CBSE for those who took it

[personal]

We have to take it this week... I've heard that you can expect a 20-40 point increase on this score versus the usmle... at what point in the year did you take the test? Did anybody have more than a 40 point increase on the actual usmle versus the cbse?

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[DrThom]

We have to take it this week... I've heard that you can expect a 20-40 point increase on this score versus the usmle... at what point in the year did you take the test? Did anybody have more than a 40 point increase on the actual usmle versus the cbse?

I'll tell you six weeks from Friday.

But stats my school gave was an average of 30ish point increase.

 

[mountainman123]

I took the CBSE in December and took the real thing on Feb. 24. I got a 210 on the CBSE and a 251 on the real deal. However, another guy I know got a 217 on the CBSE and a 245 on the real thing. So it varies.....

 

[yanon]

Is this the test that you guys are talking about?

"The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi conduct All India Entrance Examination for admission to 15% seats in Medical/Dental colleges in India run by Government/Municipal/Local authorities except States of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir."

India's medical college entrance exam = US Medical Licensing Examination! Wow!

 

[twintiger32]

never EXPECT a 30-40 pt increase, just HOPE for one.

it all depends on where on the curve you are in terms of studying...if you take the CSBE at a plateau point, and also take the step 1 on the similar plateau, you will get a similar score!

with that in mind, i went added ~ 20 pts on the real deal

 

[personal]

I'm basically wondering if that 20-40 point addition is occuring with people who studied a little before they took the cbse or was it with people who haven't studied at all before they took the cbse test...

 

[DrThom]

I'm basically wondering if that 20-40 point addition is occuring with people who studied a little before they took the cbse or was it with people who haven't studied at all before they took the cbse test...

Well I know at Wake, they give the test right at the tail end of 2nd year so you really don't have a chance to study for it. They use it as a tool to guage who is in danger of failing and may need additional study time. For others, it acts as a starting point and tells you where your weaknesses are.

I don't know how other schools utilize the CBSE.

 

[KNightInBlue]

Is this the test that you guys are talking about?

"The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi conduct All India Entrance Examination for admission to 15% seats in Medical/Dental colleges in India run by Government/Municipal/Local authorities except States of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir."

India's medical college entrance exam = US Medical Licensing Examination! Wow!

somehow I doubt this is what they are talking about lol

the CBSE is the NBME CBSE


right guys?

 

[yanon]

So, CBSE = Comprehensive Basic Science Self-Assessment or is it something entirely different?

 

[DrThom]

So, CBSE = Comprehensive Basic Science Self-Assessment or is it something entirely different?

Something different. Its actually a paper exam given out by med schools. Its not the ones you buy.

 

[KNightInBlue]

Something different. Its actually a paper exam given out by med schools. Its not the ones you buy.

are you sure about this?? the CBSE is NOT one of the NBME exams?

 

[xlithiumx]

are you sure about this?? the CBSE is NOT one of the NBME exams?

OK, to be clear, as I just took this test 3 weeks ago and received my score report today.

The CBSE is an exam from the NBME that is administered by your medical school. You cannot access the CBSE any other way except if your school administers it.

 

[KNightInBlue]

OK, to be clear, as I just took this test 3 weeks ago and received my score report today.

The CBSE is an exam from the NBME that is administered by your medical school. You cannot access the CBSE any other way except if your school administers it.

ahhh I see. Thats good to hear because we have our coming up and I wasn;t sure if I wanted to take an NBME test this early and waste a good representation of my score

but if its not one of the NBMEs, then we should take it


thanks for clearing that up dbaldes

 

[TX_Longhorn]

hmm...we just took ours last friday. from what the lady from kaplan told us, CBSE is supposed to be NMBE version one.

now i am really confused

 

[DrThom]

hmm...we just took ours last friday. from what the lady from kaplan told us, CBSE is supposed to be NMBE version one.

now i am really confused

Nah, I've taken all the NBMEs (or the CBSSAs to avoid confusion) and they're not like the CBSE I took. Its a different test.

 

[personal]

Nah, I've taken all the NBMEs (or the CBSSAs to avoid confusion) and they're not like the CBSE I took. Its a different test.

