Some good information here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/51132717/Concerning-Licensure

Anybody that thinks 9-11 years (after graduation) makes a lot of sense for an architecture license is inflating the gravity of the license.. especially compared to what is at stake for a license to practice medicine.. you can get your GP license one year out of internship.  And there is no building department or inspector in that case.. I think the enforcement as it weakens a lot of the argument that licensure is for 'public safety'.. certainly could be for general competence and avoidance of costly mistakes..

Isn't it worth discussing? It just really seems like something is wrong.. we should hold ourselves with the same self-respect as Lawyers and Doctors and not just accept that we are bragging about how hard it is to get licensed as an architect instead of questioning the system.  It seems like there is some adjustment in order comparatively.

I think a lot of you are so caught up in the laser beam like mindset you need to pass those exams and get licensed that any questioning of the system is disruptive to that focus so you get all bent out of shape when it happens.  

The signal to noise ratio on this thread is getting low... but I am amazed how ppl still defend this system, in comparison to other fields.  It's ultimately your life of 9-11 years having to work for someone else because of the system is as it is.. I imagine those numbers will increase after 4.0 has its effect given the pass rates that have show up.  Thats a lot of years of a lot of people's lives affected, and the profession's morale is affected as well.. 

I read a suggestion that the academy needs to adjust, be more like med school or law school and reflect that we are a profession.  I would agree, but I can imagine there being opposition - the academy certainly is invested in a LOT of activities that to me don't have a lot to do with the profession of architecture at all. (a lot of those activities are 'fun and cool'...)

 And the identity/cadre of those pushing those activities/agenda's doesn't want to be disrupted.. They've built livelyhoods on it.

I think the livelyhoods/indenties of the educators are often in conflict with the career path towards architecture. 

I really have no rationalizations happening in regards to my decision to move my career in other directions.. I would love to be able to rationalize the 'I'm not in this for the money' thing, but at this point, my obligations to family and my dignity have become incompatible with that ethic.. I think this is a hard truth that a lot who haven't gotten to owning their own firm or settled into a large firm with good salary by their late 30's hit.. 

This (medical issues) is of interest:

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/topic.php?uid=55882053620&topic=11731

Last exam I took stopped just short of a strip search, really. I had a hair clip in my hand, no in the hair or left outside, I had a cardigan (air conditioned lightless pew), no wear it or leave it outside, I had to turn out my pockets! Not so much litigious as agressive and unpleasant I would say.

Poly, who's defending this system on this thread?

I don't know if 4.0 is more difficult than the previous versions including the hand drafted. But as Marm mentioned, the less experienced are entitled to take the tests now which may account for the lower pass rates (at least in my state). I, personally know of a handful that are taking it before finishing IDP (which even when I started taking them was not possible). And students are eligible for IDP pretty much as long as they are in an accredited school. So they are in some ways changing the system already to ALLOW folks to take tests when they're in school. So I'm thinking, the pass rates will drop, but people will ultimately be licensed earlier. Whoever makes money off of these tests will make more money. Maybe that money will go to make the vignettes better.

One more thing though; I really hate the whole medical insurance system. But you don't see me dropping it and then imply that everyone that has is highly likely to be a tool.

My brother took his boards last weekend. He was all nervous cause the fail rate was 10%. Good thing it isn't about health and safety and stuff?

I don't think many of us on this board would defend the system itself - however the ARE is not the worst part of the whole thing.  The high cost of schooling coupled with low salaries, the onerous cost (time + money) of protecting oneself in this litigious society, the lack of respect for the profession (helped along by laws that ignore architects), the length of time and onerous requirements for IDP... to me all these things are problematic.  I don't find the ARE to be that bad.  I don't know a single competent architect who wasn't able to pass the exams with only one or two failures here or there.  We only have to do it once in our careers.  Honestly you are sounding like you're trying very hard to find a societal excuse for why you didn't pass one exam.  Again, you unfortunately got screwed, given the changeover in testing.  (Although, why you didn't address this problem during the multiple years-long window where you were allowed to still continue taking 3.1 after 4.0 was introduced is beyond me.)

