Board Scores

[hokiedds]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Anyone know where to find out a school's average NBDE part 1 scores for the last couple years? I'm particularly interested in UAB and VCU as that is where I am applying this year.

 

[UNLV OMS GUNNABE]

www.whocares.com

Seriously, it doesn't matter.

 

[Jone]

Trust me, it's irrelevant. My school consistently scores in the bottom 50% of the nation every year, yet I still scored in the top 3% of the nation. It's really up to you to prepare for the exam, the school matters very little. HOWEVER, there is one exception, being schools that don't give you time to study for the exam. I know there are schools out there that only give you 1 week, or even NO time off to study for the exam. In those cases, even with the best time management skills, you are at a big disadvantage. Good luck.

Anyone know where to find out a school's average NBDE part 1 scores for the last couple years? I'm particularly interested in UAB and VCU as that is where I am applying this year.

 

[hokiedds]

www.whocares.com

Seriously, it doesn't matter.

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to post that super helpful comment. I really appreciate it. I asked this question because when people are comparing schools, board scores invariably come up. Now I know that the first thing you are going to say is that the idea of ranking schools is laughable, just go to whoever accepts you and is the cheapest, but think back for a second to what it was like when you were trying to decide where to go and how hard that was. All I'm looking for is some help with my decision. I know that you're of the opinion that the school you attend doesn't affect your board scores at all, but logically it would seem that if a certain school had significantly higher scores, they were doing something better, even if it was just giving their students an extra week or two to study. I'm not saying that if you go to a school with the highest average in the country that you will automatically do well, you will definitely have to work for it no matter where you go. So anyways, if anyone would like to answer my original question, that would be great. Thanks.

 

[adamlc18]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to post that super helpful comment. I really appreciate it. I asked this question because when people are comparing schools, board scores invariably come up. Now I know that the first thing you are going to say is that the idea of ranking schools is laughable, just go to whoever accepts you and is the cheapest, but think back for a second to what it was like when you were trying to decide where to go and how hard that was. All I'm looking for is some help with my decision. I know that you're of the opinion that the school you attend doesn't affect your board scores at all, but logically it would seem that if a certain school had significantly higher scores, they were doing something better, even if it was just giving their students an extra week or two to study. I'm not saying that if you go to a school with the highest average in the country that you will automatically do well, you will definitely have to work for it no matter where you go. So anyways, if anyone would like to answer my original question, that would be great. Thanks.

Or it might mean they had just accepted smarter individuals overall who would have scored in the top 5% no matter what school they had chosen to attend.

 

[jpollei]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to post that super helpful comment. I really appreciate it. I asked this question because when people are comparing schools, board scores invariably come up. Now I know that the first thing you are going to say is that the idea of ranking schools is laughable, just go to whoever accepts you and is the cheapest, but think back for a second to what it was like when you were trying to decide where to go and how hard that was. All I'm looking for is some help with my decision. I know that you're of the opinion that the school you attend doesn't affect your board scores at all, but logically it would seem that if a certain school had significantly higher scores, they were doing something better, even if it was just giving their students an extra week or two to study. I'm not saying that if you go to a school with the highest average in the country that you will automatically do well, you will definitely have to work for it no matter where you go. So anyways, if anyone would like to answer my original question, that would be great. Thanks.

Or perhaps one school chooses to emphasize teaching to the boards--which everyone knows happens some places--as opposed to emphasizing more clinical instruction.

Like adamlc18 said, good students will score well regardless of where they attend. Board scores are helpful in comparing one dental school to another (from a "how good of a practicing dentist will you really be")...but only if you plan to take a multiple choice test each morning you show up to treat patients. 🙂 Bottom line is this: board scores matter to get you in to a specialty. That's it.

Schools may try to hang their hats on "we're #1 on boards" or whatever. Maybe looking at what schools let you do real stuff you want to do in practice--like place your own implants, treat your own comprehensive ortho patients, etc., etc. depending on your preference--should be more meaningful in choosing a school to attend than a largely meaningless number like a board score average often is.

Just speaking as a student who's been through boards and scored well, and then seen how much more important what you learn clinically is over a board score.

 

[datdude]

The OP asked a question - he wasn't soliciting opinions. Have some respect and don't hijack his thread by making a joke of it.

To the OP, you're not going to get an informed opinion from UNLV OMS WANABE, because he was in the first class to ever take the boards at his school, they have no track record whatsoever.

I don't know about any other schools, but UCONN has an outstanding board part 1 and 2 average every year. Almost always averaging in the top 3 in the country. Whether this is because they accept above average students or because they take the med school curriculum, I can only speculate. However, I do know that Harvard and Columbia also force their students to take the med school curriculum and they are tops in the country as well.

So yes, the school you go to does make a difference on how well a class will average on the boards. And yes, you can do well on your boards no matter where you go to school.

 

[DDSSlave]

Or perhaps one school chooses to emphasize teaching to the boards--which everyone knows happens some places--as opposed to emphasizing more clinical instruction.