Were the NBME's harder than the CBSE... how did the CBSE compare to the real exam?

 

[doctorp82]

I took the NBME CBSSE (comprehensive basic science self assessment) form 2 test today and got a 440 (translates to a 3 digit score of 204) I'm just starting my test prep, so hearing that people increase is good news.

The test felt heavy on the molecular science, and I'm wondering if this is reflective of actual Step 1 material. There seemed to be an excess of molecular genetics, small molecular details, and the like.

 

[Secondyear]

Everyone says that you're supposed to go up on the real step 1 vs the CBSE, but this doesn't really make sense to me. If the CBSE is scored on a curve, and it's curved against other med students in the same situation as we all are (just finished year 2, haven't really started studying for Step 1 hard-core yet), then why would our performance be any different on the real test?

We'll still be graded on a curve, and we'll be compared to other med students who spend 6 weeks studying just like we do. Can someone clarify?

 

[Long Dong]

Took the CBSE 10 weeks before the real deal, after about 8 week of studying went up about 14 points, so result may vary.

 

[xlithiumx]

Everyone says that you're supposed to go up on the real step 1 vs the CBSE, but this doesn't really make sense to me. If the CBSE is scored on a curve, and it's curved against other med students in the same situation as we all are (just finished year 2, haven't really started studying for Step 1 hard-core yet), then why would our performance be any different on the real test?

We'll still be graded on a curve, and we'll be compared to other med students who spend 6 weeks studying just like we do. Can someone clarify?

The CBSE is not internally standardized. Instead, it is standardized against a group of Step 1 test takers from like 1990, and so our CBSE performance can be compared to a real Step 1 performance. So, what I'm trying to say is that your score on the CBSE reflects what you would get on the Step 1 right now, if you took it with a group of people who WERE prepared for it.

That is how your score goes up from CBSE to Step 1. You improve your knowledge and the group that you are standardized against stays relatively the same, i.e. it is a group of well-prepared students.

 

[Chemical X]

I recently got my score back from this test, using the conversion guide provided my results would correlate to ~165 on the USMLE. Our school administered the test before spring break, 2 months from finishing second year and most people, myself included, hadn't done any boards studying yet. Our dean sent out an e-mail saying the average for our class was ~175, so I am a little on the low side for my school although within 1 SD of the mean. We were told after finishing the year and studying for boards our scores would go up 30-45 points on average. I'm kind of scared though. I've just started doing some review but we are still in class, I will have a little less than 4 weeks to study once we finish.

Is 165 a horrible score for someone who hasn't studied at all? Should I be worried, or is it reasonable to expect at least a 30 point increase once I've studied intensively for 4 weeks? I wouldn't be thrilled with 195, but I don't want to worry about passing the thing.

 

[nockamura]

At Wake, 165 on the CBSE is considered the cutoff for high danger of failing step 1. If you score <165, you must delay your test date and meet with the dean unless you score >200 on a subsequent NBME exam. You should be scoring at least 165 without studying.

 

[Chemical X]

Great...

I'm a little confused though--typically past classes at our school have scored in the 175-180 range on average on the CBSE, and yet our step 1 average is usually a bit above the mean. For example, last year's class had an average CBSE of ~180 and the average step 1 score was ~220, from what we've been told. This implies an average increase of 40 points. While that still wouldn't give me a fantastic score, it does make it seem pretty reasonable that I'll at least improve enough to pass it by a decent margin by mid-June. Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better...

 

[blz]

don't let anyone tell you that you're gonna fail without even studying. man up and get the job done.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Someone at my school last year improved 60+ points from the CBSE --- it can be done!

 

[nockamura]

Anything is possible, but there is a real danger of failing if you're a full standard deviation below a passing score. Which is more likely, you improve 60+ points or you have problems passing? They're both possible, but you should think about which is most likely.

 

[DrThom]

The difference between my CBSE and my board score was ~ 50 points. It all depends how you study and how hard you work.

