I’m sorry it took a little while to post the results of my test this morning. I was out getting lunch with my Dad…to celebrate! That’s right, I passed!
I’m so relieved that it’s finally over and I can get back to my normal life again, but honestly all of the studying really paid off. I scored a 185 which was the result of an average 80-85% in each of the 4 categories tested. I’m pretty happy with that. My lowest scored category, however, was in the Knowledge of LEED Credit Intents and Requirements section in which I only scored a 76%. This was a definite surprise to me since I thought I knew the LEED credits like the back of my hand. I am notorious for being a bad multiple-choice test taker (I tend to think too much and perform reverse psychology on myself) so maybe that had something to do with it.
The test questions were definitely NOT straightforward. A lot were very wordy and you really had to focus and take a closer look while reading the questions to determine exactly what they were looking for. I would compare them to be most similar to the sample questions on the greenexamprep.com website and the Colorado Chapter Study Guide . I’m not really one for endorsing products, but I must say the greenexamprep.com tests helped me out A TON. The test questions on there are very tough and nit-picky, but they are good at preparing you for test and for things that aren’t exactly said straight-out in any guides. Plus, the tests are taken on the computer exactly like on test day – and you get 4 different tests with different questions to take as many times as you like for a certain amount of days. I’ve heard lots mixed reviews about the greenexamprep.com tests – but they get a thumbs up from me.
photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik
Based on the GCBI LEED AP Handbook, I’m not really allowed to post any test questions or content I’ve seen here. I will give you some of the topics that I believe "I should of studied more of." (*wink) Note: I have no clue how many versions of the test there are or if the following "topics I should of studied more of" are covered in each. This is just my opinion (in no particular order):
- The Registration process
- The CIR process
- Commissioning (EA P1 and EA P3 )
- Synergies between Stormwater credits (SS 6.1 & SS 6.2 ) and Construction Activity Pollution (SS P1 )
- Relations between Stormwater credits (SS 6.1 & SS 6.2 ), Site Development credits (SS 5.1 & SS 5.2 ) and Heat Island Effect (SS 7.1 & SS 7.2 )
- Energy Performance Credits (EA P2 & EA 1 ) – very important
- Environmental Quality Construction Management credits (EQ 3.1 & EQ 3.2 )
- Environmental Quality 4-series (EQ 4.1 , EQ 4.2 , EQ 4.3 & EQ 4.4 )
- Water Efficiency Plumbing Fixture Calculations
- ASHRAE!
- Decision Makers for different credits
- The ID Credits and their thresholds
- Project Administrator Duties (I didn’t know squat about this.) *UPDATE: Thanks to Binu for finding this link that may help with figuring out project admin duties.
I kept the braindump below from when I started studying back in January-ish. I put it here for you because it sums of a lot of good information that I found to be true after taking the test. Again, this isn’t mine (I think it’s from a guy named TAD) – but it’s here for your use:
TestBrainDump - TAD.pdf (34,302 downloads)
A few last things to consider after taking the Exam:
- Make sure you put the correct address into Google Maps. I got lost on the way to the exam this morning.
- You get a locker to empty your pockets into before the exam. Make sure you bring your ID.
- You will be videotaped the entire time (or at least I was) during the exam by prometric. Think twice before cheating (and picking your nose).
- At my testing facility, I had the option at any time during the exam to wear these orange sound-deadening earmuffs . I think I looked pretty cool.
- After sitting at your computer before you start, take a deep breath and relax. You got this!
Lastly, I just wanted to thank you all for your help. Your encouragement and involvement with INTHELEED has kept me studying hard and wanting to figure out a way to neatly organize this fairly dense LEED information – for myself and for you. Thank you for back-checking the material on the website and being open to communication with me and other’s in the community. Be sure that I’m not done with the website and I’ll be posting new things as I figure them out or you suggest them to me. Architectural License? We’ll see…
Much Love – Best of Luck – and Cheers!
-Pat (webmaster@greenexamacademy.com )
p.s. any questions? leave a comment
524 Comments On This Post
Congratulations, Pat!
We wouldn’t have expected anything else.
PS – did you do a pre-exam brain dump?
If so, what did you jot down?
WAY TOO GO PAT….
Nice Score!!!!
I’ve been following your blog since it’s creation and i’ve enjoyed it. I take my test for the second time on Friday, hope to blow it out of the water this time.
Congratulations!
Could you tell us how long each day you dedicated to studying? I am taking the exam in 2.5 weeks and have read (but not memorized) most of the reference guide. I am considering postponing the test…after seeing how extensive these questions are.
To Adam:
Thanks man! I did do a pre-exam braindump. I’ll post that next sometime tomorrow. I wasn’t allowed to take my scartch paper out of the testing facility so I’ll have to do it again. It was a lot smaller (and messier) than the practice ones I did at home before the test. I guess I was a bit nervous and couldn’t jot everything down. Check back tomorrow =)
To Vincent:
Hey Thanks for following my blog and I’m glad you enjoy it. I’m trying to make the incredibly dense material a little bit more fun and easier for people to get through. Good luck on your test friday. Just breath and relax and you’ll definitely blow it out of the water.
To Katia:
Thanks! Well, starting in January I opened the reference book for the first time. With about a month to go I made sure I put about 3 hours each day for studying – and this doesn’t include time spent on the website which also helped me as well. Maybe I went a little overboard, but i think it payed off. I was planning on taking it in February, but for the same reasons as you are thinking, I postponed it until March 1st, then again postponed it until March 3rd (because I thought Monday would be a better day after having the weekend to go hardcore). I only paid the postponing fee (30 bucks) once though because I hadn’t signed up yet when I decided to switch it to March 1st. Good luck!
Congratulations Pat!
I am sure it is a relief to be done with the exam.
Thanks again for taking the time to organize all this information. It is very helpful.
Do you have any idea where to look up info for the Project AdministratorDuties?
Hey Rw,
Thanks! Yes it is a great relief. I kind of feel like I’m supposed to study something tonight. It’s a weird feeling.
Anyways, It’s my pleasure to make this website. It’s fun and I’m learning a lot about blogging and the internet and such. I’m thinking about starting another one soon.
As far as Project Administrator Duties, I’m not sure where I can get that information. My best bet would be to ask a LEED AP who has done a project or two. It would of been helpful too if I has gotten access to LEED Online for a real project to see how the credit templates and stuff work. Then maybe I’d fully understand it. Let me know if you (or anybody) has found any information.
=)
Congratulations, Pat!
Well I also did my exam on Sunday and I want to thank you for your website which helped me alot. I spent only 5 days straight before the exam but did not have time to do any mock exams. well I scored only 161 which was not too bad for the effort I spent although I did study hard. But I guess the reason was the fact that 70% of the questions were very tricky.
Congratulations again, you deserve it!
I wanted to let you know I found your site on Sunday morning as I was preparing to take this test yesterday morning. It took my a while going through every page to realize we’d be taking it at the exact same time. Anyway, I passed with a similar 183 thanks in part to your site and the practice tests on the ARE forum FTP.
Hey Marc,
Congratulations on passing the exam! I’m glad I helped you out as much as I could.
Congratulations!!!
I’m just starting to study, and found your blog yesterday while you might have been taking the exam. I’m happy that you passed, though it looked like it wasn’t easy. I’m preparing by myself, did you ever take workshops, virtual classes or anything like that?
Again, congratulations and thanks for keeping this blog up.
Hi El Chato Heston,
Thanks! I’m so relieved that it’s over. All of the studying really helped andeven then the test wasn’t easy as pie. I actually took an introductory LEED course that was sponsored by a local engineering firm. I had already studied for a couple of weeks when this happened, and honestly – it was like a review of everything that I had already read by then – and I didn’t find it any more useful than just cracking down on some study guides. If you are just starting out though, and have the opportunity to take a class or workshop – it would never hurt.
Good luck on your studies, let me know how it’s going or if you have any questions.
Pat,
Your website is extremely helpful in studying for LEED. I was wondering if you had actually job experience with LEED or if you just learned the material from books. Congrats on passing the test. I hope to say the same thing next month.
Crissy,
I’m glad the website is proving to be helpful to you. I have yet to work on an actual LEED project in my life – although I hope I will be able to very soon now that I’m a LEED AP. I learned all the material from the reference guide, various study guides and various practice exams. This being said, I think that if I had access to the LEED Online system (the method and platform that buildings and projects become leed certified) it would of helped tremendously. Good luck Crissy! Let me know how you’re progressing or if you have any questions!
Pat,
again thanks for the website!!!
I passed, not blowing it out of the water but passing. Your website SURE helped!
Keep up the great work..
Hey Pat, thanks for the site! I’m testing Friday and was looking to see if you had rewritten your pre-test brain dump…
To Vincent:
Congratulations! I’m glad I could be of some help to you! =)
To Amber:
Ahh yes, the pre-test brain dump. I must have overlooked that, thank you. I will post something about it either tonight or tomorrow. Check back for it. Good luck on Friday!
add my thanks to the bunch too. landscape architect, scored 162 yesterday and powering up to take it again in a month. mini-dump–i’m sure i missed a good one about renewable materials–gave $$$ with ea/$1,000,000.00 budget and then asked you which one (of five) you should add in order to get the credit. i choose cotton batt insulation ‘casue i was totally sure about it, but i was suspicious about the value of it–i should’ve picked wool (i wasn’t sure if wool ws renewable…dumb!), and had a higher value to…i think, get you over the 2.5% budget. so anyway, hope your site gets my brain in gear next time!
Pat,
Thanks for all you info, links, etc. I took the NC test on Saturday and passed. Your blog was a huge help. Thanks
Hey guyz, I passed the test today ! Thanks for the help.
Nik
Pat-
I’ve studied some and took a quasi open book test on the http://www.greenexamprep.com/ website- yikes those questions are DETAILED!! What is your opinion towards the real test vs. the greenexamprep questions?
Thanks in advance.
Deanna
Hey Pat ~
I’m about to take the exam in a few days, and I just have a quick question.
For questions where you have to choose multiple answers, does the question tell you how many answers you’re supposed to pick, similar to the greenexamprep tests? or do they just kind of make you guess….?
thanks, and again, congrats on passing!
~ debby
To Deanna:
My opinion is that the greenexamprep questions are just a little bit harder than the real exam, but they have questions focused on the same topics that are covered more on the real exam. I’ve seen it many times where people are scoring 70-80% on the greenexamprep tests and score in the 90% range on the real exam. I think they prepare you for the worst, which is always a good thing =)
Good luck on your test!
