For the past year I have been rigorously studying
for a professional certification exam. The exam is the Comprehensive AICP
exam for Urban Planners to become certified in the planning profession.
My interest in becoming certified began about a
year ago (Feb 2012). I wanted to challenge myself and further my
career. The exam is offered twice a year in May and November. In my
researching the exam, and how to begin the preparation to take the May 2012 in
particular, I realized that I had missed the deadline for applications.
Dern!
However, I could still apply for the November 2012
exam window. Great! Then in the excitement of taking on this
new challenge I decided to spend $200 on a online study course, not realizing
that the course finishes before the May exam. Ah! Therefore, I was
basically cramming from March-May trying to get all the information I could
derive from the online course before it closed. Which by the way, was a
great resource. If there is anyone out there reading this blog (doubt
it) AND considering taking the AICP exam (probably even less likely) you should
sign up for the Planetizen AICP study course. There are video sessions,
an active messaging board, the Planetizen staff responds to questions promptly
and provides lots of support.
Between May and June I was spending my time
collecting necessary documents and forming my exam application. The
application in itself was a true test of how serious you are about becoming a
certified planner. There were essay questions, minimum professional experience
requirements and letters of recommendations. Thankfully I had a great team of
friends and colleagues supporting my through the application process. Not
only did you have to apply by June for the November exam you had to pay the
application and exam fees when you submit your application... $495, ouch
that one hurt a little bit. I made the application deadline and then played the
waiting game.
Even though I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take
the exam yet, I was so excited that I still studied off and on, and purchased
the necessary textbooks ($245!) finally on August 18th, I received the email
confirming that my application was accepted and I could indeed *try* to pass
the AICP exam in November of 2012!! I was ecstatic to say the
least. We celebrated that email as if I had already passed the
exam. It was nice to know that all my hard work was recognized and that I
am qualified to become a certified planner.
Now it's time to get down to business. During
the 6 months I was preparing to apply and study for the exam I did a lot of
reading on blogs, websites, including the planning.org site, about what the exam
was going to be like, and what to expect. Only a 64% pass rate, 1000
questions worth of information but they only ask you 170 during the exam.
Of those 170 exam questions 20 of them are just questions the exam committee is
testing out to see if they want to include them on the next year’s exam.
Of course they don’t let you know which of the 170 are going to be the 20 that
you are not graded on. That’s how they getcha. Most people I
conversed with regarding the exam were on their second and third attempts.
If you don’t pass in November, you can pay a lesser fee to retake it in May and
so on. I DID NOT WANT TO TAKE THIS THING MORE THAN ONCE.
Between early September and November 10th (my
exam date) I took every fee hour to study. I was reading all the
textbooks cover to cover, taking notes, re-reading notes from the Planetizen
course, recording myself reading and playing it back, AND creating some 500
flashcards. By the way, if you are still reading this and plan on
taking the AICP exam I will more than gladly share my notes or other materials.
However, I recommend doing it on your own because flipping through someone
else’s notes you really don’t retain as much information as you would if you
created the notes yourself. I also recommend the Planningprep.com website
because it is *FREE* and they have hundreds of practice questions where you can
get immediate feedback. They even explain the answers and offer links to
the topic resources.
The scheduling of the
exam was a whole other process. You had to wait for the testing company
to send you an authorization code that is unique to you. Once you have
this code you have to find a testing center where you’d like to take the
exam. I didn’t receive my code until a month out from the exam window.
My only options were (Seattle 4 hours away or Spokane 2.5 hours away). I
chose Spokane so we could stay at Northern Quest Resort & Casino! (I
will blog about this wonderful place another time). The exam window was
around 4 weeks November 1- 26th or something like that. I
chose November 10th. I was very anxious to get this thing over with
as soon as possible.
I have to mention my
support system again, because you guys are great:
- In the weeks leading up to the exam best friend took me out hiking and she would quiz me with my flashcards. & an impromptu session with a psychic who read my cards and predicted that I would pass the exam, among other things. (I will blog about the psychic reading soon!)
