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:
Clarissa Suikkari Epps, RA, NCARB
Clarissa Suikkari Epps is a licensed Architect in the state of Texas and works as a Project Architect at VLK Architects in Fort Worth. While originally from Finland, she has lived most of her life in Texas, including going through architecture school at the University of Texas at Arlington. After her sophomore year of undergrad, thanks to networking she did in high school, she began interning at VLK Architects over the summer and never left. For the rest of her four years in college, she interned simultaneously with school and credits her time management skills to that experience.
Now on her ninth year in the profession, Clarissa also volunteers as a mentor for ACE Mentor Program’s Fort Worth Chapter. She is passionate about serving as a professional mentor to students, as this is the same organization that afforded her the networking opportunities in high school that led to her early start in the industry. Recently, Clarissa has also been appointed to a Commissioner position for the Tarrant County Historical Commission and is excited to be pursuing another passion to support historic preservation efforts and the promotion of historic appreciation in her community.
Outside of architecture, Clarissa enjoys thrifting, eating great food, spending time with her husband (Andrew) and dog (Toshi), and traveling – most recently to Spain and Morocco.
“At a time that I was getting overwhelmed by study material, Desk Crits broke it down simply and visually.”
Exam Order
After finishing grad school in spring 2018, I gave myself the rest of the year to plan my wedding, get married, and settle into full-time work life. My goal for 2019 was to take the first daunting step toward licensure and take my first exam.
| May 25, 2019 | In Person | PcM | Pass |
I was overjoyed when it ended in a pass… maybe too overjoyed, as I gave myself the rest of the year off. I had intended to take my next exam in 2020, but an unforeseen international pandemic happened, so I took that year off as well and ended up getting back into the swing of test-taking in 2021 instead.
| July 2, 2021 | In Person | PjM | Pass |
| October 1, 2021 | In Person | C&E | Pass |
| February 18, 2022 | In Person | PDD | Pass |
| March 7, 2022 | In Person | PPD | Pass |
The bulk of my test-taking was uneventful – just trudging through fitting in time to study while keeping up with normal life that I was not willing to compromise.
I was on a passing streak and had just one more exam to pass and, as I walked out of the house that day, I remember telling my husband “Man, it would really suck if I failed THIS one.” As karma would have it, I did in fact fail that one.
| March 21, 2022 | In Person | P&A | Fail |
| May 26, 2022 | In Person | P&A | Pass |
Advice for you!
I often get asked “why do I need to get licensed?”. Why did you decide that you wanted to be a licensed Architect?
It was never a question to me whether I would get licensed because I knew that is what it took to be called an Architect. I decided in fifth grade that I would be an Architect and, while I didn’t know at the time what that actually entailed, I researched the requirements thoroughly in high school and was fully aware of what I needed to get done with college, experience hours, and licensing exams.
What type of study materials did you use? Any particular ones that you’d recommend?
For my first three exams (PcM, PjM, CE), I used Black Spectacles (paid for by my firm), the reading list of the Architect’s Handbook for Professional Practice put together by Wiley, and the AIA Contracts.
While I was studying for the last half of my exams, my firm decided to start paying for Amber Books access in addition to Black Spectacles. So, for PDD, PPD, and PA, I used Amber Books, Black Spectacles, and the book “Desk Crits: The Insider’s Guide to the ARE 5.0.”
The Desk Crits book was the only study material I personally paid for, and it was well worth it. At a time that I was getting overwhelmed by study material, they broke it down simply and visually.
Do you have any other advice for someone studying for their exams?
As it takes many of us years to pass all these exams, family and non-architecture friends will be constantly asking and wondering what is taking so long for you to get the “Architect” title, but don’t let that mean too much to you. No one understands the struggle of these exams, aside from your peers who have gone through the same thing.
These exams are NOT easy, and they DO take years to complete!
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 Clarissa Suikkari Epps for sharing your story!
Edited by
Katelyn Rossier, AIA, NCARB, LSSBB
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