To Debby-
The real exam will tell you how many answers will be needed – thankfully! If you don’t answer the correct amount, it’ll tell you at the end of the test and you can go back. If you answer too many, it will tell you right away. I’d be so freaked out if I didn’t know how many answers were correct!
Thanks again and good luck on your test – let us know how you did!
hi pat ~
thanks for answering my last question – makes me feel a lot better!
a few more questions on what happens during the real exam:::
will we have a visible countdown timer of some sort when we start the exam, or should I bring a watch to keep track of my own time?
also, are we allowed to have a calculator during the exam (either our own or provided)? did you encounter any calculations during your exam, and if you did, how hard were they?
2.5 days until my own exam – eep!
thanks in advance! ~ debby
debby-
No problem, i’m always happy to help out future LEED APers. Your questions are very good and I’m sure many others are wondering the same things:
During the exam, you’ll see a timer on the upper right-hand corner of your screen. It’s a little scary because it’s a countdown timer, and it stressed me out during the initial tutorial, when I was writing my pre-test braindump. So to answer your question, you don’t need to bring a watch or timer of your own.
Also, in my exam, I asked if I could use a calculator – and I was denied. I did encounter calculations during the exam, although they were very simple and are usually friendly so you aren’t stressing about the actual number (i.e. they used 1,000,000 SF for a site area, so calculating percentages, for example, would be really easy). This being said, I’ve heard of some testing centers that actually provide a calculator to some of their test takers, so my advice is, just ask knowing that you probably will not be able to use one, and if you do – well, it’s your lucky day!
Good luck and keep us posted on how you do!
Hey pat,
I took my test over the weekend and i have failed it. I missed it by 1 point. So i went back to study again. here is a question i could not find the correct answer for, and this question has appear in the LEED test i took and on the practice tests. it would be great if you can help me on this.
For MRc7:Certified Wood.
The requirement ask to use minimum of 50% of wood materials and products certified in accordance with FSC. Is the 50% base on the costs of CFC wood as percentage of total ALL NEW WOOD product or ALL WOOD (including recycle or salvage wood) products used in project?
thanks for your help.
Ron
hey thanks for this all the tips on this website – and also the links- I just passed my exam this morning with a 189.
- Komal
hey Pat!!
as of 10:52 am on this very wonderful monday – I AM A LEED ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL!!
187!!! =D
I just want to say THANK YOU for creating such a wonderful website, and for all of your help answering my random little questions.
oh, and to Ron, since it looks like Pat hasn’t had a chance to get back to you yet ~ I actually got that exact same question on my exam. MR 7 only applies to NEW wood products, not recycled or salvaged, since I think it would be nearly impossible to get Chain-of-Custody documents for salvaged/recycled wood products.
good luck on your next try!!
and again, THANK YOU PAT!
~ debby
To Ron:
I’m sorry to hear that 1 point miss. I’m sure next time around you’ll score much much higher! Regarding your question about Certified Wood, Debby is correct – MR7 only applies to NEW wood products, not recycled, refurbished or salvaged wood. Let me know if you have any more questions – I or anyone I’m sure would be happy to help.
To Komal:
Congratulations on becoming a LEED AP! It’s my pleasure to help =) So what is next for you? Are you planning on working on any LEED projects in the near future?
To Debby:
Woohoo! Congratulations to you as well! I’m so glad I helped you out as much as I could. It sounds like you deinitely knew what you were doing on the exam! Best of luck to you and your future endeavors =)
Happy Monday! Cheers!
Pat-
I asked this elsewhere, but how did you choose which of the exam tracks to get the LEED AP certification in & why? Most of my interest is the NC track, but most of my real world application would be in EB or CI. Is one easier than the other? Anyone taken both? Do I study the same book as the NC but with just different questions in the specific “track”? You or anyone else have advice?
Dan-
Sorry, I must have overlooked your question before, my apologies.
I chose NC because I am actually working on mostly New Construction buildings. I do realize that most of the real world applications for LEED would be in EB or CI – but NC, i believe, covers more information. So If you know NC, you know pretty much CI and EB also, with some minor differences between each of them. I’m not sure if one is “easier” than the other – but my feeling is that since NC is the most popular, it’s definitely easier to find good study materials for it. There are some new CI specific materials on the market, but definitely not as much as NC. There are separate reference guides for each, so if you’d like to go down a different track, that would be the way to go. Then you can compare which credits are the same and then be able to differentiate the two, which may come in handy in the future.
Remember if you pass any one of the tracks, you are LEED AP for all LEED tracks. I hope this helps you Dan.
Good luck!
Hey i cleared yesterday with a score of 185.. i started studyin one month back and followed this website thoroughly.. thanks a lot pat for creating this website.. i followed the same study schedule as yours..
Shri-
Congratulations! We both studied the same amount of time and scored the same score!
Thanks for letting us know you passed! It makes me happy I could help you =)
Best of Luck!
Pat:
How long to you get for the actual test?
Thanks!
Hi Stephanie,
For the actual test, you have 2 hours to complete it. I went through the 80 questions twice (checking my answers the second time around) and I still had time left over. Thanks!
All I can say is congrats!
Has anyone ordered either the sample questions or the flash cads from greenexamprep and if so how much help was it.
Pat, thank you again for the great website! To answer Justin’s comment, I didn’t use the flashcards, but I did order the tests and they were extremely helpful for me. The questions were really hard but I think it prepared me for the exam because the real questions were a little easier and it helped me get used to answering questions on a computer. I hope that helps you Justin! Does anyone else agree?
Hi Shri
I have just started for preparaing LEED NC2.2. and i want to appear for the exam as soon as possible. Can you pls guide me which study material i should buy? How much time should i dedicate for the studies daily. I am feeling very directionless. I shall appreciate any help in this regard.
Hi Pat
I have just started for preparaing LEED NC2.2. and i want to appear for the exam as soon as possible. Can you pls guide me which study material i should buy? How much time should i dedicate for the studies daily. I am feeling very directionless. I shall appreciate any help in this regard.
Pat-
First- FABULOUS WEBSITE! Huge help in my studies. I would use your condensed versions of the credits when i would get stuck on a greenexamprep question and wanted to cheat.
the combo of time, greenexamprep, and this blog (also the quizzes on ufl.edu) were major contributers to my passing score of 199! THANKS!
Deanna
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
– Christopher Lascl
—————————————————————————————————-
http://ebloggy.com/lucienmccoyrx
Hey Pat,
I’m really glad to have found this website. I am studying for the LEED CI test on my own (without taking any classes) and was wondering if your website is applicable for LEED CI. I can’t seem to find a website as helpful as yours for CI.
Thank you,
Janet
Hi Janet,
I’m glad you are enjoying the website. I am unsure of any LEED CI websites that are similar to this one. Please let us know if you find any as I’m sure people would love to know about it. Good luck and thanks!
Thank you so much for all your help! I just took the LEED NC exam this afternoon after studying for 1 month on my own, using just the reference guide, my own notes (I’m an obsessive-compulsive note taker), and your website – no classes, workshops or sample exams – and passed! I got a 184, which I am very happy with already. Was a bit nervous because I took no sample exams nor any background in building design or construction, but in the end all the hard work paid off! Thanks again for the terrific help. Such a great feeling! =)
Thanks for creating such a great website! It really helped me study and pass (with a 184!). I have been convincing more people in my office to take the test, so I sent them the link to your site. Thanks again!
Great tips from http://www.intheLEED.com (and some Memorial Weekend cramming) helped me score a 189 on the LEED NC exam. Thanks for creating such a great resource.
Hi PAt,
I took my test this am and i have failed it. So i went back to study again and re-schedule another exam after a week. Section IV about Verify, PArticipate in & perform technical Analysisis is the weakest section i have to study.it would be great if you can help me on this.
Hi Friend,
I’m sorry you have failed your exam. I hope you have passed now that it’s been a week since your first try, and you said you would take it a week later. If you are still having problems, please checkout the post I just wrote about what to study for which particular section is giving you trouble:
http://www.intheleed.com/leed-categories/
Good luck!
I just got done with the test and passed with a 189. Owe quite a bit to the tips and links on this site..Along with several practice and sample tests…Thanks Pat !!!
A couple of things about the test for those who are studying for it.
- Several questions were on the submittals, calculations and data required for them. Mostly water use reduction, stormwater mgmt and alternative transpt.
- Remember to study the certification process from the usgbc website.
- The colorado guide test is more difficult in comparison while the greenexamprep ones are more similiar to the actual test.
Thanks Pat for your support and help. I passed the test on 20th . It was a big relief passing first time.
Thanks again.
Thank you very much!!!I passed the exam in Italy and now I’m in the LEED AP Directory(country Italy) as a “LEED AP” in Italy!!!
Congratulations!
What will you do with LEED AP in Italy?
Valeria
Hey Pat,
Congratulations on passing!
Any good advice… I signed up for the exam (giving myself 2 weeks – 2 weekends really – to study the whole thing) thinking it would force me to study! Yeah right! 2 kids under 2 years old and 2 separate jobs kept me busy until today.
So I basically started to study last night briefly, and am at about p175 right now. I take the exam Monday morning at 9:30am, and really cannot afford to lose the $300.00.
I know, I sound like a yahoo!? And no, I do not have any construction experience, HVAC experience, and am not an architect. If you respond to this, I’m really just looking for the best and most important material to completely cram in for tomorrow’s study session – I’m guessing I won’t be getting much sleep tomorrow night!?
Thanks!
Hi Jeff,
Wow it sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate, but I can confidently say that you’ve come to the right place if you want to know what’s important for the test. It sounds like you’re reading the reference guide, which is good. After doing that, read the summaries on my table of contents and that will tell you all of the important parts. Read the charts and see if you can fill out the “blank study guide” which is a downloadable tip on the table of contents as well.
To me, as long as you keep working hard, like I can tell you already do, you’ll pass. But don’t think that you’ll breeze by without some studying!
I really wish you the best of luck, and please ask questions on the website if you have any, I and many others who come along should be there to answer questions if we know the answers.
Cheers Jeff.
Pat,
Thanks so much for getting back to me on my last post… I just got back from my test, and I passed!!!
For 2.5 days studying total, I’m going to take that 175 and be wholly proud of it!!
