NBDE Part II retake - any tips/advice?

[fishey5884]

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Found out I failed with a 73 🙁 I went over decks, Mosbys, and Tufts pharm. Any tips on how to pass the second time around? Any other materials I should get besides the one I have?

Anyone have the entire Tufts material in pdf or scanned? I could really use it. Graduation is on the line for me and I really need to pass this April when I retake it again.

Thanks! 🙂

 

[Get Into ISP]

Fishey,


I've indentified a few of the exam versions and wondering which one you had.

Version 1 - Fair Version
Version 2 - Tons of patient management and ADA website material
Version 3 - Tons of pharmac & insane implant questions
Version 4 - Seems easy but questions are twisted

what do you remember? You definitely will not recieve the same exam again.

 

[odontologia]

Fishey,


I've indentified a few of the exam versions and wondering which one you had.

Version 1 - Fair Version
Version 2 - Tons of patient management and ADA website material
Version 3 - Tons of pharmac & insane implant questions
Version 4 - Seems easy but questions are twisted

what do you remember? You definitely will not recieve the same exam again.

OK - seems like I got the 3rd version, there is no doubt at all!!! My test was full of crazy pharm AND implant ?s that I've never heard of!!! Like I said before, my first 2 tests the pharm ?s were fair and reasonable. On the third test they went from fair and reasonable to "what the hell is going on here!!!!!?????" HARD!!!

 

[Get Into ISP]

O,


You said you got the hard one with pharmac and insane implants q's as your 3rd - but you managed to pass that one right?

So it may be easier to pass the hard one i guess and that is the ADA's way of making things even.

What NBDE 2 takers should be doing now is identifying and constructing the different versions the ADA is putting out there and the pass score for each to even the playing field.

Also NBDE 2 takers have to identify what is harder now! Is it the wording, the actual material?, new material? I know for sure that some of the test has graduate level questions.

I figure 4 diff. tests right now.

This is my estimation. feel free to chime in.

J

 

[odontologia]

O,


You said you got the hard one with pharmac and insane implants q's as your 3rd - but you managed to pass that one right?

So it may be easier to pass the hard one i guess and that is the ADA's way of making things even.

What NBDE 2 takers should be doing now is identifying and constructing the different versions the ADA is putting out there and the pass score for each to even the playing field.

Also NBDE 2 takers have to identify what is harder now! Is it the wording, the actual material?, new material? I know for sure that some of the test has graduate level questions.

I figure 4 diff. tests right now.

This is my estimation. feel free to chime in.

J

J - you hit it right on the nose, I knew since my test was one of the hardest or THE hardest of them all, I felt I had a small chance of passing. I guess it happened to be easiest for me to pass the hardest exam and hard to pass the easy ones. I also agree with you 100% that a GREAT DEAL of my questions happened to be graduate lavel questions. That's why I was furious after my exam!!! It is just so unfair!!!!
The other thing I found different on my third exam that I hadn't encountered on my first 2 is that my last exam was FULL of tricky questions, LOTS and LOTS of tricky questions. Again, I was baffled to say the least! Not only were the ?s all crazy and insane, there were also tons of tricky questions. Recently someone posted that they felt they had to think hard on almost every ? they had on their exam and that their ?s were just not straight forward. That's exactly how I felt w/my test and it was just very dissapointing. Now, I had a guy who took the exam w/me and he finished in half the time I did and he said his test was FULL of repeated released ?s and felt his exam was way way easy!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing!!! Like J said, there are diff tests out there and some are easier than the others. I can't complain too much w/my test since I passed it, but the 4 weeks it took to get my results was hell to say the least since I was for certain I had failed it yet AGAIN!!! If you get the easy test, seems like you gotta score high to pass and if you get the hardest one seems like you don't gotta score high to pass it.

 

[fishey5884]

odontologia - can u advise me on what to study for the 2nd time around? i really need to pass since my retake is in april which means i need to pass before graduation in may 🙁

 

[Get Into ISP]

So i figure i'm right to an extent. There is 1 to 2 versions that ADA look like they have kept from previous years (ie. the ones with all the repeated). And they have added maybe 2 new ones - of the 2 new ones 1 has crazy pharmac and implants (grad level) and the other has crazy twists. 30% failure rate at schools due to students who unluckily recieve the new hard exam?

