Architecture Registration Exams Story: Kassandra Garza

Welcome to the Architectural Registration Exam (ARE) experience stories series! This series is to share experiences, timelines and advice of professionals that have completed their AREs. We know it can be a daunting task to get started and overwhelming on the number of resources out there. We hope you find this information helpful in organizing how you proceed through your exams. Good Luck!

This is the experience, timeline, and advice from:

Kassandra Garza, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP

Kassandra is an accomplished architect based in Alexandria, VA. She is a Lab Architect at HERA laboratory planners and has 8 years of experience, primarily in healthcare and science & technology markets. She graduated from Penn State University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Architecture and a minor in Architectural History. She is licensed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She is also a proud member of NOMA.

Kassandra is currently working on academic, government, and forensic laboratories and is committed to providing sustainable and efficient solutions to her clients. She is also a Cohort 5 mentor for Arquitina, an organization dedicated to raising the 1% of licensed Latina architects. Kassandra is passionate about architecture and is always striving to improve her skills and knowledge in the field.

“As a Latina Architect, I believe that in order to better serve our diverse communities we need to support and advance a more diverse profession.”

Started in ARE 4.0. At this point I had about two years of experience and had a project in construction.

December 2, 2017

In person

CDS (4.0)

Fail

After this fail, I made the decision to transition to ARE 5.0 and took a small break.

May 11, 2018	In person	CE	Pass
July 20, 2018	In person	PcM	Pass
December 1, 2018	In person	PjM	Pass
January 25, 2019	In Person	P&A	Fail

I was getting into a good rhythm for studying and testing until I began studying for Programming & Analysis. The amount of information that the test covered was overwhelming. I took a break and began studying in late May.

June 17, 2019	In person	P&A	Pass
August 3, 2019	In person	PPD	Fail
August 10, 2019	In person	PDD	Fail

While I was studying for my last three exams, I started to see overlapping topics and began studying topics in chunks that would apply to one or two exams. For this reason, I decided to schedule the three exams closely together. Although I only passed PA, I came really close to passing PPD and PDD. Initially, I had planned to start retesting as soon as I could, but I was finding it tough to find time to study with deadlines and travelling. I rescheduled PDD in March 2020, but it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

September 16, 2020	In person	PDD	Pass
November 23, 2020	In person	PPD	Fail

Locked out of the testing center from March to June 2020. Again, came really close to passing PPD. I took a break for the holidays. For my last exam, I started studying with a group in late January.

March 27, 2021

In person

PPD

PASS!

I often get asked “why do I need to get licensed?”. Why did you decide that you wanted to be a licensed Architect?

When I decided to pursue architecture, my goal was always to become a licensed architect. I felt it was a necessary milestone I needed to achieve to not only be able to call myself an architect but to also show my community that this is an attainable profession to pursue. As a Latina Architect, I believe that in order to better serve our diverse communities we need to support and advance a more diverse profession.

Now that I am licensed, I am excited I get to participate in mentoring cohorts like Arquitina and help guide and support the next generation of Latina Architects on their journey to licensure.

How did you fit study time into your schedule? Was there anything in particular that worked well for you?

At the beginning of my testing journey, I didn’t really have a set structure. In 2018, I was travelling and experienced a medical emergency. I tried to fit in time to study as best as I could. Fortunately, this plan worked for my first three exams. However, for the last three technical exams I needed a more structured study plan.

For the technical exams, my goal was to set aside at least a month for studying. During this time, I studied after work for 1 to 2 hours typically on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. During the week I focused on specific topics and used visual resources like YouTube to help reinforce the topics I was struggling to understand. During the weekend I would dedicate 3 to 6 hours each day in an environment away from my apartment like a café or a library. I would create summary sheets of topics I learned earlier that week and go through practice questions.

Do you have any other advice for someone studying for their exams?

(1) Be kind to yourself! Everyone’s testing journey is different.

(2) Determine what kind of learner you are and find resources that match your learning style.

(3) Create a study schedule that works with your schedule and goals. It’s okay to leave a little breathing room for life events if that’s a priority for you.

(4) Reach out to your local organizations like NOMA and YAF if you are looking for study buddies, study resources, or events relating to the ARE’s.

(5) Most importantly don’t give up!

We hope that this information helps you through our ARE journey, setting goals, and giving you some insight on how to get started.

Thank you again to Kassandra Garza for sharing your story!

Edited by

Katelyn Rossier, AIA, LSSBB