For everyone else thinking of taking the LEED AP exam, this site is an absolutely fantastic resource, and one that will certainly help you to pass the exam. Good luck!
Pat,
You’ve been instrumental in my success. I managed to declaw the big monster the first time through!! I hope to pay it forward and help others seek out thier accredidation as well.
Cheers!
Brian
Hi Pat,
Thank you so much for your website!! It helped tremendously.
Thanks, B
Pat – Thanks for your virtual help! I used your site almost exclusively for my studying and passed the test yesterday. What a relief. Thanks for your help!
N in Wash, DC
Pat,
Passed this morning. Thanks a bunch for your help and this awesome website, I couldn’t have done it without this excellent resource.
Pat,
Thank you so much for your website. I just passed the LEED-EB exam! Your tips were totally applicable to the EB exam, and your recommendation of greenexamprep.com (obviously) made all the difference. I basically crammed everything in over a weekend.
Thanks!
Adam
All,
took the test earlier today and missed by 1 point!! AHRG! Any tips? I felt I knew all the credits well. WIMSEE in my brain dump. dumped all referenced standards etc. Has anyone else missed by 1? what were your %’s in each category? HELP!! I really want to re-take it ASAP
Pat,
Thank you very much for the website. I look at it almost everyday. It is a great help.
Have you heard about http://ppi2pass.com (LEED online sample exam)? My co-workers are using this sample exam for preparation. How does it compare with http://www.greenexamprep.com/? which one is more similar with the real exam? Thank you.
Pat,
Thanks for your website – it was tremendously helpful and encouraging. I passed the NC exam today with a 186 on my first try.
If anyone is curious I also took the USGBC NC Technical Review course and the USGBC online course, “Essentials of LEED Professional Accreditation” (both courses were very helpful and paid for by my company). If you want to take a course, but can’t get your company to pay, I’d recommend the online course since it’s much cheaper. It offers quite a lot of practice questions as well. Lastly, I also took practice exams on greenexamprep.com – very helpful, and it gave plenty of the practice “tricky” questions I note below.
My advice to anyone struggling with passing (aside from make sure you study hard and memorize all the requirements and important synergies!) is to be prepared for the tricky questions/answers. They have a lot of optional answers that may sound right.
Also, I took the exam at 8 am on a Monday and if you’re not a morning person that might not be the best idea. I felt like my brain went blank a few times – I just could not for the life of me remember the credit requirements I thought I knew backwards and forwards!
So I guess my second piece of advice is take the exam after a full night’s rest and at the time of the day when you think you’ll be alert.
Thanks again and good luck to everybody.
Pat,
At the outset, I would like to congratulate you for all the good work done by you. I have used your website for a considerable portion
I have successfully completed it and I thought I would share with all of you, my experience during the entire process.I followed the following sequence which I am the prospective exam takers can review and apply to suit the needs
1. I enrolled myself as a member of USGBC (which is free) and then started getting first hand information about the LEED AP process and the GBCI. This site provides candidate handbook, abridged version of he reference guide etc.
2. I used Google extensively to search for relevant LEED AP related topics such as on line tutorials, free exam papers, resources etc and tried to gather as much as I can on the study materials, templates etc.. Needless to mention that intheleed.com was of tremendous help.
3. Other websites that could help you are
a. http://www.southfaceonlinetraining.org (this gives free training on LEED NC)
b. http://www.areforum.org
c. http://www.energydesignresources.com (application of LEED on projects)
d. http://www.leededucation.com
e. http://www.buildinggreen.com
f. http://www.whyleedbuildings.com
g. http://www.leedtestprep.com
h. http://www.archdesigncommunity.com
4. With the above I was equipped with templates, flashcards, summaries of standards, exemplary performances, design / construction phase submittals etc that would ideally help to make a beginning.
5. I also managed to download few sample papers that are available for fee on the website.
6. I started reading the abridged version, the flash cards and then started attempting the questions. While the results were not encouraging this was at least a beginning to benchmark yourself.
7. Then I obtained the LEED NC reference guide. This is a MUST. This is exhaustive and has to be read thoroughly if you have to really gain the full insight and understanding of the LEED.
8. I read the book once and made some notes followed by the sample test questions. There were definite improvements.
9. In total I read the book 3 times and was surprised to note how much I missed in the previous reviews.
10. On the last day I was focusing more on the notes that I has earlier prepared, along with the summary charts on standards etc
11. We should recognize the fact that LEED AP is not just passing the exams but pursuing a future initiative on sustainability. When viewed on those lines, reading the NC reference guide 2 to 3 times is really helpful and worth the efforts.
12. There is also sizable information available on Harvard green campus initiative. They have explained their green projects along with narratives, copies of submittal templates etc.
13. Although my initiation started early April 2008, I put in serious studies during the last 1 month. On an average you should plan 2 to 4 months.
14. with the above, I scored 194 overall.
I would like to congratulate you for all the good things you are doing for the LEED AP aspirants. IN case any of you would like to have specific guidance / clarifications please feel free to contact me.
Thanks
Jack
I am still looking for your pre Exam barin dump?
Deanna Carpenter,
where were those quizzes on ufl.edu? I’m on the site, but can’t seem to find them. Does anyone else know? Thanks so much!
Oh, I just found a link to it on the Study portion-
http://www.cce.ufl.edu/LEED/resources.asp
I don’t think you can navigate to this site from ufl.edu, though. At least not easily.
Hi Pat–I passed today with a 189! Thanks so much for this site. Mini brain-dump: there were a LOT of questions about commissioning (and the difference between the prereq and the credit), construction IAQ plans, and innovation credits. And though I’d been advised that questions about bathroom water use normally focus on the opposite gender, I got two about women.
Hi stacy!
Congratulations on getting pass with a good score. Can you suggest me how deeply shod i study EA? on which credit is hod give more time. I am refering colorado guide too. Can you suggest me some helpful links to refer. I want to appear for exam in september end.
Please help!
Hi Pat,
Thanks a bunch for your website – it turned out to be the most helpful resource when I had started freaking out about the exam. Also the Greenprep mock exams helped me. I ordered them from your recommendation just 4 days back and passed today with 189 score. Thank you again!
I passed today with 181, wasnt sure if I passed or not until I saw the results. The answers werent straightforward, for example instead of adhesives, you may have an answer as duct sealant. Learn the submittals for WE 2 and 3, FSC. , credits SS 5, 6,7 and 8 and know your VOC’s. synergies for EA CR3 etc. The decision maker chart and the blank study guide from this site were helpful. During the initial ten minutes, I would suggest writing down ID’s and any credits that you have trouble with. questions about CIR’s came from the list from this list but it wasnt straightforward u had to think a lot about it.
I passed today with 173. The test itself was fairly straight forward (given that you put in the time to study websites like this and most definitely read that Reference Manual). I do recommend that you know the whole LEED submittal process and know how to handle CIRs. There wasn’t really too much information I found in my studies on this, I just tried reasoning through the questions, but this takes valuable exam time. So, if you can, try to work on a LEED project or talk with others in your company who have worked on LEED projects, I know this would have helped me a lot.
I’d like to say thanks for the website and the valuable information contained in it (i.e., the tables, acronyms, peoples comments, etc.).
Good luck.
Can anyone answer me the following questions?
Q1. WHICH MATERIAL BY VOLUME IS HIGHEST(BIGGEST) WASTE THAT GOES TO LAND FILL.
Q2. WHAT SHALLOW PLATES MEANS IN SIMPLE WORDS?
I took and passed the exam yesterday. I took a LEED workshop on August 1, studied the reference guide and the workshop booklet, and used your site. Thank you for the help.
does anyone know how long it actually takes to get your score back after you finish the test?
Also, Is it actually possible to score 69 points?
I passed! Yay!
Just some advice: there were 6 questions that had to do with knowing MERV and knowing that you use MERV 8 with EQ 3.1 Construction IAQ Management Plan, During Construction (MERV 13 is not necessary for the filtration media during construction)
Also, know the average toilet uses per gender and the amount of water associated with that.
Know the differences between Prerequisite Commissioning and the Credit for Commissioning
Know which credits a cvil engineer would be involved in with decision making
Obviously, have all your ASHRAE and other referenced standards memorized.
This site is great- thank you so much!
The practice tests on green exam prep are very helpful as well!
Nav, not sure about Q1, but Q2 was answered in the discussion at the bottom of:
http://www.intheleed.com/ea1/
In the future try to post your question in the appropriate section/code or at least reference where you saw what you are talking about.
Tyler, “You will receive a score report and exam fee receipt at the test site after your exam session is complete” [Pg2 candidate handbook from GBCI](it’s all computer scored so that makes sense). I’m guessing that you would have to have a ridiculous plan to get all (69) credits but theoretically it should be possible.
Grats Ward and Frances!
I’ve seen a lot of what Frances mentioned in various quizes/prep exams so that is encouraging, thanks for posting what you saw!
Do anybody had following question at the test?
Most of the pactice tests im encountered had following question.
How many total credits you can achieve under Innovative in design category?
There answer was 4 instead of 2.
But to me that is wrong.since this category has 2 credits not 4.
However there are 4 points under ID1 and 1 point under ID2.Total 5 points.
But question asked was credits not points.
thanks,
Navjas72@yahoo.com
Nav
I got around some 25 questions that you might need to concentrate on.. let me know if anyone needs it. I will check with Pat I can post them somewhere…
gg, I would like to take a look at the 25 question if you don’t mind. I will take the exam in two weeks. Thank you very much.
GG – my test is on the 25th of August, I would love to look at what you have.
Thanks.
Hello everyone. I took the test yesterday and passed with a 185. I studied for about two weeks, 4 or 5 hours a day. This site was a great help. I also used the greenexamprep practice exams. The university of florida tests are a good resource too. Both of these are more difficult than the actual exam.
I studied all the credits and intents a lot. I felt pretty comfortable going in that I knew the percentages, intents, and standards. What surprised me was that there were so many questions on project administration, specifically the role of the administrator. You really need to know all the little details involved with CIRs, certification, appeals, what you can and can’t do on the website, etc. Also, be sure to be very clear on the differences between SS5.1 and 5.2, WE 3.1 and 3.2 and SSprereq1 (they try to confuse these three).
The thing I really didn’t study was the submittals and who is responsible for what when. Getting a good handle on this would have brought my score up by about 5 questions I would guess. Be sure to know who does what related to commissioning.
