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:
Zandria Tolliver, AIA NCARB
I’ve always wanted to be an Architect. My parents encouraged me and bought home building software when I was 10, that’s how I enjoyed my Saturday mornings. In 2014, I graduated from Louisiana Tech University. After feeling burnt out, I decided to pursue another career path and worked as an experiential graphic designer in Austin, TX. This outlet allowed me to design signage for health districts, hospitals, and the Texas State Capital. Although fulfilling (I still use those skillsets to this day), I longed to get back into designing building/spaces and re-entered the field at a firm specializing in restaurant design.
In 2018, my husband and I spontaneously moved to Colorado, I started a new job and decided to begin taking exams. The Architect Registration Exam process has been one of the most mentally taxing things I’ve ever done. There were many highs, lows, and even contemplations of switching careers again completely. I finished my last exam at the beginning of 2023 and cried in the testing center (from happiness, but also because the screen went black on the last question).
I currently live with my husband in the countryside of East Texas, developing our land while working remotely as an Architect for a small firm in Wyoming. I complete projects ranging from residential, higher education, rodeo arenas, hospital renovations and everything in between.
“Eventually, I stopped stressing as much and attempted to relax by changing my mindset around studying and approaching it as a learning experience”, rather than strictly for testing.”
Exam Order
| December 12, 2019 | In Person | PcM | Pass |
I felt so motivated after passing, and little did I know how long this journey would end up being for me. (Cue covid/2020)
| March 5, 2020 | In Person | PjM | Fail |
| August 22. 2020 | In Person | PjM | Pass |
| October 3, 2020 | In Person | C&E | Fail |
| December 2, 2020 | In Person | C&E | Fail |
| March 20, 2021 | Virtual | P&A | Pass |
On my first virtual exam I had a lot of technical issues, my computer firewall would block the exam completely at times.
| April 16, 2021 | In Person | PDD | Fail |
| May 29, 2021 | In Person | C&E | Pass |
| September 25, 2021 | Virtual | PPD | Fail |
| October 19, 2021 | Virtual | PDD | Pass |
| November 26, 2021 | Virtual | PPD | Fail |
Incredibly discouraged at this point. I struggled the most with PPD and I just could not figure out what information I didn’t know. I thought it would never happen and that I wasn’t meant to be an architect. Eventually, I stopped stressing as much and attempted to relax by changing my mindset around studying and approaching it as a “learning experience”, rather than strictly for testing.
| March 24, 2022 | In Person | PPD | Fail |
Moved from Colorado to Texas.
| October 7, 2022 | In Person | PPD | Fail |
| February 4, 2023 | In Person | PPD | 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?
Autonomy.
I am now able to go into my own practice if I decide and it allows me to consider a broader range of opportunities. In all transparency, a small part of it is also related to ego.
As a woman, when I walk into a room with colleagues most people assume that I am the interior designer, never the Architect. The title RA/AIA solidifies the process that I’ve completed and is verification of a level of expertise for clients.
What type of study materials did you use? Any particular ones that you’d recommend?
I started with Ben Norkin’s Hyperfine, and I highly recommend it. I would always refer back to it and used it as supplemental material to other study materials.
Take every single practice test you can get your hands on.
NCARB Practice Test (excellent)
WeARE quizzes (excellent for PcM/Pjm, unfortunately quizzes only)
Hanahan Lectures (excellent for PcM/Pjm/CE)
Karin’s Notes (excellent)
Erik Walker “Walking the ARE” Practice Exam (excellent)
Elif Bayram “ARE Questions” (excellent)
Designer Hacks Practice Quiz (decent)
Ballast (decent)
Hammer and Hand website (decent for CE visuals)
Black Spectacles (ok, great for accountability)
Architect Exam Prep (ok, audio was useful for commutes)
My employer provided old Kaplan/Brightwood study books and flashcards, they were terrible. I personally could have never passed using only those books.
Do you have any other advice for someone studying for their exams?
Figure out a way to release. I kept a journal and wrote after every single test (pass or fail) just to release how I was feeling at that exact moment. It helped to get the buildup of tension out of my head and I’m inspired when I read it back, even to this day.
Create a support system. For most people this is a very difficult journey. For me, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I needed my husband to encourage me to buy the courses even though I didn’t want to spend the money. He understood when I couldn’t watch the latest season of a show or needed to spend hours at the library.
I needed a peer group of others who were testing to vent to, they completely understood my struggle. After the first two fails, I stopped sharing with anyone outside of that support system, the added stress and questions were too much to handle.
Remember this is just a tiny part of a bigger journey. ARE is not the end. There will still be so much that you don’t know, but you will pass/finish and look back on this with relief and then continue to grow as an Architect.
We hope that this information helps you through your ARE journey, setting goals, and giving you some insight on how to get started.
Thank you again to Zandria Tolliver for sharing your story!
Edited by
Katelyn Rossier, AIA, NCARB, LSSBB
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