Easy Version - 360 to pass
Fair Version - 340 to pass
Crazy Hard - 320 to pass?? (Odont - what was you score here?)
Crazy Twists - 330 to pass?

So how is this fair? I'm trying to think of it from ADA perspective. Are those idiots at the ADA thinking well these guys have 3 chances and so they will eventually get an (fair) or easy one to pass?

This would help in the $$$ department for them to collect extra revenue - if that's their reason for these changes.

But fair wise i would say no - due to the fact that failing this exam as 4th year DS may cause students to start questioning themselves and lose confidence for subsequent exams.

Again. Students should identify how many versions are out there and their makeup.

just my thoughts.

J

 

[dentistgirl08]

Hi

Many students posted their scores and experiences here on this thread and also on 2 other threads regarding part 2. Maybe u can also check with them to find out the versions they have all been getting and make an analysis...u can also see the students who have also passed who wrote about their version of the test to see if the 1st time test takers are getting almost the same test.!! Great job!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=649583&highlight=confused+kid&page=2


Thanks

So i figure i'm right to an extent. There is 1 to 2 versions that ADA look like they have kept from previous years (ie. the ones with all the repeated). And they have added maybe 2 new ones - of the 2 new ones 1 has crazy pharmac and implants (grad level) and the other has crazy twists. 30% failure rate at schools due to students who unluckily recieve the new hard exam?

Easy Version - 360 to pass
Fair Version - 340 to pass
Crazy Hard - 320 to pass?? (Odont - what was you score here?)
Crazy Twists - 330 to pass?

So how is this fair? I'm trying to think of it from ADA perspective. Are those idiots at the ADA thinking well these guys have 3 chances and so they will eventually get an (fair) or easy one to pass?

This would help in the $$$ department for them to collect extra revenue - if that's their reason for these changes.

But fair wise i would say no - due to the fact that failing this exam as 4th year DS may cause students to start questioning themselves and lose confidence for subsequent exams.

Again. Students should identify how many versions are out there and their makeup.

just my thoughts.

J

 

[MrJacksone]

Hey all...I took the exam twice.
1st time i got a 73
2nd time i studied my butt off and got a 74...eventhough i walked out of the test thinking i did pretty well!

There's apparently an investigation going on w/ the ADA. ASDA is contacting schools and asking the administrators to step in. I think i'm going to wait a little to see what's going to happen w/ it and then take it again.

The test is totally unfair.

Anyone use the KAPLAN test bank? I'm thinking of getting it and want to see if it's helpful at all.

Thanks and goodluck!

 

[fishey5884]

Hey all...I took the exam twice.
1st time i got a 73
2nd time i studied my butt off and got a 74...eventhough i walked out of the test thinking i did pretty well!

There's apparently an investigation going on w/ the ADA. ASDA is contacting schools and asking the administrators to step in. I think i'm going to wait a little to see what's going to happen w/ it and then take it again.

The test is totally unfair.

Anyone use the KAPLAN test bank? I'm thinking of getting it and want to see if it's helpful at all.

Thanks and goodluck!

i seriously hope there's an investigation. there have been rumors going around at nyu that this years test is completely messed up and unfair. where did u heard this from?

 

[Get Into ISP]

For anyone writing they should quantify what studying your butt off or hard means in terms of the time and materials you put in.

for some - studying hard is 1 month 3 hours a day. For others it's 4 months and 10 hours a day.

Also what materials were reviewed. We already know that decks alone won't cut it.

We can find out:

1. How many exam versions there are
2. What materials are relevant TODAY
3. How much study time did the average passer study with (this is a little subjective due to individual retention and learning ability)
4. What changed exactly?

Jacktone i suspect you are in the same pattern as Odontolgia, if it is the same pattern than you should recieve the super hard exam as your 3rd with tons of pharmac and implants with a lower score needing to pass.

again my guess here.