Study the process for innovation in design process. The process is more important than knowing the thresholds.
Good luck
Hi, Ebergst, Congratulations!
Thank you for the tip. I was wondering what do you mean about the Process for ID? Is it the requirements of the credit or the two types of strategies that qualify under the credit?
Thank you.
For those that have taken the test and used GreenExamPrep practice tests. Do you think it is necessary to be able to get 80% firsty try on the tests is necessary or is memory of the 320 questions enough to get by on the actual exam? (Sorry for wording this question so poorly)
Luke,
I got 60% in my first attempt with greenexamprep but passed on the first attempt. I would suggest taking the tests atleast 2 or 3 times, since it takes only 30 mins after the first attempt. As everyone said concentrate on SS credit 5-8, VOC’s, every detail about CIR’S and Water efficiency, submittals and who is responsible for what…also, the questions in the exams are entirely differently from greenexamprep except for one or 2 questions. just know the credit intents n requirements.
wish I had found this site sooner, I started studying (read the Reference guide) on Aug 8th, on Aug 12th took a few short practice exams, less than 50 pct correct, started surfing the web for classes available this same week, found one abt 500 miles away called learning to lead instructed by the treeo center at UF. Took the class on the 14th and 15th, then took the test on Monday the 18th. ………. passed but barely, I strongly recommend web sites such as this for study advice, and to me the class was invvaluble
Hi,
I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!
I took my exam today and I passed~ Your website has been extremely helpful and well organized. I wish I knew your website earlier so I could concentrate on the really important points.
Other APers, good luck!
nagi
Hi.. I took the exam yesterday & passed with a score of 186…!!!..
Thank a lot to intheleed…
I studied from the Reference guide, Colarado Study guide & greenexam prep for about 2 months…
I would highly recommend taking the greenexams as it helped me a lot understanding the format of the test, the way questions are asked in the exam.
But take the mock exams after u are done studying, don’t rely solely on the greenexams…
The actual exam questions were pretty straightforward i think…so nothing to worry much…
Just make sure to know the grey areas of the Ref. guide well, read the approach & implementation to understand the concepts thoroughly (i think this is important), because mostly questions were based on how u as a LEED AP would handle the given situation…
Besides Standards are important, its easy to score on them. Knw the submittals, responsible individuals, calcs etc.
Implementing LEED process- Leed online is very imp. I did well on this section & Coordinate Team…
Hoping that this is a new beginning for me…
Good luck !!!
Has anyone else used the LEEDPASS book? I just got the new version, NC2.2 2008, and tried a practice test of the first 80 questions (out of the 720 included). I was really disappointed to find six of those 80 with flat-out errors (although glad that I’ve learned enough that I noticed them). I went back through those questions using the official Reference Guide Third Edition and confirmed that the given answers are, indeed, wrong. Is there a place to get a corrections book for this?
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
Hey! Thank you, Pat. This is one of the best websites for the LEED exam: made me feel that I was not alone. I passed yesterday with a 185 and had some things to share:
1. The LEED process section is relatively easy to grasp and I think easy marks can be had with this section. So people, read up registration, application, CIRs, appeals, awards and LEED Online.
2. During the test (THIS HELPED ME A LOT!) I went through all the questions and answered them, reviewed all of them once, then noted all the tough ones and reviewed them again and last of all reviewed the toughest ones. Making so many passes on the questions, really gave me confidence in my answers, clarity to change some and grapple with the hardest.
After all this I still had 15 mins. to spare!
The questions seem trickily phrased and I seemed to be second-guessing. It really helps to review all the questions and answers.
3. I used the tests from GreenExamPrep: they helped me understand the trickiness of the tests and so that didn’t come as a surprise.
That’s all, folks! Good Luck!!!!
Just passed! Woohoo! Some things that helped me pass:
Fill out this study guide (free), it was much more helpful than flashcards:
http://www.intheleed.com/leed-blank-study-guide/
Put in standards, critical numbers, and general intent/idea of each credit
Get this, the LEED prep study guide ($80):
http://www.ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIShop
Very helpful in summarizing credits and filling out the guide listed above. The Passing forum, flashcards, and practice problems were not that helpful.
Buy these practice exams ($50):
http://www.greenexamprep.com/store/products/NC22PRACTICETEST.html
They have 4 tests, you can take them as many times as you want, its a pretty good representation of the actual exam
For insurance, buy the USGBC Colo.rado Chapter study guide. NOTE THIS GUIDE IS GOOD FOR ALL STATES, AND THERE IS A VERSION FOR CANADA. This comes with a good rundown of the CIR information (better than the LEED reference guide itself does) the Leed online submittal process (which you NEED to know) and a good practice exam. ($50)
TIPS:
RELAX: My scoring totals from the four sections of the exam: 82%, 67%, 87% 71%
So you’re asking, WTF? How did you pass?! I got a 182, passing is 170. Obviously this weighting system/scaled scoring that LEED uses to score the tests is designed to get you to pass. I was averaging anywhere around 75% on practice exams, it seems that my exam score was right on with that. Thank god for the weighting system. I still dont understand it and never seen anyone adequately explain it.
WHAT TO KNOW:
FTE and what credits use it
All the MR %’s for each credit and Id points
General knowledge about every credit
Standards, the 3 ASHRAE big ones, ANSI 90.1-2004, AND the individual standards for the EQc4.1-4.4 and which credits they’re used for.
The Water Use reduction WE c3.1-3.2 calc parameters, not the equations but what goes into the equations
CIR submittals process
LEED registration process
Commisioning Authority roles/task for Enhanced and Fundamental Commish.
Be able to pick what credits will be applicable given a project scenario
FIRST THING DURING THE EXAM: Do a brain dump on your scrap paper of standards, %’s and critical information so you can free your mind up and READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY.
(Part of this comment has been deleted by the moderator.)
GOOD LUCK!
Wow… this is an excellent site!
Congratulations to everyone who has taken and passed the LEED AP exam.
I’ve just discovered this site and am currently reviewing to take the exam in a couple of months. I’ve organized a study group here in our office in Bangkok (about 12 of us committed to passing the exam), but since English is not a first language here it is slow going with all the vocabulary definitions and the necessary translation of intents.
I’ve found a lot of useful information here so far, and plan to really make best use of the resources on the site. Thank you very much for creating and maintaining this site.
Has anyone protested anything on the LEED NC exam and been successful? I have take the exam three times now and no luck. While the first time I didn’t study sufficiently and scored a 165, the last two times I scored a 169. Yes, A 169….twice….I missed passing by one point twice! I feel that the last two times I knew the material very well, and that at worst my answers we sufficient for at least a low passing score. The second time I scored a 169, the test had a lot of the same questions, and I did alter some of my answers thinking that I would at least end up with a different score.
So my question is, out of all those vague questions and answers, is there anyway to petition any of them? There were some that are certainly going to be phased out in 2009 simply because they are so badly written and can be interpreted.
My bank account is running dry because of exam fees and study guides, and now I am just afraid to blow another $300 and not pass!:(
Jeff,
There is a way to appeal your score. I’m not exactly sure of how the process is done exactly, but I’d recommend reading the LEED AP Handbook, which is found on the righthand sidebar of this page, or visit the USGBC.org website and see if you can get an email or phone number you can call. It’s worth a shot, especially for how hard you’ve worked and how much the test costs. I’m sorry to hear that you’re 1 off each time. Hang in there and let us know how it all works out.
Best of luck.
-Pat
Someone at my company protested a question; I’m not sure that you can actually protest your score. To protest the question, he had to bring it to the attention of the monitors at the testing center either while he was testing or immediately after, then follow up with USGBC. My understanding is that after discussion, USGBC agreed with him about the question, and changed it.
I test tomorrow morning for the first time. I’m sure everyone reading this site understands my nerves. I’ll post afterwards and let you know how I make out.
Passed the test with a 186 this morning. Thanks for the great website Pat! I am recommending it to everyone at my firm.
I passed this morning with a 194. It took me an hour and 5 minutes to answer all 80 questions, then go back and review the 23 (yes, 23) I’d marked.
Many of the questions were worded in an unfamiliar way, not what I was used to from practice exams. There were also a lot more questions on my test about daylighting and views, how to figure if the credit is achieved, what’s involved, etc., than I was expecting.
Other than that – know your reference standards, know your credit requirements and exemplary performance requirements, and be prepared to think a little outside the practice test format. There were some questions that were definitely not standard situations, that required thinking as if it were a real project with some non-standard circumstances.
At the end, after reviewing my marked questions, hitting the “END” button to end the test was quite a moment. And it’s only a short time till your score appears, but it seems much longer!
Congratulations, Jill. Thank you for posting your observations regarding your exam. I will go back and revisit the section on daylighting and views, again.
I passed the exam on 22nd sept with scoring 176. For me it took approximately 90 minutes to solve the question and reviewed it again for remaining time.
Exam was not straight forward at all and its true lot of words were totally unfamiliar so sometime it was difficult to answer the question because you cant understand what they are really looking for.
If you read the LEED NC 2.2 Reference Guide and do take practice tests as much as possible Review them and why get to know you were wrong. Green Exam prep is one of the good source to practice fro this exam.
Regards,
Kapil
Done! 195! Thank you, Pat!
My tips:
Don’t worry about memorizing calculations–I’ve never heard of anyone having to remember an equation for the test. But KNOW WHAT INFORMATION IS REQUIRED for the calculations. I had questions on that for WE and daylight factor.
SUBMITTALS. This was definitely a weakness for me. As with the calculations, these were questions in the category of, “if you have x, y, and z, which of these additional items do you need to submit?”
When you have a question that really stumps you, start by eliminating the answers that are obviously wrong. Sometimes that will be enough to answer the question–if you’re supposed to pick 3, and you’re left with 3 answers after you’ve eliminated the ones that you know are wrong, then that’s it–even if you don’t KNOW that those are right! And don’t second-guess yourself too much on those “obviously wrong” answers.
Good luck folks!
Question: On the testbrain dump how does an 80 question test become a 75 point scale from 125 to 200. I can’t follow this item. Thanks. I am new to your site.
As someone posted on one site (I can’t remember if it was here or the ARE forum), how they score the test is a bigger secret than the KFC recipe. The questions are weighted, so not all questions are worth the same; no one scores lower than 125 or higher than 200; and your percentage correct does not correlate to your score. For example, I had 93%, 89%, 93%, and 86% on my test, and scored a 194.
