How Colin Passed the INBDE In Only 4 Weeks

Colin was able to pass the INBDE by studying for only four weeks! Here's how he did it:

Weekly Breakdown

While studying for the INDBE I took 4 weeks off of school (I had a 2-weeks xmas break and took 2 weeks off before for thanksgiving break). I am the type of person who has to sit down and that will be my ONLY focus, with no distractions. I can’t multi task and I am a one thing at a time type of person. All I did 6 days a week for 8 hours a day, for 4 weeks was study for this INDBE. 

I prepared the first 2 weeks by watching all of Mental Dental videos. First time I just sat there and listened. Second time through I went along with his word docs and made my own personal notes.

The 3rd week I spent reviewing all of these word docs, going over each one and reading them out loud at least twice per word doc, some a little more (like pharm, oral path, ethics, oral medicine) and some a little less (endo, perio, patient management). I then headed into Bootcamp’s qbanks, tagging questions as I went. 

The 4th and final week I finished Bootcamp’s qbanks, and I spent reviewing notes and all the Bootcamp questions I tagged twice. 

During the Exam

The day before my exam I slept in and relaxed, only focused on writing down and memorizing my cheat sheet for test day. While comparing my studying journey to test day, I did so much overkill that the exam itself was a walk in the park. Bootcamp was so realistic to the actual exam I finished every section with over an hour to spare, I had plenty of time with every question. 

Breakdown of Day 1

This was all of your heavy lifting. I used every 15-30 min break I got. I was constantly eating or drinking between these breaks to keep my brain fueled. My 15 minute tutorial I used for my brain dump, and wrote down everything I had in my brain onto the paper for my “cheat sheet.” Because I did so much overkill with Mental Dental and Bootcamp the only thing I had to do for test day was remain calm, keep my head focused and clear, and to take deep breaths and remind myself to read the words, pause, and think. 

The way I handled each question went as follows: I read the question, and read the answer choices. Then I went over into the patient box / pictures if they were available and found my answer. A lot of the time I knew the answer before even looking at the answer choices because Bootcamp trained me so well. I only selected the answer if I knew that was the answer. If I was at a 50/50 I would cross out what I believe were the wrong answers, mark the question, and came back to it at the end. If I had no idea what the answer was, I would mark the question and take my time and give it my best shot. 

When I came home that day I felt like I got hit by a semi truck I was so mentally exhausted. I took my dog for a long walk, got some Chipotle, and went to bed early. I didn’t study that day. The next day after a long night's rest I only reviewed what I had bookmarked on Bootcamp questions on what I believed to be high yield. Then I practiced writing out my cheat sheet again, got lots of sleep.

Breakdown of Day 2

The second day was exhausting but I brought plenty of caffeine and dark chocolate to keep me going. I utilized every break that was given to me. I used the tutorial to brain dump my cheat sheet. Bootcamp prepared me SO WELL for the “Item sets / case sets” that the 2nd day was a WALK IN THE PARK. I hit the submit and knew I had passed. I went on a carnival cruise right after to celebrate and came back to find out I had passed. THANK YOU BOOTCAMP AND MENTAL DENTAL.