Like adamlc18 said, good students will score well regardless of where they attend. Board scores are helpful in comparing one dental school to another (from a "how good of a practicing dentist will you really be")...but only if you plan to take a multiple choice test each morning you show up to treat patients. 🙂 Bottom line is this: board scores matter to get you in to a specialty. That's it.

Schools may try to hang their hats on "we're #1 on boards" or whatever. Maybe looking at what schools let you do real stuff you want to do in practice--like place your own implants, treat your own comprehensive ortho patients, etc., etc. depending on your preference--should be more meaningful in choosing a school to attend than a largely meaningless number like a board score average often is.

Just speaking as a student who's been through boards and scored well, and then seen how much more important what you learn clinically is over a board score.

Completely agree. If your overall goal is to specialize, then you are doing yourself a disservice for using the avg board score litmus test that's so popular with today's dental school applicants. If you're a good student, you'll do the same on boards regardless of school. There are more important questions. Research opportunities for one. You can get a good board score from just about any dental school, but not every dental school offers abundant research opportunities which is absolutely necessary.

 

[UNLV OMS GUNNABE]

To the OP, you're not going to get an informed opinion from UNLV OMS WANABE, because he was in the first class to ever take the boards at his school, they have no track record whatsoever.

Wow, you're right. You are so much more informed than I am. I'm so glad that you could enlighten us by saying that Uconn, Harvard and Columbia do well. I guess I need to go to a real school to figure out that gem. I am so uninformed 🙁

 

[The Masticator]

I guarantee that a med school curriculum does not help at all. If anything, it would hurt your scores. I know I would personally take a dental assistant’s score on dental anatomy over my med school roommate’s score. But in all seriousness, the med school curriculum focuses entirely too much on non head and neck stuff for a dental student. Schools that teach dental students on med school curriculum may be teaching them important information but it does not help them anymore than a well taught dental curriculum; as far as boards are concerned.

 

[hokiedds]

The OP asked a question - he wasn't soliciting opinions. Have some respect and don't hijack his thread by making a joke of it.

To the OP, you're not going to get an informed opinion from UNLV OMS WANABE, because he was in the first class to ever take the boards at his school, they have no track record whatsoever.

I don't know about any other schools, but UCONN has an outstanding board part 1 and 2 average every year. Almost always averaging in the top 3 in the country. Whether this is because they accept above average students or because they take the med school curriculum, I can only speculate. However, I do know that Harvard and Columbia also force their students to take the med school curriculum and they are tops in the country as well.

So yes, the school you go to does make a difference on how well a class will average on the boards. And yes, you can do well on your boards no matter where you go to school.

Thanks for the info...I appreciate someone actually answering the original question.

 

[Rezdawg]

Hokie, when you compare a school that has a board score average of 91 to a school that has a board score average of 84, the difference, in my opinion, is 95% student based. If you look at a school like Harvard, the students there all achieved high DAT scores while maintaining very high gpa's as well. Most likely, those students will continue that hard work and discipline onto dental school. Therefore, its more likely that they will have great success on Part 1. In the same manner, take a dental school that takes students with a 3.2 gpa and 18 DAT. Those same students will, for the most part, continue dental school with the same approach they took in undergrad. Therefore, you should expect lower numbers from these students when you compare them, on average, to a student from Harvard, for instance. Are there exceptions? Sure. But, we are talking about averages here.

Bottomline, its up to the student to perform well on the boards. Good luck with your decision.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Thanks for the info...I appreciate someone actually answering the original question.

Actually, since you were inquiring about UAB and VCU, and the responder mentioned NOTHING about those schools, I'd say he didn't answer your question at all.

In fact, it seems he just gave his opinion, which is exactly what he got angry at everybody else for doing. Go figure.

 

[hokiedds]

Actually, since you were inquiring about UAB and VCU, and the responder mentioned NOTHING about those schools, I'd say he didn't answer your question at all.

In fact, it seems he just gave his opinion, which is exactly what he got angry at everybody else for doing. Go figure.

This is true, but he also didn't post a sarcastic, condescending remark that was of no use to anyone. He didn't know the exact answer to my question, but he told me what he did know about board scores and I was merely expressing my appreciation for that.

 

[harvard asda]

that information is available but my impression is that it's mostly only available to dental school faculty and deans. as you can imagine, it's a sensitive issue that some schools use to boast their image and others try to sweep under the rug, not that any of those responses are appropriate.

i would be wary of schools that say that they are "#1 in boards" because you don't know if they are talking about NBDE Part I or Part II or the regional licensing exams. just like any advertisement scheme, with the appropriate language, manipulation of your thought process is easy and they can lead you to think what they want. if you are really really interesting in finding this information out, i would say try asking a faculty to see the full report from which they are making their claim (at the risk of annoying them). perhaps a report is available from ADEA or the ADA (who administers the NBDE I/II) but nobody i know of has been able to find one.

 

[rocknightmare]

hokiedds i believe vcu's average is in the mid 80s with a high of low to mid 90s the last couple of years.