 5.5 months purely learning through Anki, then I used UWorld for the final 3.5 months and also did every NBME I could get my hands on (even the old ones and the Free120's). I ended up doing 2 passes of UWorld and my incorrects for the second pass. I also ended up doing around 15 total practice tests (under simulated conditions).

Practice Test Scores:

NBME 30: 76% / 225 (6 weeks out)
NBME 25: 74% / 220 (5.5 weeks out)
NBME 28: 73% / 219 (5 weeks out)
UWSA 1: 73% / 243 (4 weeks out)
NBME 27: 83% / 240 (3 weeks out)
New Free120: 85% (2 weeks out)
Old Free120: 87% (2 weeks out)
NBME 26: 80% / 234 (1 week out)
UWSA 2: 82% / 251 (4 days out)
NBME 29: 86% / 247 (2 days out)

CBSE: 84% / 243

Final thoughts:

Something not talked about enough in all the breakdowns I have sifted through was the importance of life balance. I originally thought I would spend every waking moment grinding for this test, but looking back, the times I did this and neglected all the other aspects of my life (friends, girlfriend, gym, etc.) were ironically the weeks I performed the worst on my studying sessions, practice tests, and just felt crappy overall.

One thing I made sure to do was to have at least one weekend every month that had something I looked forward to (a trip, a big drinking weekend, guys night out, date night, etc.). It made it feel like I was working towards something every month, and gave me motivation on those early mornings and late nights.

Good luck to everyone taking it in the future and congratulations to everyone who never has to think about Leptomeningeal angiomas ever again.

 

[lexi517]

Has anyone else not heard back yet? I haven't gotten an email...

 

[Punished Angeleno]

Quick write-up as these were invaluable for me when I was preparing to study:

Score: 84% (~243)
Length studied: 9 months
Resources: Anki, UWorld (2.5x), practice NBMEs
Background: Ranked school, no med school curriculum

Man, congratulations. You absolutely killed it. Nine months of torture paid off in a big way.

 

[DMD12345]

Has anyone else not heard back yet? I haven't gotten an email...

Check your junk folder

 

[JJayJoe]

Has anyone else not heard back yet? I haven't gotten an email...

never received an email, you have to log in via the NBME scheduling portal emailed to you for CBSE registration

 

[CrentistCrest]

I scored a 69. I believe this should be competitive. Hope everyone else did well

 

[CrentistCrest]

Final thoughts: UFAP is the cornerstone of CBSE success. Study hard and knock out this exam early on. Congrats to all, and best of luck in the future! The night is yours.

I'll start it off.

Got a 68 EPC. Not a stunner score but I'm happy with it.

Studying nights/weekends during GPR since August. 57% correct UWorld random, untimed first pass. USWA1 213, USWA2 200, FREE120 67%, NBME 30 67%. So practice exams were predictive for me.

Fair play to anybody that really commits to this test, it is an absolute beast to prepare for.

68 should get you in somewhere

 

[odontogenesis]

Quick write-up as these were invaluable for me when I was preparing to study:

Score: 84% (~243)
Length studied: 9 months
Resources: Anki, UWorld (2.5x), practice NBMEs
Background: Ranked school, no med school curriculum

Strategy: I essentially only used Anki to learn/review material, did not open First Aid once or watch any Pathoma / Boards and Beyond videos. I very rarely supplemented with 3rd party videos for concepts I did not understand through Anki (I'm talking less than an hour of total watching). To study this way comes at a price though, in the end I had just under 32k flashcards in my master deck, I had done over 330k total reviews, and matured 31k of my total flashcards. My average over the 9 months was about 1400 per day. I think there was a 2-3 week stretch where I averaged 3.5k per day, yeah....

My advice would be to compile the major resources, try them out for a month and then create a comprehensive game plan with the resources you like best for the remaining time you have. I learned very quickly that Anki was the way to go for me, but it will not be the best for everyone.

I took 5.5 months purely learning through Anki, then I used UWorld for the final 3.5 months and also did every NBME I could get my hands on (even the old ones and the Free120's). I ended up doing 2 passes of UWorld and my incorrects for the second pass. I also ended up doing around 15 total practice tests (under simulated conditions).

Practice Test Scores:

NBME 30: 76% / 225 (6 weeks out)
NBME 25: 74% / 220 (5.5 weeks out)
NBME 28: 73% / 219 (5 weeks out)
UWSA 1: 73% / 243 (4 weeks out)
NBME 27: 83% / 240 (3 weeks out)
New Free120: 85% (2 weeks out)
Old Free120: 87% (2 weeks out)
NBME 26: 80% / 234 (1 week out)
UWSA 2: 82% / 251 (4 days out)
NBME 29: 86% / 247 (2 days out)

CBSE: 84% / 243

Final thoughts:

Something not talked about enough in all the breakdowns I have sifted through was the importance of life balance. I originally thought I would spend every waking moment grinding for this test, but looking back, the times I did this and neglected all the other aspects of my life (friends, girlfriend, gym, etc.) were ironically the weeks I performed the worst on my studying sessions, practice tests, and just felt crappy overall.

One thing I made sure to do was to have at least one weekend every month that had something I looked forward to (a trip, a big drinking weekend, guys night out, date night, etc.). It made it feel like I was working towards something every month, and gave me motivation on those early mornings and late nights.

Good luck to everyone taking it in the future and congratulations to everyone who never has to think about Leptomeningeal angiomas ever again.

