Architecture Registration Exams Story: Lonna Babu

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:

Lonna Babu, AIA, NOMA, NCARB

Hi, I’m Lonna! I’m an Associate and Project Architect at Ayers Saint Gross as well as an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of America. I graduated from the University of Maryland in 2016 with my Bachelors of Science and 2018 with my Masters in Architecture.

I’ve known I wanted to be an architect since I was 12 years old – I love the idea that ideas in our head become real spaces that people get to live in and experience, and hopefully make people’s lives better.

My passion for architecture comes through the lens of social justice and diversity and the idea that everyone is deserving of dignified and great design.

“Never plan to take an exam around the holidays! It’s tough to study and you should enjoy yourself.”

December 28, 2018	In Person	PcM	Fail
February 4, 2019	In Person	PjM	Fail

After failing 2 in a row I was devastated, I was always great at school and hadn’t really failed anything ‘academic’ in my life so I was ready to give up. As a last attempt I signed up for the ARE Bootcamp the day I failed my second exam and 10 weeks later took my next exam.

May 20, 2019	In Person	PjM	Pass
June 1, 2019	In Person	PcM	Pass
July 15, 2019	In Person	CE	Pass

Went on vacation after passing the first half!

September 23, 2019	In Person	PA	Pass
December 24, 2019	In Person	PPD	Fail

Pro-tip: never plan to take an exam around the holidays! It’s tough to study and you should enjoy yourself 😊

December 30, 2019

In Person

PPD

Fail

Covid shut everything down for 11 weeks until Prometric opened up again. I signed up for the first slots I could take and studied 40-50 hours a week until I could take my exam again. I took these last double masked, gloved, and with no breaks because we were still at the height of covid.

July 13, 2020	In Person	PPD	Pass
July 20, 2020	In Person	PDD	Pass

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

Becoming an architect is not easy, it takes so much passion and dedication to do what we do and I wanted to get licensed to prove to myself that I could and as a culmination of my studies. I also knew getting licensed would open up a lot of opportunities for me.

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

I used every resource I could find! ARE Bootcamp and Amber Videos being huge life savers for me.

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

I went into a complete study mode for the year and half as soon as I signed up for the bootcamp. I would listen to videos on my drive to work, listen to study podcasts and the bootcamp videos while I was at work, practice with 10 questions during lunch and come home and study!

I also gave up my weekends to study and would plan to see friends and do something fun/reward myself after each exam – pass or fail. Although I was in this crazy mode – it’s also very important to remember to take care of yourself too. Sit outside, go for walks, workout, eat and sleep.

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

Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s, the way you study for, approach, and the setting in which you take the exam changes everyone’s experience so much. Trust in yourself and trust in your own process.

Also – treat yourself after each exam! These are tough and just taking them is something worth celebrating.

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 Lonna Babu for sharing your story!

Edited by

Katelyn Rossier, AIA, NCARB, LSSBB