J

 

[odontologia]

Hey all...I took the exam twice.
1st time i got a 73
2nd time i studied my butt off and got a 74...eventhough i walked out of the test thinking i did pretty well!

There's apparently an investigation going on w/ the ADA. ASDA is contacting schools and asking the administrators to step in. I think i'm going to wait a little to see what's going to happen w/ it and then take it again.

The test is totally unfair.

Anyone use the KAPLAN test bank? I'm thinking of getting it and want to see if it's helpful at all.

Thanks and goodluck!

Well good luck to all who have failed this test, you need to understand you failed it probably not because you didn't try hard enough or study hard enough but because the test in unfair plain and simple!!
In terms of kaplan qbank, yes it is a very good tool, someone who'll back up my claim is "laura maxwell". It's definitely worthwhile, laura and I discussed this in a previous thread.

 

[nyu2010dds]

got my result ...i got 71...it seems i had 70 ques on ped/ortho/63 ques, prostho/perio 59 ques ,operative/oral path and pt mx 58 questions each....pharmac n endo were 38 questions....
i am giving it again in april...may 2010 is graduation so kinda scared as without part 2,graduation cant happen!!!!!!!!!
dont know wat to do at this moment...i m trying to focus on my weak points and have started to study all over again...😳
any advice is highly appreciated!!!!!!!!

 

[odontologia]

got my result ...i got 71...it seems i had 70 ques on ped/ortho/63 ques, prostho/perio 59 ques ,operative/oral path and pt mx 58 questions each....pharmac n endo were 38 questions....
i am giving it again in april...may 2010 is graduation so kinda scared as without part 2,graduation cant happen!!!!!!!!!
dont know wat to do at this moment...i m trying to focus on my weak points and have started to study all over again...😳
any advice is highly appreciated!!!!!!!!

WOW! This is totally getting out of control!!! Weak areas huh? I don't know if I would even trust those to be your "weak" areas. When I failed it for the 2nd time, what I decided to do is to get my hands on all the material that I could. I felt it was a worthwhile investment to buy what I could in order to pass! I started w/decks, asda exams (2J-2M), and mosbys. By the the end, i had acquired these additional items: dental secrets, first aid, tufts, kaplan lecture notes (book) and the kaplan qbank. Out of the addtl items I felt first aid, kaplan lecture notes and dental secrets were all worthless; however, i found tufts study guide and kaplan qbank quite helpful. I don't know of ANY other nbde 2 materials, I had all of them and studied from all of them as well. I hope that all of you that have recently failed that by the time you have to re-test this nightmare is long gone and the number of failures goes back down to normal. I talked to a higher up from my school who said that the reason why the test had gotten more difficult to pass is because if went through some kind of re-calibration, who knows, but what is known is that it is affecting an alarming great number of students who are just about ready to graduate!!!
What you need to do is get yourself a good and realistic study schedule and try to follow it as best as possible. For those of you who failed, there is NO time to whine and feel pity for yourselves, time is of the essence. You need to start devoting time to studying using QUALITY as a standard, not just quantity. Also, don't feel down! I can't stress this enough!! You have to realize that the TEST has gotten harder, more unreasonable and that most likely you would have passed had it not been that the joint commission did something to screw with it. Good luck and keep your chin up!!! 👍

 

[Get Into ISP]

Dear John,

I believe that a resolution that is fair to our profession, the patients we treat, and the students I represent is best found with due diligence, and compromise. If I was reactionary to everything that outrages me in my position, I would fail to represent you appropriately. I am pursuing this matter with all of my heart. While, I need more information to determine what changes need to be made, I am pursuing change without it through collaboration with other organizations that have the information needed to make a solution possible. I hope that this matter is resolved prior to graduation for those affected with a time frame that will have no impact on their careers. I understand the emotions in your response, as I am feeling them as well. However, it is in the best interest of everyone to find resolution through rational decision making. If there is anything I can do for you personally do not hesitate. I will attempt to update you regularly and assure you I am trying to come to a conclusion quickly.