Dude that’s wild. I’ve yet to hear of an Anki-only approach that worked so well. Congratulations. How many questions did you get incorrect to score 84% EPC ? Should be able to count them on the long score report they sent out.

 

[Pleurodynia]

Dude that’s wild. I’ve yet to hear of an Anki-only approach that worked so well. Congratulations. How many questions did you get incorrect to score 84% EPC ? Should be able to count them on the long score report they sent out.

Haha yeah bro I didn’t see any breakdowns of only anki either so I was a little worried at first but when I started taking my practice tests I gained confidence.

My EPC for all NBME’s were always 1-1.5% lower than the actual raw percent correct, so I’d guess I got 29 or 30 wrong

 

[odontogenesis]

Haha yeah bro I didn’t see any breakdowns of only anki either so I was a little worried at first but when I started taking my practice tests I gained confidence.

My EPC for all NBME’s were always 1-1.5% lower than the actual raw percent correct, so I’d guess I got 29 or 30 wrong

I’ve gotcha. Sweet. Yeah they sent two score reports if you didn’t see both. One shows all the questions and which ones you got correct and incorrect.

 

[DMD12345]

You can CTRL+F "Incorrect" and then it'll spit the number out (but subtract 1 for the random one on the first page). I got 2.5 higher than my actual % correct but yeah my NBMEs were both 2% lower than the actual % correct

 

[Pleurodynia]

I’ve gotcha. Sweet. Yeah they sent two score reports if you didn’t see both. One shows all the questions and which ones you got correct and incorrect.

Oh yeah you guys are right haha I got 35 wrong so my score was actually 1.5 higher

 

[hemoglobinc]

Retake a 70 EP? 3rd year. Could realistically get it up a few points while doing externships and other application preparations.

 

[IndifferentOsteoblast]

Once again, congrats to everyone for even completing the exam. It's mentally and physically exhausting, so cheers to you. I figured I might share a few more words to shed light on a couple details that were mentioned. A little background:

Score: 83% (87/240) - 1st Attempt
Length studied: 6 Months
Resources: UFAP, Sketchy, Boards
Background: Ranked, Non-Med Curriculum, 2nd Year

I never thought I would say this, but I don't think I would have done much better with a medical school curriculum. This exam takes effort and guts. Those classes might help, but it's your effort that will afford you a good score. That's all I'll say on that.
There are many ways to skin this cat, so find what works for you. UFAP and Anki are tried and true, but that might not be your thing. I hate flashcards, so I never touched a single one. Efficiency is key, so find ways to build your CBSE learning around dental school classes. Once you have a foundation, start ripping through UWorld. My first block was 25%. Who cares. Trust the process. Do at least 1 full and an incorrect pass. Complete as many practice exams as you can. No matter how good or bad you do on the practice exams, it's going to feel like a grenade went off in your ear after the real thing. In the end, do the best you can, and don't get hung up on comparing your score to somebody else's.

 

[DMD12345]

Once again, congrats to everyone for even completing the exam. It's mentally and physically exhausting, so cheers to you. I figured I might share a few more words to shed light on a couple details that were mentioned. A little background:

Score: 83% (87/240) - 1st Attempt
Length studied: 6 Months
Resources: UFAP, Sketchy, Boards
Background: Ranked, Non-Med Curriculum, 2nd Year

I never thought I would say this, but I don't think I would have done much better with a medical school curriculum. This exam takes effort and guts. Those classes might help, but it's your effort that will afford you a good score. That's all I'll say on that.
There are many ways to skin this cat, so find what works for you. UFAP and Anki are tried and true, but that might not be your thing. I hate flashcards, so I never touched a single one. Efficiency is key, so find ways to build your CBSE learning around dental school classes. Once you have a foundation, start ripping through UWorld. My first block was 25%. Who cares. Trust the process. Do at least 1 full and an incorrect pass. Complete as many practice exams as you can. No matter how good or bad you do on the practice exams, it's going to feel like a grenade went off in your ear after the real thing. In the end, do the best you can, and don't get hung up on comparing your score to somebody else's.

How many hours per day did you average studying cbse?

 

[JJayJoe]

If you think you can score higher I would go for it.



I’d say need to retake - especially for 6 years. Word on the street is that 70 EPC is minimum. I believe passing score now for step 1 is 204 since it’s gone P/F and a 65 EPC puts you below that at 202. Might not be as big of an issue for 4 year programs. Ask some PDs and residents though. 6 year programs I’d say shoot for 75+

the score report we were given stated the minimum EPC for passing was a 61%... low pass range was highlighted on the graph as 61 to 69%

 

[CrentistCrest]

Retake a 70 EP? 3rd year. Could realistically get it up a few points while doing externships and other application preparations

 

[CrentistCrest]

How come so few people are posting their score? If you did bad who cares it’s anonymous. If anything you can receive advice/help improving score

 

[IndifferentOsteoblast]

How many hours per day did you average studying cbse?

2-3 M-F, 8+ weekends x 6 months. Usually 1 block each morning and review as much as I can before class. I started seeing the most promising results about 4 months into things. It's really just a function of time, effort, and trusting the process.

 

[DMD12345]

2-3 M-F, 8+ weekends x 6 months. Usually 1 block each morning and review as much as I can before class. I started seeing the most promising results about 4 months into things. It's really just a function of time, effort, and trusting the process.

Thanks. Congrats on the monster score

 

[Flawlesss]

I got 77% on the cbse this time. (First time) should I retake the exam? Or not?