My advice is to try to put the scoring of the test out of your mind. I told myself I needed to be scoring 85-90% on every practice test (I was actually closer to 95-98 by the time I tested), focused on meeting that goal, and it was more than enough. I was using the greenexamprep tests, Colorado, PPI, and even tried the LEED-Pass, although I found a lot of errors in it. I rotated through them, never taking the same test more than once in a week, and never twice in a row, and doing other studying in between.
This website was a huge help to me. Many thanks to Pat! I put 40-50 hours of intensive studying and passed the test yesterday scoring 175. I recommended this website to everybody at my office.
greenexamprep was also a great help in getting me prepared.
Great job Pat!
And best of luck to all.
I passed the test with 185 yesterday. This site was very helpful. This was alot of question on the CIR process and there seems to be more question about the Water Efficiency section than any other section.
Pat and everyone else – just wanted to say ‘thanks’ for helping me pass NC v2.2 last week on my first try, and I have recommended your site to others.
Hi – i have just gone through a first round of mock exams, which i bought from greenexamprep.com. while i know what i still need to study a bit harder (and memorise more – have another 10 days till the exam), i am a bit worried that the tests actually seem quite easy and straight-forward. while i am aiming to get to 100% in the mock exams (or close to it at least) i am worried that i might still be in for a bit of a shock when it comes to the actual exam!
Thanks again for the great site, Pat!
I passed the exam today with a 197. Your web site was a great resource.
Someone posted a question regarding how greenexamprep.com’s test stack up to the real deal. Here is my experience:
About 5 days before the actual test I bought the greenexamprep tests. I took one new test per day and retook the previous days exam.
My averages the first time through were:
81% overall 87%/84%/56%/84%
When I retook the test (about a day later):
94% overall 96%/96%/89%/92%
My actual exam was
197/200 overall 96%/89%/100%/93%
The greenexamprep tests definitely indicated areas on which to focus and was an asset in preparing for the exam. However I think their exams are a bit more difficult and some questions are poorly worded. Just my 2 cents.
Cheers!
thanks, chris! this is good news – agree that some questions in the greenexamprep docs are poorly worded and some quite tricky to understand and actually cheeky (and purposefully confusing!).
well done on excellent exam results, by the way. i am just aiming to pass next week…!
first and foremost: a huge thank you to Pat for managing this incredibly useful site and for all the brilliant advice from him and fellow-LEED-crammers and bloggers!
i just passed my exam this morning with high scores, largely down to being well prepared, helped hugely by this site!
if i can add one piece of advice/comment:
the exam IS tough – actually tougher than i had expected! they really test you on your UNDERSTANDING rather than just knowing the words! i hardly came across any verbatim phrases from the reference guide (or from greenexamprep, which i used extensively). so, my advice would be to work really, really hard on understanding the underlying principles and drivers of the different credits and requirements. they really test you on how you would apply LEED to a real life scenario! and being well prepared (on all fronts) certainly helped with making educated guesses!
so, on with life and applying what i have learned over the past few weeks!
good luck to everybody yet to sit the exam – the exhilaration alone of passing is worth every single hour spent studying!
I’m creating homemade flash cards and am need of some simple help.
I can’t remember seeing any sample test questions that expect you to connect the Credit Number to the Credit Name. Can someone confirm this please? (In other words, if a question has one it always has the other in all the samples I’ve seen.) I don’t want to memorize this relationship if I don’t need to.
Please excuse this second post. I forgot to check the “notify me” box, on my first submission.
in the exam i took yesterday, none of the questions asked me to remember what credit number relates to which credit name. all the questions were about substance rather than testing you on whether you remember abstract connections between for instance SS7.1 and what?
http://www.flashcardmachine.com allows you to create your own flashcards and some users have made their own flashcards publicly available – but i wouldn’t recommend necessarily trusting these on accuracy. rather use the facility to create your own. it helped me a lot.
if you purchase the test exams from greenexamprep.com, they throw in a lot of flashcards for ‘free’, which were all accurate. they helped me remember horrible things like which SCAQMD rule applies to which paint/sealer/adhesive etc. not that i was tested on this in the end….! – but this doesn’t mean that other gbci exam version don’t!
good luck!
Pat,
My question might be silly, but…if someone fails the test, and scheduled for a retake, does he have to pay the $400 again for the retake? :S
Hi ME,
There are no silly questions. And, yes, if someone fails the exam, they will have to repay for the re-take, unfortunately.
Thanks and good luck!
Just took my exam yesterday and scored 186. I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing the on line GreenExam practice tests. They are exactly like the real test and get you used to the same computer format. The Colorado USGBC guide and practice test were excellent along with the University of Florida test. My motto was just study and then study some more. Hopefully you have good memorization skills!
I passed the LEED NC test yesterday with a 186. Pat, I want to thank you for getting this website set up. I bought your AP Walkthrough and it really helped out. Also, based on what I read on this site I broke down and bought the greenprepexam test. I only had 2 days to use it, but it was invaluable in helping me find out what sections I needed to focus my studying on the last 2 days as well as give me a feel for how the questions on the test were going to be worded. I think about 4 questions on my test were almost exactly like the questions on greenexamprep.
Thanks again Pat!
I took the test yesterday and I passed . The question were really tough. You have to have your thinking cap on all the time, particularly on synergies and leed administration. I want to thank Pat for putting this website.
Now, LEED AP fellas, I have one question can I use LEED AP in my resume and my business card right now? OR do I need to wait for the certificate?
Hi Pat – Thanks to your website, the greenexamprep sample tests, making my own flash cards, and studying I passed last week with a 189. The exam was tough and there were some odd questions. I was surprised about how easy the calculations were. Math in my head, when I’m stressed, is not my strong suit.
Thanks for making the credits simple on your website and providing this forum for discussion.
I took and passed the test today with a 183. The test is not bad if you know your credits. The tests from greenexamprep.com are a must. A few questions from the tests were almost identical to the practice tests. My worst section was the 4th section, but I do not think that section is that important. My score results were 82/83/87/57 and I still got a 183. If you study hard and have an understanding of the material you will do fine.
I started studing on 11th nov and wish to take exam on 23rd/24th dec 2008. Do you think I should give myself some more time? What is the best way I should move ahead? I really dont know much about the exam format and alll. I just finished reading sustainable sites section.
you can use LEED AP the minute you get your exam results stating you passed!!!
Hi Asmi… if you can spare it, I suggest you give yourself more time and also check with GBCI to see if there are still seats available to take the test at the Prometric center nearest you. I tried to get a schedule in early December, but they are full here (Bangkok) till early next year. Apparently the seats are full of kids taking TOEFEL. In any case, in my humble opinion you should give yourself more time to review the synergies between credits, study the CIR’s online and give more time to get familiar with the referenced standards.
Asmi. I think the biggest thing depends on your experience with LEED. If you are a professional (Architect, Engineer, etc) who has a familiarity with LEED and/or has worked on LEED projects, then you are most likely ok with a month to study. If reading the sustainable sites section is your first experience with LEED, then you most likely want to give yourself more time. I would also highly recommend purchasing the practice tests from GreenExamPrep.com. They were an excellent gauge in helping me know when I was prepared to take the test.
Hi All,
First quesion: What is this?
LEED Credentialing Program
I just got an e-mail from GBCI linked to this.
Second Question: I just passed the LEED exam-NC in November first try.(Thanks PAT!)Now what? Do I get something in the mail to hang on the wall? I am listed on the LEED AP list with GBCI. Just wondering? We also have some potential projects in the Office for LEED, so I hope to gain experience soon.
Thanks again. This website was very helpful!
Anna,
GBCI will be chaging to LEED 2009 in the spring. The credentialing program will change. You can transfer your credentials to the new program prior to 2011. You will need to have 30 hours of contiuing ed credits every 2 years to stay an accredited professional along with a $50 fee every 2 years. If you do not wish to transfer to the new program prior to 2011 you will have to re-test after 2011.
As far as the certificate, you will get one in the mail. It takes several weeks.
Hey,
Thanks so much Chris. That clears some things up. The continuing ed stuff, I assume at this point they are still figuring out how all this will happen?
Thanks again,
Anna
Hi Pat,
Thanks to your “Walkthrough LEED” I SMOKED the exam with a 197. I was already taking the practice tests from GreenExamPrep.com, but was still overwhelmed with TMI to memorize. Your material really helped me. Thank you!
Sandy
Hi Pat,
I have been having trouble with the “out of book” topics. Questions regarding the cost of LEED registration between different LEED rating systems keep coming up. just for clarification, is LEED NC the same cost as other LEED rating systems or different?
Second, I can’t seem to find a clear cut answer as to when you use LEED NC and when you use LEED EB. One of the questions on my practice exam asked which one to use for a 50-year old building that is having its mechanical systems replaced. Their answer is LEED EB. Can you help?
Hi Nikki,
I think I can answer some of this for you.
A large part of EB focuses on energy and precise monitoring of mechanical systems and so choosing EB would make sense for that question.
In my NC guide on p.15, it describes when to use NC. Reading this may help you differentiate those two rating systems but the exam could ask you to differentiate between NC and Core and Shell, so you need to be aware of those differences.
Nick D.
http://www.leedcharts.com
Hi Nikki,
Most of that information can be found on the USGBC website, and/or here at intheleed.com
Thanks Nick for the explanation. I agree.
I took the test twice and I failed twice
First score 167, second score 168. I studied for a month like crazy 4-5 hours a day including weekends. U can say I had no life for a month as I really tried my everything. At the moment I have no motivation in taking the test again. Any advice?
Oh yea, I forgot to mention I had both the 4 prep exams and the LEED walkthrough and also the reference guide.
Hi Moe,
I’m really sorry to hear this. I know you are probably just wanting to give up right about now. Have you looked at your printouts with your percentages on them? Are there consistencies between the two?
Make sure you read Tip #9 of the Walkthrough as a guide to how to study based on those percentages.
If there is anything I or anyone else can do, please let us know. We want you to pass!
Trust me, I am all bruised up but not down. Each time I think about dropping it like it’s hot, it kicks back… I missed it by 2 points and I know I am better than this. So more a@@ busting for me to do until I get it.
.
Expect some good news from my side
One question I really need help with is the different between LEED AP and Project Admins. Can you please clarify the two roles?
Thank you.