Sincerely,


Timothy Moriarty
President
American Student Dental Association
University of Connecticut
School of Dental Medicine.
[email protected]


Mr. Moriarty,



your response to wait and collect data to confirm the high rate of failure affecting dental students for the NBDE part 2 in the 2010 graduating cycle is concerning considering what these students have on the line.

What is obvious is the several failures amounting to 30% failure compared to less than 5% last year at most dental schools. I would not be suprised with the very high stakes involved for a class action to be brought on the basis of fairness. If you want to collect data quickly i'm sure you could ask each dental school for their pas year failure rate compared to this year and compile the info. onto graphs within a couple of weeks.

I am hoping the ASDA and you as it's president will take this up more seriously with the Joint Commission as lives and careers are about to be ruined we well as the integrity of the ASDA.

Sincerely,

John

 

[fishey5884]

Hey all...I took the exam twice.
1st time i got a 73
2nd time i studied my butt off and got a 74...eventhough i walked out of the test thinking i did pretty well!

There's apparently an investigation going on w/ the ADA. ASDA is contacting schools and asking the administrators to step in. I think i'm going to wait a little to see what's going to happen w/ it and then take it again.

The test is totally unfair.

Anyone use the KAPLAN test bank? I'm thinking of getting it and want to see if it's helpful at all.

Thanks and goodluck!

Dear John,

I believe that a resolution that is fair to our profession, the patients we treat, and the students I represent is best found with due diligence, and compromise. If I was reactionary to everything that outrages me in my position, I would fail to represent you appropriately. I am pursuing this matter with all of my heart. While, I need more information to determine what changes need to be made, I am pursuing change without it through collaboration with other organizations that have the information needed to make a solution possible. I hope that this matter is resolved prior to graduation for those affected with a time frame that will have no impact on their careers. I understand the emotions in your response, as I am feeling them as well. However, it is in the best interest of everyone to find resolution through rational decision making. If there is anything I can do for you personally do not hesitate. I will attempt to update you regularly and assure you I am trying to come to a conclusion quickly.


Sincerely,


Timothy Moriarty
President
American Student Dental Association
University of Connecticut
School of Dental Medicine.
[email protected]


Mr. Moriarty,



your response to wait and collect data to confirm the high rate of failure affecting dental students for the NBDE part 2 in the 2010 graduating cycle is concerning considering what these students have on the line.

What is obvious is the several failures amounting to 30% failure compared to less than 5% last year at most dental schools. I would not be suprised with the very high stakes involved for a class action to be brought on the basis of fairness. If you want to collect data quickly i'm sure you could ask each dental school for their pas year failure rate compared to this year and compile the info. onto graphs within a couple of weeks.

I am hoping the ASDA and you as it's president will take this up more seriously with the Joint Commission as lives and careers are about to be ruined we well as the integrity of the ASDA.

Sincerely,

John

bravo john. keep us updated with what happens. it should be the ada and joint commission who should be addressing the students. not the students and schools running around trying to collect information about the failure rate. since the exam is computerized the joint commission can obtain the actual % of failures from each school with a CLICK of a mouse. the fact that they need weeks is complete BS. taking weeks to do this means the joint commission and profit from those who have failed and paid for the retake exam which is around $300 a pop.

 

[Get Into ISP]

Actually i have a great response for this guy - why don't we ask him to take NBDE Part 2 and see if he can pass. If he can't than please resign as president of the ASDA as you are not qualified to lead if you can't pass this reasonable exam.

What i can't believe is he said that he is looking to fix this for people graduating (oh really?) others have already passed that point and i guess this guy didn't get the memo.

 

[funstuff]

I too received a 73. I also walked out feeling pretty good but obviously the numbers state something else. Can someone please explain to me how they seem to score this? On my grade sheet under the # of items when I add them up it adds to 313.. I thought I took 500 questions. Please let me know if your number also adds up to this?

thanks

 

[rose82]

i took the test in april of 2009.I dont know how different it is now...but i studied for 3-31/2 months.I got lots and lots of q's on patient management and implants .The number of questions were just unbelievable.After the 1st day,I thought I would fail it.The 2nd day saved me and i barely passed with a 75.Im not satisfied..but cant do anything about it.

