If you’re like me, you probably grew up going to classes Monday's through Friday's from 7:30am to 2:45pm. I remember dreading school because I hated feeling “less educated” compared to my peers. Yeah, I was a terrible test taker. Test-taking was never my strong suit, I thought I had no actual talent. I started high school and started to take some hands-on courses including architectural drafting, woodworking and auto body, things that my 4.0 GPA friends could never do. I started to realize that I was actually really good at designing and making things but since my grades were not as strong as others that I would get nowhere in life. This was until Woodbury University accepted me into their school based on the portfolio I was able to put together that I finally had the chance to do what I wanted to do, they gave me a chance. 

This really got me thinking, if college acceptances were only based on whether you were a straight-A student or if you were ASB president, where do all the design based and hands-on people go? I hate that to be able to obtain an architecture license that one has to pass the NCARB test. If we just based our ability to become a licensed architect on our portfolios and the projects and talents we acquired through the years that should be enough. I could be the best architect in the world and still hate the thought of taking a test in order to legally call myself an “architect”. All I’m saying is that the NCARB test is really just a test of approval, you can be a great designer  without taking a test.