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[Sticker Guy]

At what point do you know your ready to take the patent bar exam? Coming from soneone that has started out from scratch, taken the home PLI course, and done all the practice exams since 2000, how do you know you are ready? I have read people that have scored 90% on the practice exams and failed the real exam. So how do you know? The only other thing I can think of is to read chapter 2100 3 times, like is suggested in the PLI course.

[tkfx2000]

If you consistently pass the practice exams, scoring in the high 80's or more, you are ready for the exam. Keep practicing up until the exam date and review web sites, and materials, that give recent insight into trends and new questions on the exam. You will do fine.

[OMG IP]

Don't just take the exam -- take it under exam conditions.  Thus, time yourself.  Do it in 25-50 question increments.  If you're scoring 70+ in practice exams under exam conditions, you'll do great.

If you have not done so, figure out how to electronically search the MPEP.  "cntrl F" and knowing which chapter to look in probabaly saved me on 10 questions I had no clue about.  These will be the questions that are so wacky that there's no way you could study for them.  That said, the keywords in the question are probably copy/pasted from the MPEP somewhere...

Good luck!!

[Sticker Guy]

I know the Ctrl F function very well. The problem is, I use it too much. I am constantly checking the MPEP for the answers, which is taking too long. Now that I have exhausted all the exams since 2000, there is not much point in re-doing the exams, besides memorizing the answers. I feel that if I were to take it today, I would fail. I'm just curious if there is some type of barometer of success where people know before they walk into the test center that they will pass. There is really no point in rushing the exam since you can take it whenever you want. Considering the pass rate is ~50%, I want to know I will pass before sending in the application to the PTO.

[tkfx2000]

Many of the question on the actual exam will come from prior exams. So there is every reason to retake old exams, as often as you can. You will not have time to look up many answers during the actual exam. The search tool on the exam is very primitive, approximately equal to Adobe Acrobat version 2.0.  I found it is best to answer all the questions that you can without looking anything up, then go back to answer those you could not get.  One of the best tips I received was to use your scrap paper to track all the questions. Make a simple numbered list. As you answer each question, mark whether you feel you were correct, uncertain, 50-50, or don't know.  After going through all the questions, provided you have time, you can look up answers that you did not know or were uncertain about.

Retaking exams, you will also realize that many questions setups are re-used but with subtle variations. The more practice exams the more you will realize the variations on questions, this prevents you from jumping to an incorrect answer.

[smgsmc]

You need 70% to pass.  The test has two 3-hr long sessions with 50 questions per session, and a 1-hr break in between.   During the real exam, you'll probably be a bit stressed and nervous; you'll be in an unfamiliar, probably uncomfortable room; and depending on the test center, you may have crappy equipment.  You should definitely be taking practice exams on a computer simulator.  In the low stress, comfy environs of your home, you should score ~90% per 50 questions in ~2 hr.  You should know why each correct answer is correct and why each incorrect answer is incorrect.  You should know in which section of the MPEP the subject matter is covered.  You should at least know which chapter without consulting the table of contents or index.  You should know when to look at 37 CFR instead of the main MPEP.  Good luck.

[IsolatedSystem]

I know the Ctrl F function very well. The problem is, I use it too much. I am constantly checking the MPEP for the answers, which is taking too long. Now that I have exhausted all the exams since 2000, there is not much point in re-doing the exams, besides memorizing the answers. I feel that if I were to take it today, I would fail. I'm just curious if there is some type of barometer of success where people know before they walk into the test center that they will pass. There is really no point in rushing the exam since you can take it whenever you want. Considering the pass rate is ~50%, I want to know I will pass before sending in the application to the PTO.

I used control+F to search the MPEP on tons of questions. I probably looked up half the questions on the actual exam, which I passed July 10th. If you're scoring in the upper 80's under timed conditions, who gives a rat's ass if you memorized the rules or look them up.