- My boyfriend who happens to know a thing or two about planning would answer my very random questions about permitting, subdivisions or other planning topics that I don’t deal with on a daily basis.
- And my state Professional Development Officer (PDO) sent all Washington applicants an email so we could start study groups. All of us were located a few hours apart so we made a study outline and shared information via email. I think that worked out pretty good for everyone.
The week leading up to
the exam was very stressful. As you would expect, I was anxious and
nervous. What if I didn’t prepare enough, what if I spent too much time
studying a topic that wouldn’t end up on the exam at all, what if I get asked
questions that I literally had no clue how to answer? What if I fail?
Friday night we stayed
at Northern Quest Casino, had a quiet dinner and I allowed myself to have a
glass of wine to help me relax. I used the hotel computer to go through
some practice exams again and went to bed as early as I could get my thoughts
to settle. I woke up multiple times throughout the night worrying that my
three separate alarms weren’t going to go off and I’d miss the exam. I
left with ample time to get lost, cause I’d never been to the testing center
before, and I am not too familiar with the City of Spokane. I used my
phone navigation to get me there, but I had printed map quest directions, just
in case.
Needless to say I was
over prepared and over dramatizing the whole thing (I’m a girl, that’s what we
do.) Anyway, the day of the exam I actually ate as if I was about to run
one of my half-marathons (another topic I will blog about later) which includes
a banana, a raisin muffin with peanut butter, a Red Bull and a Gatorade.
I didn’t want to fill up too much because I knew that they would track your
bathroom use, and you’d have to get wanded going in and out of the exam room
like you are a criminal entering a courtroom. TMI warning- none of that
mattered, I was so worked up about the exam I made myself sick. Had to
use the bathroom multiple times, and I think the facilitator thought I was
cheating because she came into the bathroom looking for me.
(Embarrassing)
All of the drama and
excitement leading up to the exam paid off. I PASSED! I made the
facilitator double check that I did indeed pass, and she handed me a print off
with signature and raised stamp to prove that I passed.
Phew. Now it’s
time to celebrate- well sort of. We did celebrate the completion of the
exam and had a great rest of the weekend. However, the way the AICP certification
works is that after the testing window closes they will begin to review all the
exams to make sure there were no glitches and then they begin the process of
sending you a formal notification and such letting those who passed know they
have to pay more money (of course) to become an AICP member. The weeks
between the November 10th exam day and when I received my official
certification letter, January 31st were hard weeks for me. I
had passed the exam according to the testing center, but it wasn’t “official”
until you received the letter in the mail. Also, I wasn’t allowed to put
the AICP acronym behind my name yet, so I couldn’t share and celebrate with
many people. SO MANY RULES!
Let's talk about regrets:
- I regret spending too much time studying and not enough of it keeping my body & soul in balance. I constantly skipped Bikram Yoga classes (my favorite!) I ate poorly because I was always in "study mode" and old habit die hard. My focus was on the exam and not on my life as a whole. Would the 20lbs I gained studying be worth it if I hadn't passed? The answer is NO! You have to keep a balanced life, regardless of what your goal is for that year, you have to keep yourself healthy.
- I also regret not asking my work to help pay for the exam. Over all I spent $1160 on application fees, study materials, and even more if you count the hotel and travel accommodations to take the exam in Spokane. And I will continue to pay for my AICP membership out of my own pocket.
- In regards to studying I regret not utilizing the PlanningPrep practice exams more. I should've spent more time taking practice exams instead of reading textbooks. Although, I guess if I passed I must've done something right.
- Lastly, I regret not blogging about the whole experience here. This is a really long post, as you know, and I could've been documenting everything over the course of the year.
As you know, I received
the letter confirming my certification; I sent the prorated membership fee and
can now use the AICP acronym!! Almost a year after I decided to take the
exam and further my career I am here reporting that I was successful!
It feels great sharing my experience with the world and
hopefully you are celebrating with me in some way. I can’t help but
wonder, what will I challenge myself with next? Stay tuned…
Cheers!