The comparison to medical boards is a bit absurd as the structure of the medical profession is very different than architecture.  It's not an "all-or-nothing" exam like the ARE - passing the boards is much less meaningful to the ultimate career of a doctor than the one-time, you-do-this-and-you're-considered-equal-to-every-other-architect ARE.  The score the student gets on the med boards matters.  The performance of the intern doctor throughout the years of interning & residency matters.   At each point as you go through the system you have to do well enough to make it into the better teaching hospitals to learn whatever you need to learn.  Then you have to make it into your specialty.  At each point you're being evaluated.  And yes, although you're able to be called "Dr" after passing your exams, you don't ever have custody of a patient without oversight until after your residency (years after those exams).  Every step of the way before then, every thing you do with a patient is reviewed by the resident and the attending.  For doctors, the internship process is a true one, and grueling.  So you're trying to compare apples to oranges.  The boards are not meant to be the END stage in the process, as the ARE is for architects.

Because there is nothing after the ARE for an architect, I certainly would hope that the exam has some reasonable difficulty built into it.  I'm sorry, but a kid fresh out of school today should NOT be able to pass these tests.  (Well unless you completed redesigned the school system and added a couple years onto it, neither of which I personally think is appropriate.)  So yes, I will defend the ARE.  It just isn't that bad.  No MC test on a vast subject matter will ever be that perfect, anyway.  (Although yes, as I said above the vignettes are a total joke & waste of time.)

I know "kids" who have passed these tests straight out of school with little work experience- and became licensed by age 24-25. It isn't a matter of how much you know in as much as it is how well you can study for them.

Mantaray, I agree that there are far better things to complain about (like the schooling). Some people find a way to complain no matter their situation - unemployed or working at a great office. They're going to be the same people complaining about these exams. The systems isn't great, but to be complaining about the transition from 3.1 to 4.0 which had been made a few years ago is a bit absurd. We've been warned about the transition well before it took place so it had to have been at least 4-5 years of knowing, and just now choosing to complain. Why bother?

wow manta, way to read way too much into a little joke. I don't think the ARE is that hard either. Which is why it is so funny that it has such a high fail rate.

oh I wasn't really responding to you, beccabec, but to general suppositions re: medical boards that the OP & others have used to "justify" their whining about the ARE.

And for the record I don't have a problem with working to change things that are legitimately bad, or calling a spade a spade - even if you're working in a great office, etc.  But to whine about the ARE... there are soooo many bigger fish in this field!

manta, ok, I won't take it personally then. But I think that if you want to hear complaining, that is what you will hear. I hear other things.

Huh? The non-disclosure thing is just to protect the versions of the actual exam. I'm just trying to find out why the whole thing is so nutty (to me) in the first place? Never mind relations between other nationalities Architects and US (except Canada & maybe south America)  seem to have broken down years ago. Sigh, there's always Canada, or back to blighty or just not bother.

While the non-disclosure thing does protect the exam, it also prevents it from being evaluated from neutral third-parties. Many other standardized tests in the U.S. tend to have a fair level of scrutiny involved. For instance, the SAT is one of those tests where scrutiny and third-party evaluation has lead to some major structural shifts in the test.

One interesting tidbit about the SAT was that an MIT researcher discovered that basically writing like Charles Dickens (long with utterly complex sentences) would lead to a higher score than shorter more concise essays.

Oddly enough, the SAT is the SAT Reasoning Test. So, brevity and conciseness should actually be rewarded in a test that's meant to quantify "reason." It's also been found that the SAT is culturally and intellectually biased. One could write essays about the cultural implications regarding the SAT. The intellectual part here is more important.

But since the SAT only tests for "reasoning" skills and not necessarily "analysis" or "synthesis," the actual usefulness of the test is limited and does not always show a crystal-clear image of the test taking recipient. That's essentially the problem here is that the A.R.E.— which maybe one of the most important tests to society as a whole— is shrouded in mystery.

I remember running across a few articles that the A.R.E. in the late 90s' was graded entirely by a computer using a 'mental model.' While the studies suggested a high level of similarity between computer-graded and human-graded exams, Rigid formulaic tests only produce rigid formulaic test makers, test takers and test graders. And without any competition from other rungs of academia or other organizations, there's little incentive for an organization to make sure they have the best possible exam.

The license process does not make much sense. It should be eliminated all together. Students should learn all this ARE studies and test during school and leave the school with a much better education and licensed.

@ Purpurina: "The license process does not make much sense. It should be eliminated all together. Students should learn all this ARE studies and test during school and leave the school with a much better education and licensed."

Oh, please !  Have you ever even spoken with a faculty member of any US college of architecture ? Your idea would put a MAJOR crimp in their efforts to produce pretty pictures. Not to mention that it would add another three years to the curriculum.

