CBSE Plan of Attack

[Tvirtumas]

I am a couple days into CBSE studying after D1 wrapped up and I’m getting discouraged. I plan to use UFAP as well as boards and sketchy.

I watch a video of boards and beyond then unsuspend the corresponding light year deck. I’ve done the quizzes associated with the videos a day or two later and I’m missing half of them.

Is this normal? I know it’s very early in my studying but I’m not sure if I’m having trouble contextualizing using the information or if answering the questions is more familiarity and repetition?

Has anyone else used this method and is able to share their timeline?

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[Jaa_]

DM me

 

[rotichawal]

Dental school doesn’t give you the foundation to do well on the CBSE. I wouldn’t sweat it a few days into your prep, even if you feel discouraged. UFAPS is tried and true for a reason, keep at it

 

[dratc]

If they designed a test to purposely discourage people they couldn’t have do better than the cbse. Studying for it is discouragement after discouragement. Hang in there. Everyone feels like you during their CBSE prep at least once or potentially many times.

 

[IndifferentOsteoblast]

Starting after D1 is tough because you learn most of the relevant material during D2. I started summer after D1, so I can personally attest. I really didn’t start seeing great progress until about 4 months into studying. Even after several months, I was lucky to get above 50% on UWorld blocks. Nevertheless, I performed just fine on the real deal. There’s going to be a learning curve period. Don’t read into your scores or insecurities. Trust the process and, above all, stay consistent. Feel free to PM me with any other questions

 

[teeth!]

Yeah I’m a D1 studying for it now too, have been since like November. Feel free to PM me too, but I think boards and beyond is a must. It’s like our med school teachings are there. Just my 2 cents, haven’t taken the thing yet

 

[PhansterZ]

There's a lot of information to cover from scratch coming from dental school. Personally, I studied 4 months for it, dedicating 6 hours a day on the weekdays, and 12 hours a day on the weekends or days I have off. This pretty much standard for medical students who have learned this material in class, and to just reinforce it. It's not easy. You're just starting off, everything is new, but over time, things start to become more familar and concepts stay in your head for longer. You should do multiple passes of First Aid and Pathoma, and 1 full pass of Uworld. I used Doctors in Training back in the day when I studied, but from the recent test takers, Boards and Beyond have been strongly recommended and can provide you the foundation in Medicine you're lacking.

 

[dratc]

One other thing…retaking this exam is very common. Do everything you can to do well your first time, but be mentally prepared to do it again if you don’t reach your desired score. You are starting early enough that you’ll have time for a second pass if needed. Though I hate to admit it, I took it 3 times but it paid off with a competitive score and matching at my #1 ranked program. You want to talk about discouragement, try opening your second cbse score report and instantly knowing you need to do it all again lol.

 

[ToothJockey]

Yeah I’m a D1 studying for it now too, have been since like November. Feel free to PM me too, but I think boards and beyond is a must. It’s like our med school teachings are there. Just my 2 cents, haven’t taken the thing yet

I agree, Boards and Beyond is basically like high yield M1/M2 and Dr Ryan does a good job teaching it in a way that someone with little background (dental students) can understand and do well. I would say UFAP is good for medical students who already have a strong background. But BnB is a must for dental students who don't go to a school with med cirriculum. The quizzes are comprehension based so if you are doing poorly on them you gotta rewatch the video and truly understand it.

 

[Teeth and Titanite]

You want to talk about discouragement, try opening your second cbse score report and instantly knowing you need to do it all again lol.

Incredible persistence man. I really don't want to spend $900 on this test, and I don't want to spend the majority of dental school studying for this thing. Part of the journey I suppose, just gotta get it done no matter what.

 

[carabelliscusp]

One other thing…retaking this exam is very common. Do everything you can to do well your first time, but be mentally prepared to do it again if you don’t reach your desired score. You are starting early enough that you’ll have time for a second pass if needed. Though I hate to admit it, I took it 3 times but it paid off with a competitive score and matching at my #1 ranked program. You want to talk about discouragement, try opening your second cbse score report and instantly knowing you need to do it all again lol.

Were you surprised you had to retake? Like were practice tests not going well or was it a total shock both times

 

[dratc]

Were you surprised you had to retake? Like were practice tests not going well or was it a total shock both times

Semi surprised. My practice scores weren’t amazing but not terrible. I just sort of flipped a mental switch that I was going to get an amazing score and as part of that would do the work to get amazing practice test scores. It’s easy to be intimidated by this test and hold some beliefs that getting an incredible score is out of your reach. Overcoming the self doubt and shooting for excellence helped a bunch for the 3rd time.

 

[The Kube of Kubes]

Has anyone heard of anyone using Med School bootcamp to study for the CBSE? I heard it’s comparable to B&B?

 

[Gustavo dos Santos]

Has anyone heard of anyone using Med School bootcamp to study for the CBSE? I heard it’s comparable to B&B?

Bootcamp is good. Boards and Beyond is good. I think Bootcamp board style questions are better than BnB but not as good as AMBOSS, USMLE-Rx and obviously below UWorld. I think bootcamp has more thorough explanations for a lot of the physiology that they go over and is also a little more up to date in terms of including random graphs that you’ll see for certain physio concepts and some other stuff but that just because it was created more recently than BnB. Bootcamp can also have a little more fluff in videos by tying in other peripherally related concepts to the video you’re watching. Bootcamp is about 60 more hours of content and they haven’t yet completed the biochem, Micro, or endocrine sections from what I’ve seen.

Again, you’ll be fine with either of them. You’ll get practice questions or real questions on things not covered in both of them. Important thing is to pick a resource and stick with it.