CBSE - July 2025

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dent1010 said:
In what way was it difficult? Length of questions, tough/low-yield topics, answer choices, confusing?
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Everything! I took it in Feb and there were a lot of questions similar to nbmes but this time it wasn’t. Low yield topics and confusing answer choices
 
Lots of really confusing wording on the answer choices, but only a few questions (<10 or so) seemed unfair. Question lengths felt annoyingly short, and there was not a lot of extra info if you missed the big flag.
 
(currently studying) I feel like on the past 3 exams people always say that the exams are testing low yield topics. Are y'all not doing Anking and all of the UWorld questions? Trying to figure out what is being considered low yield
 
71 EPC. Took it the first time as a D2-D3 at a private school that runs basic sciences on PBL (you already know which one lol).
 
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Anyone knows if a 65 EPC with decent resume and 3.97/4.0 gpa is worth applying?
 
What's considered a "highly competitive" score these days? 75+? Like at what point is there no real benefit to scoring any higher?

I'm a D1 and got a score I think is pretty good. But the catch is I only did 10% of UW, 1 NBME, and I'm confident I could go higher, but I'm not sure if its worth the time I could spend on research or something else.
 
>/65 needed to be decently competitive 6 year programs

>/70 diminishing returns

Source - several program directors, several interviews

Though I do believe if they get really close on who they like more in the rank list and can’t make a decision it will come down to who has the higher CBSE score.
 
dentpinned said:
>/65 needed to be decently competitive 6 year programs

>/70 diminishing returns

Source - several program directors, several interviews

Though I do believe if they get really close on who they like more in the rank list and can’t make a decision it will come down to who has the higher CBSE score.
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Keep in mind this is if the other parts of your application are solid. Class rank, externships, LOR
 
dentpinned said:
>/65 needed to be decently competitive 6 year programs

>/70 diminishing returns

Source - several program directors, several interviews

Though I do believe if they get really close on who they like more in the rank list and can’t make a decision it will come down to who has the higher CBSE score.
Click to expand...
Interesting. Last year when I externed a military PD told me >65 is competitive for military programs. Just uncertain if things have changed.
 
dentpinned said:
>/65 needed to be decently competitive 6 year programs

>/70 diminishing returns

Source - several program directors, several interviews

Though I do believe if they get really close on who they like more in the rank list and can’t make a decision it will come down to who has the higher CBSE score.
Click to expand...
Hello and huge congrats to everyone who smashed it!

First timer here got a 66EPC. Worth retaking or just let it ride (just started D2)
 
dentpinned said:
>/65 needed to be decently competitive 6 year programs

>/70 diminishing returns

Source - several program directors, several interviews

Though I do believe if they get really close on who they like more in the rank list and can’t make a decision it will come down to who has the higher CBSE score.
Click to expand...
So retaking anything above a 75 is insane?
 
Got a 74 on my first attempt.

Does anyone know or have an opinion on whether or not getting to an 80 makes a difference? I am wanting a score that is good enough to "choose" where I go. I am aware of the ranking system for match, but I am referring to, what score do I need to be considered a 'top' applicant that programs would theoretically be wanting me to choose them?

For example, does the Mayo clinic want 75+? and would an 80 something make me that much more desirable? or does it even matter after that?
For those of you that respond, assume that the rest of my application is the same as other applicants, making the CBSE score be the only factor in the response. (I know these are big factors, but for the sake of the score aspect). Thanks

What about 4 years? I have heard that 4 years are sometimes more difficult to get into because there are so many people that have done internships applying to them. True or not?

Overall, is it worth studying for another 6 months to get 80+? I am quite certain I would get that, but I am deciding if it is worth 6 months of 40-50 hours a week.
 
Thomass said:
Got a 74 on my first attempt.

Does anyone know or have an opinion on whether or not getting to an 80 makes a difference? I am wanting a score that is good enough to "choose" where I go. I am aware of the ranking system for match, but I am referring to, what score do I need to be considered a 'top' applicant that programs would theoretically be wanting me to choose them?

