Are there actually experimental questions?

[teratomas]

I keep hearing people say that the real test has questions that don't count and are thrown in as experimental questions. Is this something that is a myth or confirmed? Also, if it is true, for those who took their test already, did it seem like the questions you assumed to be experimental were on par with the difficulty of some of the harder nbme questions or more out of left field?

This question probably has no real good answer but I figured I'd ask anyway.

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[Pons Asinorum]

Yes, there are definitely experimentals as explained in the intro instructions you accept. No, you can't necessarily tell which ones they are. That is the consensus, but I'll give you better feedback after Friday.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Is there one block designated as an experimental block or are the questions kind of spread out throughout the entirety of the exam? Just curious.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Is there one block designated as an experimental block or are the questions kind of spread out throughout the entirety of the exam? Just curious.

Interesting. I always assumed spread out, but probably no way to tell that.

 

[dodobird1]

You should really care about how you treat each questions. Nobody knows how it's dispersed, the "1 experimental block" could have just been a myth perpetuated by gunners. I think it'd be incredibly stupid to just give up on one block. Really, you should treat each question as being worth the same. Nobody even knows if the experimental questions are always the hard ones, they can be the ridiculously easy ones too because the NBME needs to establish a baseline difficulty. So don't spend 10 minutes on 1 questions when you're just going to guess on it anyway. It'd be really dumb to miss 5 easy questions because you spent 10 minutes getting a difficult experimental question right (or wrong). That being said, don't simply give up on the hard questions because you might be able to guess right on them, and the hardest question for all we know has the same chance of being experimental as the easiest question on the exam.

 

[coolforschool]

You should really care about how you treat each questions. Nobody knows how it's dispersed, the "1 experimental block" could have just been a myth perpetuated by gunners. I think it'd be incredibly stupid to just give up on one block. Really, you should treat each question as being worth the same. Nobody even knows if the experimental questions are always the hard ones, they can be the ridiculously easy ones too because the NBME needs to establish a baseline difficulty. So don't spend 10 minutes on 1 questions when you're just going to guess on it anyway. It'd be really dumb to miss 5 easy questions because you spent 10 minutes getting a difficult experimental question right (or wrong). That being said, don't simply give up on the hard questions because you might be able to guess right on them, and the hardest question for all we know has the same chance of being experimental as the easiest question on the exam.

It'd be weird to have regular posters in here lie about having a hard block or two for the sake of gunning. FWIW, one of my good friends took it yesterday and he said there was one block where he marked around 30 questions. He scored >265 on NBME15 for reference and said he knew all of the biochem questions on his exam. I agree with you about not giving up on the block, but it's gotta be something to think about.

 

[D elegans]

Erase the knowledge that there are experimental questions on the exam from your memory. No amount of thinking about it will help you and it may indeed hurt you

 

[Pinkleton]

The first 6 blocks of my exam today were relatively straighforward, except one ridiculous question. I marked like half the questions on the final block though

 

[dodobird1]

It'd be weird to have regular posters in here lie about having a hard block or two for the sake of gunning. FWIW, one of my good friends took it yesterday and he said there was one block where he marked around 30 questions. He scored >265 on NBME15 for reference and said he knew all of the biochem questions on his exam. I agree with you about not giving up on the block, but it's gotta be something to think about.

So your only source is someone who scored above 265 on a practice test told you this. There's no credible source that's said a whole block may be experimental, I've only seen that said on message boards, and it was always speculation at best. And message boards are filled with *gasp* trolls! I know I sound paranoid but seriously like the guy said above what the hell are you going to do with that information even if it were true. In third year they always say don't order a test unless you're going to know what you would do with the information, perfect analogy here.

That being said the knowledge of the existence of experimental questions does have therapeutic value for those who will worry for the weeks after the test until they get their test score. It's the only comforting thing out there: the ones you remembered you missed on the test MUST have been experimental.

 

[CDI]

Erase the knowledge that there are experimental questions on the exam from your memory. No amount of thinking about it will help you and it may indeed hurt you

Eh. Acknowledging that they exist is an easy way for some to cope when they see a question that they have absolutely zero idea about or what its even asking.

Telling yourself its experimental (chances are it is), clicking and then moving on is a safer bet than blowing 5 minutes on a question thinking you'll figure it out somehow or dwelling later on during the 8 hours about that one question.

 

[CDI]

Interesting. I always assumed spread out, but probably no way to tell that.

I also had a friend tell me there was a block of experimental also. I assumed they were just mixed in here and there.

 

[coolforschool]

So your only source is someone who scored above 265 on a practice test told you this. There's no credible source that's said a whole block may be experimental, I've only seen that said on message boards, and it was always speculation at best. And message boards are filled with *gasp* trolls! I know I sound paranoid but seriously like the guy said above what the hell are you going to do with that information even if it were true. In third year they always say don't order a test unless you're going to know what you would do with the information, perfect analogy here.

That being said the knowledge of the existence of experimental questions does have therapeutic value for those who will worry for the weeks after the test until they get their test score. It's the only comforting thing out there: the ones you remembered you missed on the test MUST have been experimental.

What are you even talking about? I didn't claim that a "whole block may be experimental." I just said, based on what others and people I know in real life are saying, there is a good chance there will be a hard block on your exam. Whether or not that block is experimental is your area of expertise, I guess. Calm ya tits.

 

[survivordo]

Yes they are on there, but forget about them! There is NO WAY to know which are experimental and which are not so treat EVERY question as if it were the real deal. If you want to make yourself feel better after the test by saying "F that question it was probably experimental anyway" then fine, but during the test you better be gung ho.

Survivor DO

 

[Ronin786]

Yes they are on there, but forget about them! There is NO WAY to know which are experimental and which are not so treat EVERY question as if it were the real deal. If you want to make yourself feel better after the test by saying "F that question it was probably experimental anyway" then fine, but during the test you better be gung ho.

Survivor DO

Theres no way an entire block is experimental. Thats too many questions.

My exam obviously had experimental questions, but they're more like 10 than 40.

 

[thethethe]

I heard 6 out of the 7 blocks are experimental.