 

[Get Into ISP]

Funstuff,

I'm assuming you got the easy looking exam but full of twists.

Can you please let us know what you studied and how much.

thanks,

j

 

[MrJacksone]

Based on the versions you guys have put up...I think i got:
version 2 for my first test and
version 3 for my 2nd test

I felt i did well but there were alot of tricky questions. I'm hoping to get the fair test...or i guess study more pharm and implants.

But the problem i'm worried about is the continuing change in the tests.
Dont they come up w/ new versions every few months?

If so...who knows what test you're gonna get?

It's dumb...they should make the test fair to just judge your knowledge on what you should know for dentistry and not give ridiculous questions.

Fair test would allow the middle of the bell curve to pass and those going for specialties to study harder and get a higher score.

Thanks for the help guys.
I will get the Kaplan bank.

MJ.

 

[vietmddds]

Holy cow....I PASSED. I broke down into tears of joy when I saw that PASS next to the 75!! I studied my G-D DAMN ASS OFF!!!!!!!! I reviewed everything at Kaplan and did the whole KAPLAN Q BANK three times, studied all the old ADA questions from 2009 all the way back to 1978. Wrote up four moleskin notebooks of notes on every single thing I wanted to review rapidly. Repetitive two day marathons to review every subject in two to three hours in excruciating DETAIL. When I took the exam I practically knew the answers to 75% of the questions before even reading through the answer choices but they changed everything up!!They hid the answer with such obscure wording that not even an english language laureate could understand. Spelling errors all OVER THE PLACE. Mischarted teeth all over the charts and radiographs. VAGUE VAGUE VAGUE questions that made you wonder if dentists who even bothered to proofread the exam questions are really that DUMB that they looked up the wrong word in the thesaurus!!DUMB questions that had absolutely NOTHING to do with dentistry or even medicine!!!!Cmon!!!! I should get a FOCKING OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL for the tremendous effort I put into this exam studying for 3 months from 6AM til 11 PM with maybe 20 minute breaks in between, everyday of the week!!!I am glad I passed but the ADA really messed with my sanity. Being MAD doesn't describe how really ANGRY I am. If the ADA doesn't rectify this situation with the other poor students who failed when they shouldn't have, I am going to forbid my children or totally discourage them from even thinking about going to dental school. This high failure rate across the nation is TOTAL BULLSH_T!!!!

 

[dentistgirl08]

Hey Viet!!!


CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Luck, thanks for posting@!!

Holy cow....I PASSED. I broke down into tears of joy when I saw that PASS next to the 75!! I studied my G-D DAMN ASS OFF!!!!!!!! I reviewed everything at Kaplan and did the whole KAPLAN Q BANK three times, studied all the old ADA questions from 2009 all the way back to 1978. Wrote up four moleskin notebooks of notes on every single thing I wanted to review rapidly. Repetitive two day marathons to review every subject in two to three hours in excruciating DETAIL. When I took the exam I practically knew the answers to 75% of the questions before even reading through the answer choices but they changed everything up!!They hid the answer with such obscure wording that not even an english language laureate could understand. Spelling errors all OVER THE PLACE. Mischarted teeth all over the charts and radiographs. VAGUE VAGUE VAGUE questions that made you wonder if dentists who even bothered to proofread the exam questions are really that DUMB that they looked up the wrong word in the thesaurus!!DUMB questions that had absolutely NOTHING to do with dentistry or even medicine!!!!Cmon!!!! I should get a FOCKING OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL for the tremendous effort I put into this exam studying for 3 months from 6AM til 11 PM with maybe 20 minute breaks in between, everyday of the week!!!I am glad I passed but the ADA really messed with my sanity. Being MAD doesn't describe how really ANGRY I am. If the ADA doesn't rectify this situation with the other poor students who failed when they shouldn't have, I am going to forbid my children or totally discourage them from even thinking about going to dental school. This high failure rate across the nation is TOTAL BULLSH_T!!!!