I think the licensing process being connected to work experience actually makes some sense, since once you have your license you can legally sign off on construction documents.  I dont know how i would feel about some 21 year old kid who might just be a little book smart legally taking responsibility for a building

that said though, the current system clearly is flawed.

Maybe it could be something like you take your exams as a final exam and way to graduate, yet you arent "licensed" until you put in a certain amount of apprenticeship time in the real world.  Though i guess that doesnt really change things all that much

Taking the exams after working for several years seems a bit off because of the time investment involved, and the lessening value of the license itself.  Though maybe i am biased because i am in the middle of the exams now and just wish they were done already

There just seems to be a bit of a disconnect with what is on the exams vs what is done in the work place.  But maybe that cant be helped or cant be standardized

As you already know, licensed architects after finish school is not science fiction, It already exists in many other countries. I know many of them. When you have a license, you are much more reponsible with things that you do, to not fuck it up. You work if necessary with other professionals, engineers, etc. And what's very interesting, is that residential design here in the (many) states, does not require a licenced architect to do it. There are folks with only high school, not even tech, that have residential "design" firms.

That's why I stand for an architectural education reform where you learn how to put buildings together in school, construction docs, codes, contracts, etc, and leave with a license.

Leaving school with a license, does not mean that you have to work on your own right the way. You can work for firms, and for the fact that you are more prepared to work on projects, buildings, that means more professional respect, and not only leaving school as a glorified cad or rhino monkey.  

You know what folks, architecture is a hard profession and school only teaches us a relatively small proportion of what we really need to know in order to practice effectively.

We may hate the word "internship" but the profession has adopted that concept because the vast majority of practitioners recognize that some - maybe more than some - actual 'real world' experience is required before a graduate is ready to fulfill the requirements and responsibilities incumbent on a licensed architect.

In the every day hustle and bustle of practice, this doesn't really exist:

Stone, only Purpurina, I think, is arguing against internship as a prerequisite for licensing; most everyone who's gone through the process realizes its importance. The problem is that the entire licensing process is too long, convoluted and expensive, largely created by people who have not had to undertake it themselves in its current form. NCARB needs to work with the NAAB to find a shorter, simplified, less expensive process. The divide between the schools and practice needs to be closed.

Won, I am in favor of internship, I think it's very important, but while student, and not necessary after graduation as a requirement for license, as we have right now. I am in favor of a more intensive school hours. Leaving time for a part time period (ex. mornings, from a second year), for internship credits during the day.

Purpurina, then we are basically saying the same thing: NCARB and the NAAB need to work together to better integrate the educational and intership processes.

From what little I have observed, the medical profession has a much more fluid, rational process towards professional licensing that better integrates education and practice.

That's correct Won.

Besides, the way that the system is laid right now, if you stumble into a recession you can pretty much say bye bye to a chance to work and fulfill those idp hours, find yourself a "mentor", have the money for paying all those fees, books, your student loans, and all the burocratic stress that comes with it.

And there is a globalised world beating at your door which means a little less mystique (point taken J. James R.) and a bit more rational stages of qualification and accreditation. 9 years is long to qualify and I think putting off taking responsibility as an architect for that long is bad for practice probably.

From my experience the gap between practice & schools here is far greater than what I expereinced in Europe. Closing the gap, or working things out a bit better between schools & practice sounds like the way to go. 

when i walked toward the testing room, i had my reading glasses in my hand. they told me i had to put them on or leave them in my locker. i put them on.

during the test, i couldn't take them off and leave them on the desk, they had to stay on my face.

luckily, they didn't find the flash cards i had hidden up my butt.

To the Windows 7 64 bit whiners:

Right click on an program icon and in one of the tabs you can set it to run in a 32 bit legacy mode. This is fairly standard practice for many design programs with firms that don't upgrade with every iteration.

To the people complaining about having to use a PC:

TFB. What are you going to do when the only firm that offers you a job uses windows? Learn to use both. It's not rocket science. The only thing holding you back on this is your own stubbornness and laziness.

To the people whining about the difficulty of the ARE:

You've either never a) worked in a real firm, b) been legally responsible for your own work, or c) have thought about why licensing is required in the first place.

Architects are licensed professionals. You are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of other people:

Will this building leak and develop toxic mold?
Can I access the stairway in an emergency?
Is this accessible with respect to ADA?
Does this building integrate all of the engineering disciplines effectively and efficiently?
Is this building responsible environmentally?