For example, does the Mayo clinic want 75+? and would an 80 something make me that much more desirable? or does it even matter after that?
For those of you that respond, assume that the rest of my application is the same as other applicants, making the CBSE score be the only factor in the response. (I know these are big factors, but for the sake of the score aspect). Thanks

What about 4 years? I have heard that 4 years are sometimes more difficult to get into because there are so many people that have done internships applying to them. True or not?

Overall, is it worth studying for another 6 months to get 80+? I am quite certain I would get that, but I am deciding if it is worth 6 months of 40-50 hours a week.
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No score allows you to “choose” where you want to go. If you have an 80+ but don’t interview well or don’t mesh well with the residents it doesn’t matter. Your score only gets you the interview. After that everyone is starting on basically the same level
 
I interviewed last cycle had mid 80s EPC. A bunch of people that I saw at every interview had low-mid 70s. Once you hit the 70s I don’t think it matters. If you can’t get in somewhere with 70s EPC I don’t think if you had 80-90s it would make a difference. Personality and vibe matter a lot more
 
J-stripper said:
No score allows you to “choose” where you want to go. If you have an 80+ but don’t interview well or don’t mesh well with the residents it doesn’t matter. Your score only gets you the interview. After that everyone is starting on basically the same level
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I completely agree with this, knew someone with 80+ epc and received over 10 interviews, they were saying it's all about picking which program they want to attend now. Guess what? Didn't match, and had to post match later.
Know of someone else same cycle with a score in the 50s and less than 3 Ivs and matched!
Interview does matter a lot more than people think.
 
teeth! said:
I should circle back to this - not an amazing score, but third time taking it, after regressing from 1st to 2nd attempt... was absolutely killer.
Can't recommend med school bootcamp enough. if anyone has any questions, happy to pay it back
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I’d love to hear what you have to say and any advice. I’m taking it in February for the first time and this is what I’m doing: 1st pass bootcamp will finish by the end of August. Just watching videos on 2x speed and taking notes on slides. September review all personally annotated Bootcamp slides and complete bites + QBank. October - Feb shift to UWorld and sketchy several hours a day and try to get as much as I can done. Also do NBME assessments every couple of weeks. Advice on things to change?
 
c3tribro said:
I’d love to hear what you have to say and any advice. I’m taking it in February for the first time and this is what I’m doing: 1st pass bootcamp will finish by the end of August. Just watching videos on 2x speed and taking notes on slides. September review all personally annotated Bootcamp slides and complete bites + QBank. October - Feb shift to UWorld and sketchy several hours a day and try to get as much as I can done. Also do NBME assessments every couple of weeks. Advice on things to change?
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Similarly, my score is decent yet nothing crazy. I think if you can follow through with your plan as well as the materials, you will be fine. My D school's basic science is basically a joke, so I self-designated the attached "curriculum" to follow through in 3 phases (8-month long study plan). Main resources are just like yours, Bootcamp to build foundation, UWorld during dedicated, NBME forms in the last month or 2. Pathoma + Goljan's audio lectures were gold if you have a weak foundation like I did. I also did the old forms offline, but I'd focus on the new ones. Form 30 and 31 were representative for me, but every form is essentially gold. Review the NBME forms thoroughly! I used Mehlman's PDF alongside it and it was clutch.

I personally find using a checklist daily (the default one on UWorld) & holding yourself accountable with time management (use a stopwatch to time the amount of studying you do every day) beyond helpful. Also, take the NBME forms under the same condition you would for the real deal (get 8+ hrs of sleep and take it on Sat at 8 am). This maybe an overkill, but gauge how you feel each block and document it.

Turn your mindset into "take it one go and get it over with", don't "save" any resources or NBME forms or "take it just to see what it's like", you can do that with the online NBMEs for like 10% of the price. I started off with a 39% on bootcamp's self-assessment 1 mo into studying, you all can do it too.
 