Sorry to hear about your troubles, Moe, and hope that we all hear some good news next time around. I had the same problem distinguishing between the LEED AP and the Project Admin, but the best analogy a friend gave me is that one is like a rank and the other is a position.
LEED AP as a professional credential gives you a certain “rank”, however the singular position of Project Admin gives you the special role of running a LEED project via the LEED online tools.
In practice it makes a lot of sense that the Project Admin is also a LEED Accredited Professional, since the major part of the LEED AP role is supposed to support and encourage design integration as required by LEED.
Thanks to all of the above about Greenexamprep.com. I had been studying for 5 weeks with a program from PPI and felt that I might have been ready, until I took a couple of practice tests. I bought the practice test 5 days prior to taking the exam. I would give PPI maybe 10%, Pat’s half blank forms 40%, Greenexam 45%, and 5% to just dumb luck. I filled out the blank forms (14 hrs. of research) after the first Greenexam practice test and I reviewed those forms for about 15 minutes prior to each practice test. I did not write a single word on the scratch paper provided when I took the actual exam. I scored a 189.
Thanks again.
t
There was a question that I faced and wasn not sure about. The question was about projects that can use LEED NC for their certification, the options were:
1 New construction (20k sqft)
2 Renovation of an existing building with major hvac replacement.
3 Renovation of an existing building (skin).
4 new building (40k sqft) with (big fan replacement).
I picked 1 and 4 because they re new construction, however I know 2 is correct too.
any idea?
Moe,
I think 2 is LEED CS.
See below.
LEED for Core & Shell is a green building rating system for designers, builders, developers and new building owners who want to address sustainable design for new core and shell construction. Core and shell covers base building elements such as structure, envelope and the HVAC system.
option 2 is correct because the definition of LEED NC is new buildings and major renovation. Look on p. 14-15 of the reference guide. p. 15, end of 2nd paragraph states that major renovation usually refers to buildings that are doing major HVAC renovation.
Hope this helps.
I don’t think 4 is accurate because if it is a new building, how can there be fan replacement? If it is new, there should be nothing to replace.
Hi Pat,
I just wanted to share my frustration as I fell two points short in taking the exam yesterday for the first time. My frustration is due to the fact that I thought I did everything right. I read through the reference guide twice, purchased the greenexamprep practice tests (which I scored in the 80’s and 90’s), purchased the AP Walkthrough and invested approximately 70 – 80 hours into studying since early October. Yet I failed. As I agree with everyone else who writes, the questions were extremely difficult. Though the real questions and greenexamprep questions were similar in format, I didn’t see them as a big help. The other frustration I have is that since the exam is proprietary, there is no way to find which specific questions I got wrong and therefore, put my efforts into that material. I am aware of the 4 categories and according to the exam yesterday, “Implementing LEED Process” was my low score, but if I look at my greenexamprep results, I averaged in the low 90’s on that section, so it just doesn’t make sense. I’m ready to get back on the saddle again but since the exam results haven’t been posted, I’m locked out from rescheduling. What a weekend! Now that I’m done venting, I need to begin studying again, though I’m not sure where to start as I thought I was strongly prepared the first time around. I just can’t restudy what I studied the first time because it probably won’t help. Any suggestions? Thanks for giving me a forum to release my frustration – I look forward to any suggestions out there. I’m hoping to retake the eaxam next weekend.
David
I passed it first time on 12/11! My score is 181. Thanks alot Pat!!!
It was lot easier than I thought. No calculation at all! Alot of CIR problems and registration process problems.
I studied it hard. I prepared it for about 6 weeks approximately 150 hours or maybe more than that. I thought the Greenexampre was very helpful!! I never got over 90s even if I did those for 4-5 times.
I did not feel the WIMSEE or brain dump helpful. I did not even need to look at the charts.
Thanks again pat! And I wish everybody good luck.
Bing
Hi David,
I’m sorry to hear that you failed short by 2 points. Even sometimes when we do everything right, things don’t seem to work out how we wished for any number of reasons. You may have drawn one of the harder exams or maybe the testing conditions were bad, but really there’s nothing you can do except keep your head high, like I know you are and keep studying and reviewing.
If you’re confident about the greenexamprep exams, I wouldn’t keep taking those because I know from my own experience that after you use them so much, you don’t really need to read the questions anymore and you’ll just know what the answer is because you’re so familiar with how it looks.
If you can find any other practice exams, via amazon.com or online, I would recommend taking those. I would also just try to improve in each of those categories, even the ones you’re good in already unless you received 100% in any of them. The one’s you’re good at will be easier to understand and improve on, which will help your score.
Also, you may want to visit this website, which I just found and could potentially be helpful using real life examples of leed projects and submittals, which can be found here: http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/theresource/leed-submit/nc/
Again, you’re almost there and please let us know if you have any questions. Good luck David!
I saw a break down somewhere on the PM’s responsibilities but I can’t seem to find it. Does anyone have this info? thanks
Pat,
Thanks to your website and LEED Walkthrough Book I was able to pass this morning with a 188 on the first try. Thanks for publishing such a great book. All I did is study your LEED book and I took the sample test from greenexamprep several times.
Michael
Pat,
I was checking the blog and wondering if you ever posted your pre-exam brain dump.
Pat,
Sorry, I did not see the pre-exam brain dump info in the other blog.
Thanks
Brad
Thanks to your website PAT!! I passed the exam with 172 on my first attempt! Used your charts combined with greenexamprep is awesome!
Thanks for all the useful info on this site! I already took the exam once and received a 169. Painful!! I’m preparing to take it again and was trying to find a place where I can find more about administrator responsibilities. I also had no flippin’ clue about any of that on the test and there were quite a few questions. That link is definitely helping me understand more about it! Thanks!
Hi Pat,
In my studying, I noticed on pages 58 and 59 of your study guide (MRc5.1 & MRc5.2) that, under exemplary performace, you’re notation calls for 40% recycled content … shouldn’t that be 40% regional content? Or am I missing something?
Your guide’s a life saver … great work.
Hello Everyone –
Here is my mini-brain-dump post-exam. I took it on Friday 1/2 and passed with a 189 on the first try! Pat, your site was a huge help! Thank for the maintenance you have put into this since your own exam success. It has helped a whole bunch of grateful people.
My basic advice:
Read the reference guide a couple times.
Follow the links to the USGBC site which are posted around on the various threads here. Their website is subtle to navigate, but there is a lot of good and pertinent information there about the LEED process. You need to know this information.
I also HIGHLY recommend using the sample tests from Greenexamprep.com as both tests to check your own study status as well as a study guide with the caveat: The sample tests are a work in progress; I found at least three incorrectly worded questions or poorly structured ones which would have given me incorrect information to study if I hadn’t been on my toes. The way their tests are structured, you go through the list of available “pools” in alphabetical order and the tests get more similar to the real exam as you progress – ie: a is the simplest and e (for some reason I got an extra one) is the most difficult and quite similar to the GBCI exam.
Download the EA C1 summary chart on this website – it is really useful in nailing down a big, detailed credit.
The Harvard website that Pat posts a link to above is extremely helpful to bridge the gap between memorization and real understanding of the principles behind the credits and the accepted/recommended strategies discussed in the reference guide.
I used the Florida website credit summaries to create my own packets for each section and as templates for my own detailed notes while I read. There were a couple mistakes/omissions in them which I corrected as I went. All good practice.
I notice, in skimming everyone’s posts here, that the test pools for the real exam vary a LOT. One key is to understand not just memorize the concepts and information discussed in the reference guide and on the USGBC site. That means that, even if you memorize the greenexamprep (or any other) questions and answers, you could be somewhat out of luck on the real thing with this approach. Be able to explain the concepts to someone who isn’t familiar with LEED.
The best advice I got from other successful exam takers and what helped me more than I could have predicted follows:
1) Know the thresholds including for exemplary performance and cited performance levels or thresholds in the tables actually published in the guide.
2) ANSI, SCAQMD and GS/GC standards – know them and know what they mean/concern
3) Understand the commissioning process and how it is linked to the real world process of building a project as well as the other credits.
4) Understand who LEED thinks are decision-makers – this is where the world according to LEED differs the most from the world of professional practice so requires a bit of study if you’re an A/E professional.
5) Understand (not just memorize) how the implementation of the LEED process works, from selecting the correct rating system to using LEED online. ALL of the information you need for this area is on the USGBC website. If you can have someone show you the LEED online site for an active project, do so. It will be easier to understand.
My process of study which may or may not work for others – just my $.02:
a) A couple months in advance for 5 weeks (1 day/wk) I sat in on a study group – mostly this made me pay attention to the fact that I was on a schedule. It was good for q/a while I was in the first read-through of the guide.
b) Concurrent with the first item, I memorized, on a first pass, all the basic numbers for the thresholds as well as the standards. I took the Colorado practice exam.
c) Practice test on greenexamprep.com with the feedback on for every question (I did this until the end to better learn the “LEED way of thinking.”)
d) review the memorization items I missed, retake the same test
e) Carefully re-read the reference guide with particular attention to the strategies and the common mistakes discussed in the EA C1 chapter and the lighting ones.
f) practice test and review as described above for all the remaining test pools at a rate of abt 1 test/week.
g) I took three days completely off and then did a super quick review in the 36 hours before the exam.
Note that you can schedule your exam at many different times of day – not just in the morning. So take advantage of this rare opportunity to schedule something for when you know your own brain is sharp. Be sure you know where the testing center is located, how the parking or public transportation is, and wear comfortable clothing.
I went through all the questions in a first pass in about 45 minutes – I did not linger on any of the ones I couldn’t answer immediately. I did another 30 minute review of the entire test working on the questions I passed over. I then marked the ones which were either still giving me pause to question or the ones which could contain information helpful on other questions. Let me repeat: I marked the questions which contained information instructive to other ones on the same exam. This is a basic test taking strategy and was helpful. I checked my math a couple times because it’s easy to make mistakes on simple math. Yes – there were calculations on the test. Lastly, I reviewed the marked questions and finished the exam with 30 minutes to spare.
The timer is always on your screen in an unobtrusive spot and the exam interface is extremely easy to use. It is quite simple to work through the review process on your answers and the system makes sure you are confident in your exam before you transmit the final answers.
That’s it!
Good luck everyone and thanks again, Pat!
