Help with boards...clueless!!!

[paris2012]

Hello,
I just started my second year as a dental student and I need help figuring out when is a good time to take OS board exam.
1. Do i need to take part 1 before OS board exam or it doesn't matter?
2. whats the minimum gpa I would need if i'm interested in OS residencies?
3. what're some good study materials I should use for this exam?
4. is this exam similar to step 1?
Thank you for your time!!!

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[AlbinoPolarBear]

1. It doesn't matter. Also, you can take it as many times as you want, and only your highest score would count.
2. Class rank matters more than GPA, but to be competitive, you would want to be in the top 10% of your class. If you don't have the rank, then you may be able to make it up with other parts of your application. You should be the minimum top 25% of your class though. If not, you gotta kill the CBSE to make yourself stand out.
3. Pathoma, First Aid USMLE, Uworld
4. Step 1 is 7 blocks of 46 questions, so 322 questions. CBSE is 4 blocks of 50 questions, so 200 questions. Both exams are overseen by the NBME, and have the same question bank, so the source material and difficulty is the same.