You can and most likely will be sued for at least one of the above topics. Why not learn how to defend yourself?

A good architect can do everything on the ARE in their sleep and at the same time create a stunning building. Both parts are needed, but you might want to wait on incorporating nanotechnology/ techno music/ muppets/ neural webs/ whateverthefuck into your designs until after you get past the extreme minimum requirements of competency as required by law.

Since US schools are in the can as far as professional practice is concerned, the only way you are going to pass these are either studying or working. As someone licensed in engineering and soon to be arch, consider yourselves lucky that you even have the opportunity to take the exams out of school.

And this is from someone who will only be RA and has a strong dislike of the AIA.

Careful there, Token.  What you propose would eliminate major sources of both indignation and recreation for many.

I'm comfortable with the ire that I invoke

"Architects are licensed professionals. You are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of other people:

Will this building leak and develop toxic mold?
Can I access the stairway in an emergency?
Is this accessible with respect to ADA?
Does this building integrate all of the engineering disciplines effectively and efficiently?
Is this building responsible environmentally?"

That's a very accurate, AND a truly pathetic list. 

I think a short order cook has a list of more immediate responsibilities. We don't even have to wash our hands.

Our profession is grasping at the straws. Reduce liability while increasing the entrance fee. It's as if all the rules were written by one old fartitect, who neither wants the challenge, nor competition. 

the ARE is not meant to create an architect as this forum sees it, only as your state board MINIMALLY sees it... lets try to keep the fact from the fiction here.  All of us have a different idea of what an architect is, and what they are responsible for.  The ARE testing is just one of the lifelong tests we face as professionals.  Lets not make it a big deal.  Let's not think of it as a career ender, starter, or sustainer.  A license will say something about you as a person and professional, but it is by no means a stamp of approval by the public or this forums relatively high standards.  (that's not bad, i think it's kudos to a lot of the work and discussion on a forum.)

BUT, i'm sorry, if you whine about taking a few easy tests over again, at $210 a pop, which is pennies over the life of your career, and then you decide you're too good for this profession... you know the test, the "gall" of the system to keep people of little resolve like you out, then it damn well served its purpose.

Let's stop thinking that the ARE is an assessment of our architectural capabilities.  Let's look at it as a teaching certification, or leed certification, or autodesk certification.  Something that can open doors, allow for some "cred" but by no means is a holistic assessment of who we are as professionals.

You can become a significant architectural asset without the stamp!  Wow!

And I fully acknowledge the ridiculousness of the tests, the graphic portions, the internship, blah blah blah, it all kinda sucks.  But WTF people this isn't (better not have been) the hardest thing you've had to go through?  (If I had my way, the test would be harder, no graphic portions because I think its really too difficult to assess, though I don't mind an oral or interview portion)

In my mind, at the end of the day, (with the exception of being a sole practitioner who needs the stamp), the ARE says to me: You went through all that shit?  You studied hard? You didn't give up?  You have a little grasp of how contracts and codes work?  Hmmm, sounds like you might be a quality guy.

STOP BITCHING AND COMPLAINING ABOUT THE "SYSTEM" GET OUT THERE AND MAKE IT WORK.  YOU ARE TOO TALENTED TO THINK THAT SOMEONE IS HOLDING YOU BACK.  THERE IS TOO MUCH TERRIBLE ARCHITECTURE OUT THERE THAT WAS DREAMT UP BUY SOME UNTALENTED GO-GETTER WHO PASSED THE are.

</drunken rant>  oh man, i've wanted to chew this thread out so long, just was too sober.

Lots of interesting stuff here.

Passed 8 of 9 first try in 3.1. Failed office planning, no idea why, I guess I missed a door pull or something. No biggie, passed it on 2nd try.

The tests are largely cruel and unusual punishment, but hey, you want to play then sharpen that pencil and get to it. A lot of stuff they test you on is useful, a lot is not.

Passing the ARE and becoming an RA was a very proud moment in my life, but that's old news. Next steps to follow. It's a big deal, but using that stamp and producing a built legacy that I can be proud of is a bigger deal. The RA is just a ticket for admission.

I feel bad for you OP and understand your frustration. Did you fail the 6 part graphic one in 3.1? If so, then it's a HUGE screw job and I would personally be in favor of having that ONE test continue in 4.0 as an alt completion to 3.1 transitions as it basically made you retake half the damn tests if you fail one test.

Still I reject the idea that this isn't important at all. There is some basic competency that is covered that is largely life safety stuff. To play in the big leagues you have to know the basics.