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DentistRays said:
I completely agree with this, knew someone with 80+ epc and received over 10 interviews, they were saying it's all about picking which program they want to attend now. Guess what? Didn't match, and had to post match later.
Know of someone else same cycle with a score in the 50s and less than 3 Ivs and matched!
Interview does matter a lot more than people think.
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Absolutely. I know many people that have matched with 50s and low 60s EPC because they’re hardworking and have great personalities. Some people with really high scores have terribly awkward personalities and pathetic hand skills. Plus with the changing to EPC, if you convert back to old 2 digit score you’ll see that’s what most people were previously scoring - mid 60s to low 70s. Obviously still try and score as best you can. Just don’t die trying. It’s just an exam.
 
c3tribro said:
I’d love to hear what you have to say and any advice. I’m taking it in February for the first time and this is what I’m doing: 1st pass bootcamp will finish by the end of August. Just watching videos on 2x speed and taking notes on slides. September review all personally annotated Bootcamp slides and complete bites + QBank. October - Feb shift to UWorld and sketchy several hours a day and try to get as much as I can done. Also do NBME assessments every couple of weeks. Advice on things to change?
Click to expand...
Are you using Anking? Bootcamp + Anki (+ ChatGPT lol) is a lethal combo; you won't even need to take notes on the slides if you use it, and you'll be way more proficient at practice questions.
 
c3tribro said:
I’d love to hear what you have to say and any advice. I’m taking it in February for the first time and this is what I’m doing: 1st pass bootcamp will finish by the end of August. Just watching videos on 2x speed and taking notes on slides. September review all personally annotated Bootcamp slides and complete bites + QBank. October - Feb shift to UWorld and sketchy several hours a day and try to get as much as I can done. Also do NBME assessments every couple of weeks. Advice on things to change?
Click to expand...
Alright, well, I started the first time I really tried to take it by just doing Anki through it all. Ended up doing around 500,000 cards, which was completely overkill. Anki has its place, but I do not think trying to "complete the Anking" deck is worth the time it takes, and I don't think you reap the rewards. Instead, everyone says this, but doing questions is the key. I did Uworld 2x and did amboss, but it wasn't until i used med school bootcamp, that has video explanations under the text explanation, did things really finally start to make sense. You have to learn a way to 1. understand and then 2. remember the explanations. That is why I think bootcamps associated videos + the simpler "bites" are super helpful.
I think the schedule posted by elder citus is really smart, and obviously worked well for them. I do think trying to limit your resources is critical. When I took it the 2nd time and went down, I was using so many resources, I didn't ever really learn anything. Melhman, ChatGPT, Uworld, sketchy, Anki, pathoma; i think people just need 1-2 of the heavy hitters. they have all the information you need, if you really use them.
And last thing, do not try and treat this like a throughout dental school thing. i always treated it like a marathon. this time, and i did have a foundation of a 65 epc, i didn't start studying till mid april and i treated it like a dead sprint. 4-5 hours daily for 3 months vs 1-2 hours daily for a year, i would choose the former everytime going forward
 
teeth! said:
I should circle back to this - not an amazing score, but third time taking it, after regressing from 1st to 2nd attempt... was absolutely killer.
Can't recommend med school bootcamp enough. if anyone has any questions, happy to pay it back
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What was the resources?
 
teeth! said:
I should circle back to this - not an amazing score, but third time taking it, after regressing from 1st to 2nd attempt... was absolutely killer.
Can't recommend med school bootcamp enough. if anyone has any questions, happy to pay it back
Click to expand...
Can I PM you?
 
I plan on taking the CBSE this coming feb. my class rank is not good. My plan was to just cruise through school and be gp until this summer when I decided to specialize. I was getting by pretty easily with minimal studying so I think I can bring up my rank but Idk by how much, I’m in the bottom 30% right now. Let’s say worst case scenario my rank doesn’t budge, what kind of cbse score would I need to likely match on the first go without an intern year? I personally wouldn’t bother applying unless I get 70+ but with my rank I might need an 80+ to stand a chance? And if I do end up doing an intern year and I have a good cbse score does rank matter anymore?
 
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