 

[Hallm_7]

We just got our scores back today. The two digit class average was a 61.5. That corresponds to a three digit score of 181. We had a high of 81 and a low of 31 (wow). When I opened up my envelope I kinda freaked out, but then I realized I am actually above the class average right now and I haven't even opened a review book yet. I'm taking Step I on June 19, and I start studying for it full time on May 2.

As my school we've had a mean Step I score of 217-219 the last three years. If that holds true this year then that means at my school the average person will roughly increase their score 30-35 points. I'm assuming that scores and study habits are pretty constant from year to year for different classes.

For someone like me who hasn't done any review yet, I think my change will be more than average and someone who has already been through FA twice and read all the BRS books again will likelyu have a change less than average. At least that's what I'm hoping for.

 

[flumazenil]

did anyone take the CBSE ( comprehensive basic science exam) which is by NBME and given through the school? and if so, did anyone increase their score or stay the same?
thanks

 

[stoic]

Well I know at Wake, they give the test right at the tail end of 2nd year so you really don't have a chance to study for it. They use it as a tool to guage who is in danger of failing and may need additional study time. For others, it acts as a starting point and tells you where your weaknesses are.

I don't know how other schools utilize the CBSE.

that's how KU does it, too. it does give you a pretty good idea of what you know and what you don't.

(i don't know heme/immunopath)

they also indicated about a +30 gain from the CBSE to the USMLE for most who put in decent study time before the boards.

 

[jllander]

My real score increased by 65 points from the CBSE. I didn't try really hard on the CBSE though.....still it would have been about a 50-55 point increase.

 

[cubsrule4e]

Is 165 a horrible score for someone who hasn't studied at all? Should I be worried, or is it reasonable to expect at least a 30 point increase once I've studied intensively for 4 weeks? I wouldn't be thrilled with 195, but I don't want to worry about passing the thing.

I landed a 160 on mine...but conditions were fit for a worst case scenario: had done zero studying for the boards, had some severe sleep deprivation (we had our last course test 2 days before this and many of us partied the next two nights), and i had nothing for breakfast. I think it kind of depends on how you felt the test went for you personally...for me it was a lot of "i know this, and i would be able to answer it if only i had looked over this subject before the test." With that in mind, given 5 weeks to then prepare for the real deal i dont think there should much worry about barely passing. I am concerned I might not score as high as I want, but just use that as motivation. That and go post your desired score over on the other thread; potential embarrassment is one of the greatest motivators

 

[UTKB]

Our school gives us 2 cbse exams, the first in late march and the second in late april. Our classes ended May 4 and we start third year June 25. I have a few scores our school gave us from last year's class (08) to gauge how we'll do. Keep in mind, no one here gives a crap aboout the cbse because it's not for a grade and it was on a saturday morning.

CBSE 1 CBSE 2 USMLE
54% 54% 170
52 57 187
54 61 187
56 61 191
62 73 191
56 64 196
53 60 199
55 67 205
62 63 209
56 62 217
60 62 218
64 70 218
55 60 221
66 70 224
60 72 222
58 66 222
67 77 237
66 77 239
71 83 241
67 72 247
64 74 248
71 84 249
64 74 250
71 82 259
69 87 258
99 99 278
(so-called surprises, whatever that means):
60 66 208
61 51 221
59 63 233
74 85 237
71 84 242
63 68 253

You can see that there is definitely an upward trend, but take these numbers with a grain of salt and don't let em scare you. Hope it helps.

 

[fallsgoldleaves]

i took it in june (school gave it) and i did horrible because we had 3 days to study for it. needless to say, i studied my ass off for the step 1 and my score improved by 50 points. i just want to let it be known that it can be done.

i'm a survivor

 

[bvmajik]

what'd you guys use to study for this exam?

 

[TrapperJohnMD]

My school is offering the CBSE for free this week. I'm wondering if I should even bother taking it. I really havent prepared much and from reading the last posts it seems like the exam itself is relatively worthless. Any votes for instead of spending the 4 hours i would be taking the exam...and probably rest of the night drinking because I'd be so demoralized...actually studying and doing Qbank questions? At least with those you get feedback and explanations.