PS: I have seen this question in a couple locations on this site so will add my version of an answer in hopes it helps. “Shallow floorplate” means not big as measured, in plan, from front to back. IN other words, “shallow” means there is less depth (distance) that daylight or ventilation has to travel to get through the occupied space. It is a common description in architecture/building design.
Really excellent “brain-dump” post, Heidi!
I also got the Test E Bonus pool early this year from greenexamprep and I realized that I was starting to memorize the questions in the other pools rather than really understanding the questions. Thank you for reminding me to review all the thresholds again.
I take the exam at the end of the week.
Thanks Franco. I wish you luck!
I realized, after posting that I wrote “ANSI” instead of “ASHRAE.” You want to know ASHRAE 90.1-2004, etc. as a priority.
I took the exam on 12/30/08 and passed with a 173. I am shocked I scored so low, because I felt good about most of my answers. I studied maybe 150 hours in three months, memorized too much (knew the credits too well – but needed to learn how they work) and was glad I learned the ASHRAE standards.
Greenprepexam did help – I started at 49% and studied until I hit 80% and then tested.
I studied so much I woke up in the morning reciting LEED credits.
A lot of people I know have been failing this exam, so I was glad to have passed – even if JUST BARELY.
My advice is to not take this exam! It’s too hard unless you are an architect and already understand most of the principles.
Take up basketweaving instead, at least you can sell baskets on the side of the road when the economy crumbles.
Heidi – thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. However, I also do not work in the industry and am wondering if you can post and/or send the notes you have to study the LEED ‘decision-makers’ and responsible parties (mechanical engineers, etc.)
I feel that this will be my weak link although I have been studying this.
Would you be willing to help with that?
Hi Julio –
As much as I can, I will gladly help!
I referenced two main things to help me memorize this, the chart Pat posted here on intheleed.com (http://www.intheleed.com/leed-decision-makers/), and I used the LEED reference guide which has a chart at the beginning of each section showing this information. I think Pat’s chart is easier to read and absorb.
Other than that, when I studied the strategies and submittal requirements I worked at “telling the story” back to myself or explaining it to another (very patient) person. If you can explain the flow of information for any given credit to someone, you will remember the pertinent facts.
I don’t have specific notes other than the chart I referenced. If you look at it, there are big patterns to remember, like all the materials ones which are construction phase submittals and which are also under the purview of the general contractor.
Truly – those with less building project experience may do better on this aspect because it is very “LEED” and not accurately reflective of the somewhat more organic way in which decisions are made on a real project.
Hi Steve –
Congratulations on passing! Even with my experience in architecture, this is not an easy or “slam dunk” test. Many professionals I know squeak by. In a way, the test would be easier if LEED were more established and if there were more formal education routes for all of us. Pat’s site here is one of the very best resources around and we’re lucky to have it. Beyond study, the best way to learn the details of how it all fits together is by working on real project documentation – and you passed without that which is great.
Pat,
I would just like to thank you for this website. It really helped me to focus on what was important in this test. There is a lot of information to digest for this exam. I took the test on 12/29/08 and scored a 181.
Also thanks to the others who have contributed in the blogs, etc. in providing their insight.
Good luck to everyone
Brad
Hi Steve, Julio, Heidi, Brad, Pat…..
Thanks for all the terrific information through the blog! brad, that is a great score; would be willing to share some wisdom? Heidi, I love your advice on telling the story on submittals, I am sure that will be very helpful and I may try that on my husband.
I am hoping to give the exam next month; does anybody have any study material that they made-up, scribbled, downloaded, used that they want to lend, sell or share? Hope to hear back…..
Thanks and Happy New Year to all……
Rasika
Hi Pat,
Thank you very much for this brilliant website and for all the brilliant work you did compiling the LEED AP Walkthrough. I passed the exam this morning with a 181.
Just a quick note on brain dumping — I was totally not prepared for a few of the calculations that popped up in my exam. The most complicated ones had to do with WEc3.1/WEc3.2 specifically with flow rates, gpf and daily usage. I almost missed out on a question that very cleverly threw in the phrase “as designed”, so that clearly flagged that your answer should not be about baseline stuff.
There were a lot of questions that had to do with SSc5.1/SSc5.2, which makes me think that I should have memorized the setbacks and percentage requirements better.
There were quite a few synergy questions that addressed vegetated roofs, with regards to SSc6.1/6.2 and how they would relate to SSc5.1/SSc5.2 and WEc1.1, and how that might affect SSc7.2… and all that.
I recommend studying up on how to calculate your energy costs as these might show up in questions for EAc2 and EAc6. I struggled with this one a bit, but I think I got that one.
Another bunch of calculation questions that threw me off were the ones regarding the MR category, specifically MRc3.1/MRc3.2 and MRc4.1/MRc4.2, and MRc5.1/MRc5.2. It was good to know how these all relate to one another and how they tie in to each other.
I was lucky that the ASHRAE type questions weren’t too difficult, but it is good to know where 90.1-2004, 62.1-2004 and 55-2004 all fall into the credits. I had one difficult question regarding the Performance Rating Method and I’m not actually sure if I got that one.
I’m surprised that the EQ questions weren’t as heavily emphasize, although I just might have gotten a lucky draw on the questions pool. There was a clever one on carpet replacement from one that was originally specified – they asked which credits a delay in delivery and change in specs might affect. I thought that it would affect the amount of recycled content (MRc4), the VOC’s (EQc4.3) and the Construction IAQ Management Plan (EQc3.2). At least I think those were the best choices.
There were a couple of questions on ID, but as long as the distinction between exemplary performance is clear, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
I aced the “Implement the LEED Process” with 100%, but I really struggled on the section of the exam on “Verify, Participate in, and Perform Technical Analyses required for LEED Credits”. I don’t feel too bad about that, since there should be a whole bunch of engineers on an actual project that get to do this stuff.
Once again, thank you to this awesome website from Pat, and all the many helpful regulars here, for being instrumental in helping me pass the LEED AP exam.
— Franco
A 181/200 gives me about a 90%, which is fortuitous since I took the exam a 9AM, on January 9, 2009.
I don’t recommend that you schedule the exam at 5PM, on May, 5th. Not that I’m into numerology or anything like that… but why take a chance?
Congratulations on passing Franco.
It sounds like you got a similar pool of questions to those on my exam…including on the performance rating method and fixture rates.
Does anyone know if the USGBC/GBCI has published national statistics regarding pass/fail scores for the LEED NC2.2 exam for 2008?
Thanks Pat … passed on the first try today due, in no small part to your work and website.
Ditto on fixture rates, know them all (standard, low flow, ultra low flow, lavs, duration computations and even dual flush)
The greenexamprep practice tests were helpful as well … and I’m VERY glad I memorized percentages, credit options and the decision makers chart.
Also, on the outline in the study guide (Pat’s), I went through the v2.2 reference guide and added submittals to it … I’m glad I did that little bit extra because, in both decision makers and submittals, I think having that down helped me to think the LEED way.
My pre-test brain dump on the scrath paper took about 10 minutes and was well worth it as I referred to it LOTS.
… studied about 150 hours or so and wouldn’t recommend any less than that.
As for the questions, there were quite a few that referenced more than one standard or credit and, unless you know them all, it’ll be tough to pass this test.
Thanks to everybody who’s posted here.
Rich … LEED AP (whew!!)
Pat, I passed my exam on the first try yesterday!! When I read about your success and the success of others-that really motivated me. I have been out of school for over twenty years so it was difficult to get back into the studying mode. I am sure that there are those who can pass this test with minimal time spent; but I will tell anyone that to pass the exam takes a lot of dedication. I probably spent well over 100 hours and even took vacation days to study. Your study guide was phenominal-keep up the great work.
HELP!!!! I have now taken the exam 4 times and scored 163, 168, 168, 168. I used Greenexamprep.com to study with in my last round and was scoring in the 90’s. I have no clue on why I can’t pass.
I know the credits, I know the thresholds, I know the process. The one I keep getting tripped on coordinating project and team.
I have also used a lot of the material I found on this webiste (and found it very helpful).
Can anyone help??
what scores are you getting on coordinating project and team?
I have gone from 67 – 56 – 44 – 22. I couldn’t tell you why.
Sorry to hear about your luck with the exams. Not sure if it helps, but perhaps the decision makers and submission phases need to be reviewed? A lot of the credits have a few options to them and that might be another one to review. I know that confused me a bit till I took a look at the sample templates.
Matt,
in my studying I went through v2.2 and added submittals to Pat’s outline and that worked for me. I also looked at the sample templates after I had the stuff memorized which kinda brought it all together. Also, as Franco said, I memorized the decision makers chart and used it in my pre-test brain dump.
Rich
I just passed and I thought the exam was rather easy, but I did study a lot. I got a 193/200 overall and in the 4 catagories I scored 89%, 89%, 100%, 86%.
Here is how I studied:
Read through the entire reference manuel and take notes or fill in the blank chart. Memorize the credit requirements and Reference standards (ashrae). Now learn all you can about CIR and the LEED registration process. Okay, now take every single practice test you can possibly find, I took over 1000 practice questions. If you guess on a question, tag it. After each test review every incorrect and tagged question. I joined greenexamprep.com and took all of their test twice. You will learn a lot from the practice test, and you will learn how to reason through questions. At the real test, do it just as practiced. Mark questions you are unsure on and then go back and review them. Then go celebrate because you just passed the LEED test and don’t have to spend $400 again!!
Tyler,
How long did you study?
I just eeked out a solid 174 the exam about an hour ago.
My methodology:
Went to a Tech Review Workshop (good).
Then I just studied the Colorado Chapter’s book that came with the workshop (good).
I bought a study book and a practice test from PPI (bad).
I took all the test questions I could find (good).
Later I bought Pat’s book – did all of the credit worksheets twice (good).
My office had the Reference Guide, but I hardly opened it.
Finally I signed up for greenprepexam.com (good) and bought the study cards (not so good). I took each test twice.
I would encourage more time spent on the online submittal forms – I only took a cursorary peek. I braindumped the WIMSEE chart (except for the Submittal Phase column.)
Thanks for the website, Pat.
Post Test Brain-Dump
Just passed today—191/200!
I really want to thank Pat for his excellent website and book. I purchased the book when I scored a 44% on my first practice test a few months ago and it provided valuable guidance on how to focus my efforts.
I hope a brief summary of my experience helps people prepare.
