Positive You Will Pass
By Creig Hoskins
Licensed 1991

Three years after graduating from college I took the ARE. During my era, it was given once a year, taken by hand, and all in the same week. The building design lasted 12 hours and was given the last day. I did not study the first time I took the exam and failed everything except the graphic portions. I thought since I worked at a great firm that provided me excellent training and I traditionally have always scored high on standardized tests, I said to myself, “Self, there is no need to study, you are smart.” Continue reading →

The Journey Does Not End – Taking the ARE Exam
By Kevin Sneed
Licensed 1995

When asked to share my story of taking the ARE exam, I explained to Katherine that my account is possibly the most senior of all she had requested. However, she explained that it’s the experience of how I passed that she would like to impart to the readers, not the details of study materials from years ago. So, to start, as I combed through my past registration paperwork (which I still had!), I found a quote from my grandmother on a note from one of many phone calls with her. An educator, she always believed in me. She said, “You are going to pass; the question is when.” My grandmother further explained that I have the education, and I gained the necessary experience (IDP now AXP), all that was left for me to do was to make…time. Continue reading →

Path to Licensure: By Any Means Necessary
Louis Smith
Licensed 1997

The greatest burden for minorities pursuing licensure may be the uncertainty of whether your level of success is due to your own lack of effort or to the racist tendencies in a profession where people who look like you are greatly under-represented. My approach to this was to try and move forward every chance I could in whatever path was open.

The result of that was that I applied for licensure shortly after receiving my undergraduate degree in the early 1980’s. At the time, the licensure law there said that the rules that were in effect for applicant were those in effect at the time of first application. This meant that no professional degree was needed. I did need a great deal of experience as an “intern” before qualifying for the test.
Continue reading →