Hey everyone,
I finally got my score report today...they mailed it out exactly 4 weeks after I took it.
Here's the breakdown:
Composite Score: 90
Subject Area
Anatomic Sciences: 82/100 correct; Nat'l mean: 65.7/100 correct
Biochem/Phys: 81/100 correct; Nat'l mean: 60.8/100
Micro/Path: 82/100 correct; Nat'l mean: 65.4
Dental Anat: 84/100 correct; Nat'l mean: 74.3/100 correct
There are so many things I could say right now, and I will probably write more posts later on, but basically, I want to thank the people on this thread that responded to my posts, and those who I read basically every day before I began studying to conjure up the energy and motivation.
I studied for an intense 6.5 weeks, averaging 8 hours a day the first 4 weeks. It required working around class(waking up early, staying up late)...I took a 2 week break from school where I basically just focused on the boards for a good 12 hours a day leading up to my exam day.
I used Kaplan, which honestly is the best resource out there. I wish I had looked at the First Aid, only for the Anatomy Section...I flipped through it once and if you're looking to break an 88 and are starting from scratch with studying (what I mean by this is that if you're not one of those people who recall things from 2 years of dental school, like me, and just treat the exam like its its own entity) then First Aid really isn't the right choice for biochem/phys and micro/path. It even says in the beginning of the First Aid book that the best way to use the text is to use it as a resource throughout dental school.
Kaplan Lecture Notes + First Aid Anatomy is the way to go. I didn't look at decks...I borrowed them to look over the professionalism and ethics cards which was worth it (easy 4 questions)
Shoot for the highest possible scores. You know, I really kinda wish I hadn't changed 5 questions on the exam after I took it, and it may have made a difference in my score, too (possibly a 91), but you have to account for those kind of things on the actual exam...That's why when I took practice exams, I made sure I worked towards getting 340 right.
The practice exams are not necessarily easier, but its that only 285-300 questions on the current exams mimic that level of difficulty from previous exams, and theyve added a good 100 questions which really make you think outside of the box (more clinically).
I only took the 89, 96, 98, 2004 exams. I started by scoring around 315 right on the 89, 340 or something around there on the 96, similar on 98, and then 334 on the 2004. I went down a bit on the 2004...which ended up being consistent with my score on the current exam...329/400. Like I said, 4-5 questions I changed and wish I hadn't. but account for it when you practice and you'll be fine!
The last thing I want to share, and its a bit mushy, and im not really a mushy person, but believe in yourself. Have the right expectations but do not cheat yourself. I told myself, you know, ive done decently well in dental school, nothing spectacular, but definitely competitive for certain residency programs, etc, don't let up. Keep fighting for what you want because the only person you can rely upon for those 5-6 weeks is yourself. Yes, I had awesome family support, awesome girlfriend who all said the right things when I was frustrated and sometimes overconfident, and sometimes indifferent, but when it came to reading 800 pages of a textbook, its you, baby, and only you. Don't just passively read the pages of whichever text you're reading, actually engage and read and understand. Keep telling yourself that this is a fight and every punch you take, you're going to punch 2x harder.
Good luck.
PS; Please, dont PM me asking for questions from the exam...I'm not gonna do it...I know of people whove gotten caught from the ADA and it snot worth it, there are no short-cuts.
