LEED AP Exam - Afterthoughts and Information
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by Matt Kiszka on 06/03/2009
Tags: Credtialing, Green Building Certification, LEED AP Exam, Studying Techniques, Tips
Tips and information on the LEED AP exam and what you need to do to pass
I was beginning to think this day would never come, but I did it! All the time I've spent over the last few months knee-deep in the LEED for New Construction Reference Guide has paid off, and last Friday I passed my LEED AP exam. It took a lot of dedication to get there, and if you're currently preparing yourself to do the same, please read on, and hopefully I can impart some good advice that will help you earn accreditation.
Passing the exam is no walk in the park, but luckily there are a lot of great resources out there that will help you plow through the mounds of codes, standards, requirements, intents, technologies, synergies, references, and definitions that they'll throw at you (of which you'll need to make sure nothing makes it past - seriously). After you've read through the Reference Guide, which I would recommend, you can then attempt to learn everything through a number of handy summaries and study tools.
My personal favorites were:
- LEED Visual - a lot of people are visual learners rather than studiers who can sit there with hundreds of pages of text and absorb it all. I found this website was valuable in helping me cover everything without information overload or confusion. I really wish I'd come across it sooner than the night before my exam.
- In the LEED - this website has a lot of resources and links throughout, and Pat Flynn, the LEED AP who has prepared all the material has gone to great lengths to ensure that those studying for the exam have everything available in order to pass in style. I couldn't have done it without his site.
- The USGBC's and GBCI's informational resources. Know about the submittal process, know about LEED in general, and when each type of Rating System needs to be applied over another.
- AREForum - this forum is great for finding answers to the many questions that you will inevitably have but which the Reference Guide is simply not going to be of help (specifics about the exam, studying techniques, etc.). Lots of people who have taken the test (and not all passed) have posted to this and given good guidance on what to do and not do.
Above all else, the greatest resource that you will have at your disposal is time. Give yourself a lot of it, and cover all the materials again and again. I read the book once and went through the credits and everything else I needed to know a good three times, and in detail. Also, take practice exams and lots of them - they'll really help orient you to the style of the exam and how the questions will be worded. Other than that, I would say that taking previous studying techniques you've used and had success with and applying them just the same to how you study for the LEED AP exam is the best overall strategy for everyone.
A good piece of advice I came across when hunting for studying tips was to take a good long walk on the day of your exam to help relieve some of the stress you'll probably be feeling and calm your mind. You'll have so much information swimming around in your head that this can truly benefit you more than any other form of last minute preparation.
Once you get in the exam, try to relax, and use the 10-minute introduction to the computer system (99% of people shouldn't need to take this but you still have the time itself available) to do a memory dump - get everything down on paper. I built out the credit breakdowns and %'s and codes and standards as much as I could, and then filled them out as I progressed through the exam. This helped a lot when having to answer questions about how different design, technology or product decisions would affect differing credits spread across the LEED spectrum - such that I had a summary of the entire system down on paper rather than having to constantly isolate and recall what each credit required in relation to another one. Of course, that's personal preference and I'm sure you'll find your own method.
To register for the LEED AP exam, go here to get started.
And good luck! ~Matt
Matt Kiszka is the Green Building Project Manager for Renewable Choice.
