Taking the Patent Bar Exam, and Passing!
What a relief! I don’t know if I’m happier to have achieved my goal of passing the Patent Bar on the first attempt or just knowing that I don’t have to take it again or write a blog post sheepishly explaining why I didn’t pass. I do know that not knowing exactly how many and which questions I got wrong will drive me crazy for some time to come, so I’ll just choose to assume I got them all right. But, I suppose you’ve come here to read about the actual testing process, as well.
My test time was 7:30 AM, so I got to the testing center right about 7:00 AM, and there were already quite a few people there. At the testing center, everyone is required to put everything in a locker, with the exception of an official government ID with a photo. After a brief security screen (pockets get turned out and there is a check with a metal-detector wand), I was shown which cubicle would be my home for the day. I used the tutorial time in the beginning to draw a grid with columns for a question number, which I would fill in as I used a row, as well as each of the answer choices A-E. I used the grid to narrow down answers when I needed to keep track. The questions on the test itself were very much like the ExamWare™ questions, particularly the longer questions.
As was the case with each of the simulated exams I took before the test, the first question hit me like a ton of bricks. I was hoping for something relatively simple so I could ease into the exam, but I struggled with each of the first few questions, and was about ten minutes behind the pace after the first three questions. After a few more questions, I was able to get into more of a rhythm where I didn’t need to consult the MPEP for quite a few questions and I ended up finishing the first half of the exam (50 questions and 3 hours) with about 20-25 minutes to spare, so I had a good opportunity to go back and take another look at the questions I had flagged. I didn’t change many of the marked questions on the second look, so I felt pretty good about the first half of the exam.
By the time I got through the first 50 questions I was starving, so I took a 45-minute break and got a bite to eat before tackling the last half. The second half of the exam was a different experience. It was like walking through mud. I had to try to find the answer in the MPEP for at least 40 of the 50 questions and even had to use the Subject Matter Index several times, which I hadn’t had to do in the first half. By the fifth hour I was feeling hungry again, and my head was starting to swim. I answered the last question with two minutes to spare, so I quickly went back to a question I had marked, and, as a good omen, I happened to confirm my answer using the MPEP just as time ran out.
After breezing through the facility survey after the exam, the results page came up and it took me a good ten seconds to comprehend that I had actually slayed the dragon (at least, that was the preliminary result). As I indicated above, I was extremely relieved, and I remain so to this day.
I won’t say it’s not possible to pass the Patent Bar on the first try without the help of PRG, but I’m not sure I could have done it without everything they offer. Starting with the excellent Patent Bar Review course taught by Paul Gardner, and continuing with the videos, which I used to review some important lectures, and then, most of all, the ExamWare™ questions. The main thing I would do differently-if I were starting out today-would be to focus more heavily on section-specific questions a few weeks earlier than I did. They were the most effective way for me to learn the material for each topic and they provided me with the knowledge I needed to answer the questions in simulated exams.
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