 

[odontologia]

Holy cow....I PASSED. I broke down into tears of joy when I saw that PASS next to the 75!! I studied my G-D DAMN ASS OFF!!!!!!!! I reviewed everything at Kaplan and did the whole KAPLAN Q BANK three times, studied all the old ADA questions from 2009 all the way back to 1978. Wrote up four moleskin notebooks of notes on every single thing I wanted to review rapidly. Repetitive two day marathons to review every subject in two to three hours in excruciating DETAIL. When I took the exam I practically knew the answers to 75% of the questions before even reading through the answer choices but they changed everything up!!They hid the answer with such obscure wording that not even an english language laureate could understand. Spelling errors all OVER THE PLACE. Mischarted teeth all over the charts and radiographs. VAGUE VAGUE VAGUE questions that made you wonder if dentists who even bothered to proofread the exam questions are really that DUMB that they looked up the wrong word in the thesaurus!!DUMB questions that had absolutely NOTHING to do with dentistry or even medicine!!!!Cmon!!!! I should get a FOCKING OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL for the tremendous effort I put into this exam studying for 3 months from 6AM til 11 PM with maybe 20 minute breaks in between, everyday of the week!!!I am glad I passed but the ADA really messed with my sanity. Being MAD doesn't describe how really ANGRY I am. If the ADA doesn't rectify this situation with the other poor students who failed when they shouldn't have, I am going to forbid my children or totally discourage them from even thinking about going to dental school. This high failure rate across the nation is TOTAL BULLSH_T!!!!

Wow viet, i feel the same way about the whole thing:
-studied my butt off for a tremendous long time!!
-angry as can be since most of the ?s were very obscure!!
-not the scores I should have gotten w/the amt of studying and effort i put forth and the knowledge i acquired throughout it all!!!
but most importantly is that this whole thing is BS!!

 

[ahopefulperson]

Dear Odontologia:

Please i am desperately needing help in the implant area, anyone has an advice as of name of books, website or something to help me prepare for the board

I hope u r enjoying ur victory
Cheers and thanx a million

 

[odontologia]

Dear Odontologia:

Please i am desperately needing help in the implant area, anyone has an advice as of name of books, website or something to help me prepare for the board

I hope u r enjoying ur victory
Cheers and thanx a million

sorry i don't know any implant resouces... - maybe u can look at the candidate guide or there's another resource/link from the ada website where they give you names of books used for all the sections covered on the board, i know i used some texbooks on some of the subjects i was weak on. good luck!

 

[Darya]

I failed .... 74

My cumulative score is 334 🙁

I've started studying again a couple of days ago .... But I'm not learning anything new. I already know what I know and don't know what I don't know.

I really don't how to study any differently or what else to study ...

I talked to our school's Associate Dean last week and was told the school is investigating and asking ADA why this is happening, but doubt they'll go back and re-adjust failing grades!!! So far 14 people have failed in our class

 

[fishey5884]

I failed .... 74

My cumulative score is 334 🙁

I've started studying again a couple of days ago .... But I'm not learning anything new. I already know what I know and don't know what I don't know.

I really don't how to study any differently or what else to study ...

I talked to our school's Associate Dean last week and was told the school is investigating and asking ADA why this is happening, but doubt they'll go back and re-adjust failing grades!!! So far 14 people have failed in our class

nyu dean basically told us the same thing - tough luck, study again, and pray you pass the 2nd time. THANKS FOR THE ADVICE! i mean you'd think with the $$$ tuition we're paying they would help us out....NOT!!!!

 

[Darya]

Thanks Fishey.

Could someone please send me the Tufts study material. I would greatly appreciate it if you could. I'm thinking it might help me pass the second time around.

I'm willing to buy it if anyone is selling theirs.

[email protected]

 

[laurawilhelm11]

My fiance has been going through the same thing- failed with a 74- and a job that was waiting for him if he passed. I had no idea that this was going on- thought it was just his bad luck . He graduated several years ago and joined the military without finishing his boards, therefore we are not part of the student circle. Im infuriated by what I am reading. Does anyone have any advice or news of the situation? Seems the last posting was in March.