$210 per test x 7 sounds expensive, and when you take the pass rate into consideration, its comes out to about $2k.

To put things into perspective, that pottery or sex ed elective you took once or 2x a week costs you about $1200-1500 per credit hour x 3. Yet, those bitching about the 2k it takes to become a professional were probably the ones who couldn't wait to slack their schedule with these bs electives throughout college.

I took the ARE back in 2005 passed all section in 9 months, never failed one section.  How? Quit my job and focused on just the exams.  It was the most difficult task I ever took on in my life, waiting for those results in the mail was the most nerve racking time of me and my then fiance's life!  Studying on my own, never in a group, never took any advice and shut out everyone in the profession to accomplish my goal. I did nothing but study for that entire period!  I found that a "hive" mentality was not good when approaching a task such as professional licensure examination, because you can easily intertwine opinions with facts, <- other people's not your own.  You know what we did when we got that last result in the mail? We celebrated! We jumped up and down, cheered and had a wonderful dinner at a fancy restaurant! 
 Soon after I finished the ARE and got my license I started a small practice got some clients, a small office space and moved all my "architect stuff" out of our second bedroom.  After a few years of practicing I quickly learned a large flaw in our practice. Architects are worthless on the totem pole of the building profession.  No matter how bright, no matter how quick, no matter how good, its who you know.  Period.  If who you know likes his money, he'll like his realtor more than he'll like you : that realtor will make more money than you.  If you do larger institutional work, get ready to get squeezed and work harder for less.  If you do commercial get ready to work faster, be on the phone with a contractor more, make more site visits than you will EVER be paid for.  Get ready to get screwed by consultants and have to fight for work you paid for, get ready to argue with building officials who are well, we know.  Get ready for a dose of reality. 
All the while pay your student loans, AIA dues at over $680 per year, NCARB, continuing education haunting you (free or pay for it at last minute), insurance, rent, your business license at state, county and city level,  ditto that for your own self too, add to that another license you might have in another state or territory, alarm permit, fire permit, fire extinguisher tags, phone, internet, accounting expenses, oh the list goes on and on... Its not that it isn't doable in a good economy its that it is exhausting and ridiculous to support all of this when you put so much work into doing just that: supporting it.  The last one to get paid is you, if at all.  The realtor gets paid for doing JACK SH*T, they get MORE than you do.  Even when they sell what you design, even when they RENT what you design and created from NOTHING!  
All you older guys who have been around for years look down at us (20s and 30s) and say, you don't work hard enough, you didn't charge enough, you don't know what you’re doing... Well gentlemen I beg to differ.  I came from NOTHING, got in debt to be what I am on earth to do. Can probably do it better than most. I got into three of the most prestigious programs on earth for what they teach, and have passed the ARE you all could not pass today if you had to do so.  I can pro-forma, plan, coordinate, manage, draft, design, model, sell, bullshit, present in public, present to city councils, teach, build models, sketch by hand, I can hand draft, etc... All of that meaningless.
Meaningful --> I managed to get married, have two wonderful kids and am happy doing what I do now.  All of it earned, I made my bones thank you very much.  
Obviously my story is entirely due to the economy we are in, as all my clients said, if only we could have worked together when things were starting up!  But thats not the case, so with all my skills and education I started a new direction in my life.  My wife and I started www.sketchtoform.com and we are NEVER looking back.  I love Architecture and I truly enjoy coming on this board and reading about what is going on and this story really spoke to me. 
Original Poster, finish the exam go do something else and shut the hell up.  Man up!  As someone else said here this profession needs more men and women to KICKASS and take names (ok I took some creative liberty on that)!  Stop idolizing, stop glorifying, stop deifying, and start believing in what you can do that is why you are training to just do! 
This economy crushed our path, but it didn’t crush us.  I am going to get freaky on this economy and the opportunities that my skills afford me until I pay off all of my debt and regain my liberty : just like the rest of you.  I am a firm believer that we’ll have a rebirth when all the dead weight falls out of the AIA and NCARB boards, we’ll have an awesome profession at our disposal when we are older and grey.  I’m cool with that, but I hope you (original post) is cool with that too, because if you don’t take that last exam you’ll have regrets at the point you decided to pull the rip cord and bail on our profession.  