 

[Helo]

I took the CBSE and found it to be useful...although not 100% like the Step 1, I thought the content was good and there was even a fair sampling of those questions that require reasoning (i.e. graphs and concepts that you need to apply). Knowing me, if my school didn't force me to take it (oh yes, coercion) I would have probably gotten less out of that time on my own...either way, good luck!

 

[DragonWell]

I just took it on Friday, and I'd say it seemed roughly comparable to the online NBME (#4) I took a couple weeks ago. Remember, paying for an NBME online doesn't get you any answers to go over either, but it does make you $45 poorer. Qbank's a good thing, but if your school is offering free exposure to NBME material, personally, I'd use it to at least get more exposure to the NBME style of questions.

 

[TrapperJohnMD]

I just took it on Friday, and I'd say it seemed roughly comparable to the online NBME (#4) I took a couple weeks ago. Remember, paying for an NBME online doesn't get you any answers to go over either, but it does make you $45 poorer. Qbank's a good thing, but if your school is offering free exposure to NBME material, personally, I'd use it to at least get more exposure to the NBME style of questions.

Yeah, I see your point. Was the NMBE style a lot different than UW or Qbank? I just want to start using my time efficiently and I'm having a hard time justifying giving up a day of studying for a test I already know I'm grossly ill-prepared to take. Maybe its just my brain nagging at me to study because the test is just over 2 months away

Agreed that dropping $45/test is no fun. Arent you able to buy them in untimed mode though? So, ideally, after your finished (if you time yourself) you can actually review the questions/look up the answers?

 

[DragonWell]

Yeah, I see your point. Was the NMBE style a lot different than UW or Qbank? I just want to start using my time efficiently and I'm having a hard time justifying giving up a day of studying for a test I already know I'm grossly ill-prepared to take. Maybe its just my brain nagging at me to study because the test is just over 2 months away

Agreed that dropping $45/test is no fun. Arent you able to buy them in untimed mode though? So, ideally, after your finished (if you time yourself) you can actually review the questions/look up the answers?

I've only done one online NBME, the CBSE, half of UW, and ~20% of Qbank so far, so I'm no expert, but based on what I've seen, UW seems pretty close to at least some percentage of the questions on the NBME. There does seem to be something different about the NBME questions, though. They have a way of asking simple questions in a way that makes you question each answer choice and second guess yourself. At least that's been my reaction.

You can do the NBMEs untimed, and I've heard there might be answers floating around online somewhere (don't ask for them here).

 

[mtDNA]

Great...

I'm a little confused though--typically past classes at our school have scored in the 175-180 range on average on the CBSE, and yet our step 1 average is usually a bit above the mean. For example, last year's class had an average CBSE of ~180 and the average step 1 score was ~220, from what we've been told. This implies an average increase of 40 points. While that still wouldn't give me a fantastic score, it does make it seem pretty reasonable that I'll at least improve enough to pass it by a decent margin by mid-June. Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better...

Chemical X, don't worry. This test is not predictive of how you will do when you have not even started to study. Both of the kids that I study with at my school scored under 170 and they are ranked in the top quarter of my class. Lots of people do bad when they havent strarted to study yet. There is no reason to believe that you will not pass.

 

[Blesbok]

Our school gives us 2 cbse exams, the first in late march and the second in late april. Our classes ended May 4 and we start third year June 25. I have a few scores our school gave us from last year's class (08) to gauge how we'll do. Keep in mind, no one here gives a crap aboout the cbse because it's not for a grade and it was on a saturday morning.

CBSE 1 CBSE 2 USMLE
54% 54% 170
52 57 187
54 61 187
56 61 191
62 73 191
56 64 196
53 60 199
55 67 205
62 63 209
56 62 217
60 62 218
64 70 218
55 60 221
66 70 224
60 72 222
58 66 222
67 77 237
66 77 239
71 83 241
67 72 247
64 74 248
71 84 249
64 74 250
71 82 259
69 87 258
99 99 278
(so-called surprises, whatever that means):
60 66 208
61 51 221
59 63 233
74 85 237
71 84 242
63 68 253

You can see that there is definitely an upward trend, but take these numbers with a grain of salt and don't let em scare you. Hope it helps.

