Creating ENYA’s ARE study program
Venesa Alicea-Chuqui
Licensed 2010

Navigating the path to licensure can be daunting. In 2005, after graduating with a B. Arch degree from the City College of New York, I set a goal of working in an Architecture Firm and getting my license before I was 30. At the time, I was fortunate to already have a job in a small firm in Harlem, run by a Professor of mine. I completed almost all of my IDP (now called AXP) hours there, before switching to a larger office. In 2008, after completing the IDP and the NYS Experience duration, I received eligibility to test for the ARE.

At this time there were also two major changes happening:
First, across the country states were allowing “Early Eligibility“ to the exam, which would allow testing concurrently with gaining architectural experience in a firm, something NYS now allows.
Second, the exam was transitioning from ARE 3.1, which was 9 divisions, to the ARE 4.0, which was 7 divisions. Similar to the ARE 4.0 to ARE 5.0 transition, exam candidates scrambled to get all their tests in so as to not lose exams through the transition or through their rolling clock. The good news is that changes usually come in spurts so it will most likely be a few more years before NCARB makes major revisions to the exam again.

When I began studying for the exam in 2009, there were no affordable exam prep courses in NYC and no online courses. I was the Associate Director of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIANY), and a very active member of the Emerging New York Architects (ENYA) Committee. My role as the Associate Director was to represent Associate Membership, many of whom were in a similar boat, navigating the path to Licensure. A few of us from the ENYA committee who were about to begin studying for the ARE exam, created a proposal to the AIANY Chapter to begin ARE Review Classes at the Center for Architecture in NYC. We reached out to recently licensed architects, well established practitioners as well as NCARB, Kaplan (now Brightwood) and a few others for resources we would use to help set up ARE Review Classes. This program launched as the ARE BOOT CAMP series, and is still going 12 years later. We also had the AIANY Chapter buy a few sets of study material which could be shared with members studying for the exam. We reached out to David Thaddeus to bring him to NYC to teach his Structures course. One of the few perks of volunteering is getting access to free resources and programs that you help to organize!

As I was looking to figure out how I would be paying for the exam, my office at the time did not cover the cost of the exam. I learned about the AIA Jason Pettigrew ARE Memorial Scholarship, I applied, and was one of the 2009 recipients! The scholarship covered the cost of the exam and a set of Kaplan study materials, which gave me the boost I needed to start and finish the process. I encourage you to check that out and other scholarship opportunities or advocate for your office to cover the costs of the exams.

Below are a few Study strategies that worked for me:

• Read the Materials (multiple times!) and go back to the Reference Sources as needed.
• Taking Notes by hand for me has always been the best way to remember.
• Don’t freak out if you don’t do well on the Practice Questions, when studying make sure you know why you got the answers wrong.
• Flash Cards! I used the ArchiFlash Cards which were super helpful. I know now they have online resources for flash cards, but there was something really useful about having the physical cards to use while traveling.

I spaced each exam out about a month and a half apart, with a break over the winter holiday and summer. At the time we had to wait weeks before we received our testing results so I would arrange a travel trip or event after each exam, a prize of sorts. I finished testing in just under 2 years, and got my license December 2010. Fortunately I passed each section the first time around, and am excited to say that I am approaching a decade as a registered Architect in NYS.

Advice to all those in the process: Schedule your (first) Exam, Do NOT Reschedule the Exam.

Don’t procrastinate, the longer you wait, Life gets in the way, with more responsibilities it gets harder to make the time to study. Stay Focused and YOU GOT THIS!

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