Yet, those bitching about the 2k it takes to become a professional were probably the ones who couldn't wait to slack their schedule with these bs electives throughout college.
 

well thats not fair...mommy and daddy paid for pottery class, so that doesnt count

Sketchtoform:

I love your post and congratulate you on all you have accomplished.  As well, its a HARD decision to switch gears in order to meet financial realities.  

I'm making a similar transition.  Its not because I lake spine or dedication... in fact it takes a lot of spine, dedication and resolve to start a new business!

I myself passed all the MC exams in my first year out of school, but I was also  working and teaching during that period. That was a tremendous amount of energy.  I took BT twice and although I passed all the sections between the two exams, I made mistakes I don't even know what they are but I don't think that is an indictment of my dedication or how hard I applied myself.  I didn't want to take time away from complex projects to restudy for those exams.. as well, if you are making decent money, you also suffer a sizable opportunity cost studying for the exams!

And I like your advice, once I am back in the black I could see taking the tests with less stress as my livelihood will not be dependent on passing them.  But I'm not wagering on passing a broken video game to become legitimate when there is a recession and I need to provide for more than just myself. Anyone who sees that as a lack of resolve is goddamn idiot. 

I love architecture and I even made it into knowing those people that had the money, and they paid reasonably well for my services, because I refused to do work "because it will be good for my portfolio."  I straight up told customers I charged real money for my services because it is hard work and I was good at it. (always could be better!)

Good luck with the business!  And thanks for the honest contribution to the discussion

P

While I sympathize with your situation, keep in mind that just because you spent a lot of time doing something doesn't mean that you have earned something. It's the end result that counts.

Sorry to hear about your problems with the ARE and the switch to 4.0 format... I started the exams in 4.0 so haven't had to deal with this... 

Yeah, it's pretty expensive... When you take into account the study materials also...

But another way to look at this is, it's professional development.  The course of studying for these exams is a way of reviewing material and covering your bases on a number of topics not emphasized that much in school... And the  study materials, they are useful, later on even, as reference books while working... Like the MEEB book and architects handbook of professional practice, the AIA contracts etc., you can binder them up and keep em on your shelf and refer back to them later if you need a refresher... Also it forces you to document things like ADA dimensions... Memorize that stuff and have an ANSI book in a binder that you can reference later also... And the things concerning practice and what is in the AIA contracts and professional responsibilities etc. For a young professional out of school, knowing about different kinds of insurance, or what is the owner's responsibility, vs. the contractor or vs. the architect: these might have been covered in professional practice classes, but they are not emphasized in school and are typically learned while on the job...

On the other hand, the license isn't even that important in your career unless you want to practice on your own... Like any professional program, exams, etc. prep and fees add up, but nobody is forcing you to finish it, it's not even essential to practice... IMHO there are plenty of really great architects *yes I called them architects* :P who never get licensed but who have successful careers in the field... Licensure is not a requirement, any more than LEED or whatever...

You can always partner with other licensed architects and you're just not the guy stamping the thing... Different people have different strengths... You don't need a license to be a strictly design architect, just to stamp drawings and to submit for a building permit... There are guys I know who are way more technical, know a hella lot about practice, have 20 plus years of practice at alot of good firms, who never bothered to get licensed and they are the guys even licensed architects in the office go to for advice and technical and practical knowledge about construction, processes, code interpretation, detailing, coordination of MEP, etc.

It's just something to stick on the belt, like a degree or whatever else...

I don't recall what the timeline is for a certified professional accountant exam sequence is, but I think it is actually even much faster, and more pass or fail... Something like 6 months to finish 4 exams and if you don't pass them in time you have to start over... So it's not like architects are alone in having the expensive hurdles to jump through to get a piece of paper and a rubber stamp...

Oh actually, CPA is 4 exams and you have 18 months to pass them all...

You can take it again any time within the 18 months if you miss one...

Got a question for those who used Kaplan books to prepare for tests.  When taking practice tests what is the approximate percentage of correct answers you should aim for (except 100% of course) and consider yourself ready to take a test?  Are we talking about somewhere in the 90's or some other number.   I know it is not an exact science with ARE's but it would would help me out a great deal to have some idea where I am at.  Thanks for any info.

And I will not believe you if you say you got them all correct  :)

i was averaging 50-60% and passed all the tests.  my husband blew me out of the water--80-95% every time, that freak.  he passed 5 and has 2 to go.

Thanks elinor.  That helps a lot. 

Same thing happened to me with Site Design. 

Creative people are always annoyed by beaurocratic shit but- 

If you still have time...nail that last one and then kick it to the curb.

You may want the insurance later.