Is that just a gauge or did someone really get two 99s and a 278?

 

[lilnoelle]

we took ours last wednesday. I think we get our results in may. I'm pretty sure that I did terribly on it.... but of course I don't know how I compare to the norm.

 

[TrapperJohnMD]

we took ours last wednesday. I think we get our results in may. I'm pretty sure that I did terribly on it.... but of course I don't know how I compare to the norm.

Were you required to take it? I just dont see how it benefits students to take a test like this without studying for it. Whats the purpose? To show you how much you've forgoten over two years? Motivation to study after seeing how much you dont know?? If thats the case why not just conceed that you dont remember much, study for 3 weeks, then take the test (or another NBME). At least that way you can reliably see where you are and what you need to hit harder.

 

[lilnoelle]

Were you required to take it? I just dont see how it benefits students to take a test like this without studying for it. Whats the purpose? To show you how much you've forgoten over two years? Motivation to study after seeing how much you dont know?? If thats the case why not just conceed that you dont remember much, study for 3 weeks, then take the test (or another NBME). At least that way you can reliably see where you are and what you need to hit harder.

yes, we were required to take it. I'm guessing the big benefit as far as the school is concerned is to see who's likely to fail Step I on their first try. I've guess they've got like 20 years of data to use to decide what score on CSBE is likely to mean a failure on step 1.... then the school can try to help those individuals pull it together before Step I. I don't think someone can really look at their CBSE score and know what they're Step I score is going to be... and I'm guessing med schools don't really care about how individuals will score on the test, they just want >95% of the class to pass on the first try.

My school is particularly anxious to find out how we do because they started a new curriculum the year I was a first year student. We're the guinea pig class and they're axiously waiting to see how we fare on Step I.

 

[thesauce]

We have to take it this week... I've heard that you can expect a 20-40 point increase on this score versus the usmle... at what point in the year did you take the test? Did anybody have more than a 40 point increase on the actual usmle versus the cbse?

I had exactly a 60 point increase.

 

[thesauce]

don't let anyone tell you that you're gonna fail without even studying. man up and get the job done.

amen

 

[amic1283]

wow i have to say this post made me more nervous than I already am. At my school we take this right after spring break (before we have covered endocrine or reproductive path, pathophys and pharm) and we are told to not worry about our score at all, and in fact are told NOT to specifically study for this test- it is meant for us to just get a baseline and see what the experience of taking 200 questions in 4 hours is like. My score was a 50 (correlates to 150 on the actual test) and I had not studied yet at all, except for some micro review. Granted I got a huge headache halfway through, which I think may have only slightly brought down my score, if any. My goal is a 220-230, and I have about 7 weeks left. After reading these posts about how people could only do 30-40 points better tops makes me feel awful. Anyone else who can say their scores improved more than 30-40 points after taking the CBSE WITHOUT studying??

 

[blossompp3]

Do NOT panic. 7 weeks is a long time, especially if you haven't seriously started studying yet. I haven't gotten my score back yet, but my school also administers the test 2-3 months before we finish with 2nd year. Students last year saw an average increase of 42 points from CBSE to step 1, with the high being 74 so it can definitely be done. Just use that score as motivation to hit the books hard between now and then! Good luck!!

 

[UCLAstudent]

wow i have to say this post made me more nervous than I already am. At my school we take this right after spring break (before we have covered endocrine or reproductive path, pathophys and pharm) and we are told to not worry about our score at all, and in fact are told NOT to specifically study for this test- it is meant for us to just get a baseline and see what the experience of taking 200 questions in 4 hours is like. My score was a 50 (correlates to 150 on the actual test) and I had not studied yet at all, except for some micro review. Granted I got a huge headache halfway through, which I think may have only slightly brought down my score, if any. My goal is a 220-230, and I have about 7 weeks left. After reading these posts about how people could only do 30-40 points better tops makes me feel awful. Anyone else who can say their scores improved more than 30-40 points after taking the CBSE WITHOUT studying??

It's definitely possible. I took it without having studied and improved by 47 points. One of my classmates improved by 60 points.