Procrastinating scheduling the exam because you’re afraid you won’t pass? Read this.

Dear community, Remember that you can answer incorrectly on one-third of the test items and still pass the exam. Architects’ exam divisions are less expensive and have a more flexible retake policy than any other professional exam I know of. A failed test is not like a car accident….its like a parking ticket. There’s a type of perfectionist that can let doubt get in their own way, and the world has a word for that type of perfectionist: “architect.” Be aggressive in your test scheduling and go easy on yourself if you don’t pass a division. If your scaled score is at least a 505, know that you studied correctly and took a worthwhile calculated risk by booking the exam…hopefully you’ll get a set of questions in your retake that more closely aligns with your work experience, what you remember from school, and the content you studied, including the content you studied in the 60-day retake window. Provided you earned a score of at least a 505, don’t wait any longer to retake than you absolutely are required to because you’ll forget content, lose momentum, get married, need to take care of a sick in-law, get busy at work, or break a toe. Don’t postpone your third attempt for that 12-month rule….provided you’re not missing a pass by much, and given that we all forget what we studied six months ago, why would attempting in January, March, and November ever put you in a better position to get licensed quickly than attempting in January, March, and May? Either way your fourth attempt is next January so what reason do you have to put off your third attempt based on the availability of your fourth one? On average, at every level of experience, architects with a license earn an additional $6,000 per year. So, on average, every month you put this off you’re losing $500. We’re a monthly subscription so we make more money from uncertainty, procrastination, and fear-of-failure that prompts emerging professionals to put off these exams….but we don’t think that way because we’re educators by nature (not business people) and we want you to get licensed. Now. Everyone on the fence, go schedule your exams now and spend your prep time joyfully taking ownership of content by learning rather than wasting time reading about testing strategies like this post offers. In the time it took you to read this, I could have taught you how roof membranes attach to a parapet wall. Don’t tell anyone that you have a test on the calendar so you don’t have to worry about disappointing anyone if you don’t pass. Again, a fail is not a car accident, it’s a parking ticket. We’re rooting for you. —Michael Ermann, Amber Book Creator