Architecture Registration Exams Story: Emily Wagner

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:

Emily Wagner, AIA

Emily works at DesignGroup in Pittsburgh as a Project Architect. She graduated from Penn State University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Architecture. Her passion for healthcare planning and architecture developed during an internship while still in school. Over the past 3 years, she has enjoyed seeing the life changing impact thoughtful design has on patient, family and staff alike.

Beyond project work, Emily keeps connected to Penn State where she participates in a mentorship program to assist students with school, internships, the profession and beyond. Her hope is that others can benefit from her lessons learned and find the best path forward.

“I was fortunate enough to have a study buddy which was helpful in keeping us both accountable.”

February 13, 2021	In person	PcM	Pass
April 23, 2021	In person	PjM	Pass
August 27, 2021	In person	CE	Pass
January 8, 2022	In Person	P&A	Pass
August 6, 2022	In Person	PPD	Pass
September 17, 2022	In Person	PDD	Pass

Often people don’t know where to start, do you have any advice for those looking to start their exams -or- how did you start?

I was fortunate enough to have a study buddy which was helpful in keeping us both accountable. We started with broad materials and then highlighted areas where we were weaker with the material and focused on learning the details.

I’d also recommend finding or asking for opportunities at work to gain different experiences that relate to studying for your exams. Being involved in the process in the real world really helped things to ‘stick’ when studying.

The ARE Facebook Group is also a nice resource, so you don’t have to feel like you are alone in the journey. It was always really encouraging seeing others success stories to remind yourself that you too can get through it. The review questions that would also just pop up on your feed made for a quick 2-minute review in the middle of the day.

What type of study materials did you use? Any particular ones that you’d recommend?

I used a lot of different materials from Ballast and Brightwood study materials, to online seminars and Youtube videos and lots and lots of practice quizzes & exams. I read the AIA contracts ad nauseum for the Professional Practice exams. I made flashcards and a guide for each exam so critical information was all in the same place. I would highly recommend Elif Bayram’s practice quizzes for PPD and PDD. Erik Walker’s Programming and Analysis practice exam was a lifesaver for me.

I found mixing up what I was studying each night was critical to keeping me on my toes and not getting lost in the monotony.

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

Be kind to yourself and recognize when you need a break. At the beginning, it’s easy to set a schedule of when you’re going to study and for how long, but then life happens. It’s ok to take a night or a weekend off and often helps provide a mental reset for you. Don’t let yourself get burnt out by what can appear to be very overwhelming.

Good Luck!!

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 Emily Wagner for sharing your story!

Edited by

Katelyn Rossier, AIA, LSSBB