My phone was plugged in at my bedside with the internet open to the NCARB page. I was signed in and had a close up on the section that has a string of six passes waiting for the 7th. I have been refreshing it religiously for days, knowing full well that it wouldn't be posted any sooner than Thursday morning, because that's typically when the scores are posted sometime after midnight depending on your time zone.
I decided the night before to leave it zoomed in to the Pass or Fail area because I knew I couldn't take the suspense of reading "Structural Systems" and then scrolling over to the Pass/Fail column.
As I walked to my son's room I unlocked my phone and began counting down the Pass/Fail column.
Fails: Zero.
Then I counted the Passes:...1..2..3..4..5..6........7!!!!
I was too tired to wake everyone else in the house and didn't feel they needed to share the pain of being up so early. My mom and sister were visiting and they were making a 6 hour drive home that day, so I quietly went into my sons room and pulled him out of the crib. I felt like a zombie. Not only was I tired because I could barely sleep for 11 days knowing this score was looming, but I was in total disbelief that I had passed. I checked it over and over again, counting to 7. I scrolled to the left to make sure it said Structural Systems and that it wasn't just my eyes playing tricks on me.
I sat down with my son on my shoulder and just stared at the wall. My husband came in, hearing that our persistent toddler wasn't going back to sleep. He asked if I needed help. I said "no, I'm OK". Then I paused for a few seconds and whispered "I passed." I said it so calmly and quietly that I'm not sure he understood for a moment. I'm not sure that I even understood.
The shock lasted all day. In fact, I'm still in shock.
On July 29, 2015 I officially became and Architect. My registration number was posted on the state website, my certificate is in the mail and I ordered new business cards. I think the business card order was the most satisfying part of it all. It's really real. I'm an Architect. I say it over and over again, because it's just too crazy. I knew it would happen one day because I had spent so much time and money on architecture school that it was bound to happen.
When I set out to take the AREs almost a year ago I didn't plan to finish in under a year and I certainly didn't expect to finish without failing any. I think that's the thing that will keep me in shock for a good while. It can be done, Interns. You, too can make it "swift" and rewarding. My advice on that: give it your all. Sometime early last year my "career coach" said something to the affect of: focus on one goal for right now and get it done. He was talking about the AREs and I took it very seriously. I wasn't ready at that moment, but within 6 months I was.
Make a schedule for studying and don't let yourself get in the way. Plan for days off and unplanned events or long nights at work and for reading that will take you longer than you think. I took a couple weeks off for holidays and such, but by the end I found those long weekends to be what I needed to really hit it hard. Not to mention I just wanted to get it overwith. It's difficult to basically forgo all holidays and free time, but for me it was better than stringing the whole process out for years. I knew I could do it, so I did it, and it paid off. My method is not for everyone...Even if an escalated schedule isn't part of your plan, do commit 100% to studying.
I'll write a bit more about studying and what to study and how I studied in a later post. For now....on to the next hurdle.