First—this is not an easy test. I studied for about three months—pretty intensively over the last month. By intensive I mean 4 hours a day and up to ten hours a day on weekends. Only a few questions were direct—most required a synthesis of knowledge across multiple credits.
Second, memorizing the credits and requirements is not enough. The test really focuses on your comprehension of the LEED process and the technical background behind each credit. For example, it’s not enough to know that Energy and Atmosphere c1 requires following ASHRAE 90.1 2004—you also need to know how ASHREA 90.1 works, what effect building techniques (daylighting, building orientation, etc) would have on the credit, and how changes to design would impact other credits. To do this, I read the LEED NC 2.2 Manual and took very detailed notes.
Third, if you are not a contractor, engineer or architect, you will need to look up every term you are not familiar with. I have no engineering, construction, or architectural background and this was probably the biggest challenge for me as I felt as if some of the material was in a foreign language. Once I starting becoming familiar with terms like U-factor, SHGC, fenestration, and R-Value, my comprehension level jumped exponentially. On the test, understanding technical terms is vital as it can help you rule out wrong answers and choose correct ones.
Fourth—take those practice exams on PPI2—these were invaluable! It will give you a feel for the real test and also help focus your studying. I found the real test to be a little easier (not much) than the practice exams. I went from a 44% on my first practice test to a 69%, then an 83% and 93%. I was surprised I scored higher than my best practice on the actual, but I attribute it to the scaling.
Fifth–know your LEED online and information about the submittal process. I estimate about 1/4 of my test was on this topic.
Lastly, use a variety of sources. I used the In the LEED website, Pat’s book, the NC Reference Manual, the University of Florida website, and PPI2 Pass reference manual and flash cards. Reviewing the materials in different formats and from different perspectives really helped test my comprehension.
Good luck!
Hey guys, im about ready to schedule my exam date. I still have alot of studying to do, so I want to schedule as late as possible. However I want to provide myself with enough time to re-register and take the exam, should I fail the first time around. I’d rather not fail and then have to start from scratch on LEED 2009. When do you think I should register for the test?
Hi All,
I’ve seen lots of question regarding “should I take it now vs. later?” As I followed the evolution and developments of the rating systems over the last year I decided to get my LEED AP now. The attached link will direct you the most comprehensive couple of pages that I’ve found so far to help you with information on that decision making process … it sure helped me.
Best of Luck,
Rich
http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=5266
Hi all,
writing the exam in 2 weeks and tensed about it. Though i have been studying for a month, its not makin me feel confident. doing the green exam prep tests and scoring in the range of 45-55%. Do you think two weeks of intense studying would help me gain some confidence? thinking of buying the colorado study guide too. please advise…
Lux,
I did two weeks of 8am-8pm study and was able to pass. If you can spend huge chunks of time like that, than it can be done. If not, I would encourage you to move your test date. Just make sure you beat the March deadline. Good luck.
p.s. I am a product rep and knew nothing about any of this when I started. Have faith!
Hello all,
I passed yesterday morning 187. I am partying tonight!
I wanted to post to any other product reps out there considering taking the exam. I knew very little outside of my specific area (tile) when I started studying for this exam (end of November). I set a test date of January 15th (huge motivator) and spent two weeks doing 2 hours a day study. Then, just before Christmas (I had planned to use the holidays for the bulk of my study time) my Wife’s Mother became very ill and passed between Christmas and New years. We spent all that time in hospitals and Funeral homes and I got no study time in.
Things settled down on January 3rd and I finally got to start studying again. My boss and I came to an unspoken agreement that I would take incoming work, but not pursue anything pro-actively. I basically spent 12 hours a day pounding through the book using pat’s guide as a jumping off point for each credit.
I also took the http://www.greenexamprep.com test before I started serious study to give myself a baseline. As I progressed in my studies, I would take it again after finishing working on each credit section (WE, SS, EQ)to see how I was doing and boost my confidence.
The pay off to all of this came an hour and a half after I passed the test. I left the site with the new feather in my cap and headed to an important local Architecture firm to do a lunch and learn on the green aspects of tile.
When during my introduction, I casually mentioned that I “have been a LEED-AP for about (pause for effect) 2 hours”, they stopped, asked me if I was serious and then gave me a round of applause. The presentation went great, and I could sense a new connection between me and them. There was a sense of parity I have never experienced and an acceptance.
Several of them stayed behind to ask me how it was and to further congratulate me. A few confessed to having failed the test and giving up. I was on cloud nine.
This type of response continued as I interacted with different firms today. There was just a difference in the way I felt and in the way they interacted with me. I know that these folks have way more schooling than I do, but in this case I am ahead of many of them and I think that my new status will continue to help me in my pursuit to be seen as a resource and not just a sales person.
All that to say if you are a product rep. and are considering investing the time, DO IT! In just a few hours today, I recouped all the emotional energy I had laid out, and I believe this will make a difference for me going forward.
Good Luck!
Dennis,
Thanx a ton for the encouragement. I’m hoping to spend more time with the reference guide and thinkin of purchasin the colorado study guide too. dont know if am too late.
hoping to pass..keepin my fingers crossed..
Congratulations, Dennis! Well deserved, you worked really hard for that and your post really is an inspirational push for all of us.
Could someone please help me? I did not succeed on my exam. In my exam, I had many questions regarding the role of the project administrator. Could someone explain their role in detail? I read someone’s post about them being in charged with all the paper work and also they are not necessarily LEED AP. Please help…
Try the link Pat recommends in his brain dump above. The link is somewhat helpful, however if someone could further clarify the Project Admin role I would be grateful as well. It is a bit elusive, no?
Here is a bit of information I found:
“Each team defines a “project administrator” that will serve as the primary project liaison between USGBC and the project team. Via LEED-Online, the project administrator can facilitate collaboration with project team members, share information and resources, and track progress towards the goal. ”
Its not much though. Again further clarification would be great!
RE: Project administrator
It helped me to think about the relationship between what is required of the project administrator and the practical things a project administrator *would* do in an optimal world.
What it is: An administrator – paperwork and communication details are the key things a project admin is in charge of. They are the first to use LEED Online in any project and the last. Don’t forget that and study by reading all you can link to on that topic. Part of the facilitation they do requires an understanding of who is supposed to supply what information for the various credit templates.
A project administrator should have some understanding of the credit submittal requirements because they review what is in the templates before sending them on for review. If they aren’t doing that, they are not fulfilling their role. Parker, you quoted above, “…the project administrator can facilitate collaboration with project team members, share information and resources, and track progress towards the goal.” None of this requires that the person actually be a LEED AP.
Not about the required role, just a logical discussion: Any LEED project needs to be identified as such (hopefully) before construction documents…it costs money over and above regular permitting, etc. to do the LEED paperwork. More team members generally mean a more expensive project. So, even though USGBC does not require an AP do the job it’s an efficient way of having the innovation point and some expertise on your project team while also doing the basic, required stuff. The project administrator is generally involved, either as a consultant or an employee, with the company that is doing construction documents and interacting with the builder through the entire course of construction.
Heidi,
Thank you
Just passed today, also with score of 187 – whatever that means. As with Pat’s experience, I wish I’d had a deeper understanding of the EA credits and the Stormwater credits. I would strongly recommend downloading and reading the sample letter templates, in order to understand what is required for submittals.
It was hard to find information on administrative issues such as fees and roles. The Project Admin assigns team members to the project and allows them to access the credit templates for the parts of the project they will work on.
Different people have different learning styles. I am more of a “forest first, then trees” type of learner. Unfortunately the way the Reference Guide presents most of the information is leaf by leaf. I took classes and workshops, but none of those things helped anywhere near as much as Pat’s Study Guide, which gives an overview I could wrap my brain around (and no, I’m not getting kickbacks for saying that.) The Green Exam Prep online tests were essential, but I couldn’t have benefited from them without Pat’s Study Guide.
I wish the credits were written in a more straightforward manner. For example, why name it Innovative Wastewater Technologies? Why not just call it Sewage Conveyance & Treatment, because that’s what the credit is really about.
Just took the LEED AP exam (for the second time) and passed! Whoo Hoo! InTheLeed.com was a very useful resource! Thanks for all the information posted on this site. It truly helped!
Thanks Pat! I passed today! I only averaged 60% on the greenexamprep webpage. I was sure I would fail. But your postdump helped me. I read it right before the test. I also JUST found out you know a friend of mine! (Mike)
Thanks again!
Hello all,
Today is my first visit to this blog and I am really happy to see it exists. I will be reviewing all of your helpful information as I begin (again) to study. My firm has put a March 31st test deadline. All advise will be helpful.
They try to trick you by throwing in irrelevant details. You have to read the wording of the test very, very carefully to see what they’re really asking.
The best tools I had were Pat’s Study Guide, the USGBC’s online “Essentials of LEED Accreditation” course, and the online Green Exam Prep course and tests. PPI Passing Zone and books were not nearly as valuable. I did get some flashcards and got a lot out of the ones on the referenced standards. But I studied for a whole year to take this test and probably spent over a thousand dollars on study materials and classes.
For me, it was helpful to approach the material from a number of different angles, from different sources. The Colorado Chapter publication did nothing for me. The Reference Guide was no help at all. It’s like they’re working hard to make the information as obscure as possible – why can’t they just write it in normal language? There should be an overview of what each credit is trying to accomplish. It took me a long time to decode that information because it isn’t in the stated credit intents or titles. It should be obvious – why do they hide it? Intentional obfuscation for a testing and study materials business? That’s what it looks like.
I studied right up until an hour before the exam, then I let my brain rest. The test itself was traumatic and I was freaked out the entire time. If you didn’t make it the first time, don’t feel bad. The test is full of nitpicky language, intentional misdirection, and logic puzzles. A day after passing, I’m still in recovery, and I feel like it was by accident that I passed. I walked out thinking it was a computer glitch. Cuz they don’t tell you what questions you get right or wrong.
I think it is bush league that they don’t let you know what you got right and what you missed even if you passed or failed. I thought the intent was to get a better understanding of sustainability. The Green Exam Prep tests were good because they did show what you missed and gave explanations of the correct and incorrect answers. They also pointed out where I miss read the questions.
Take your time in reading the questions and read them twice or three times. Also, don’t be afraid to mark the question and return to it.
sara and Tom have it right, it’s like Click and Clack Tappet wrote the test.
Adding to what Tom said, I marked every question that made me pause. Conversely, the ones I was positive about I read and re-read and re-read again to assure that I answered correctly. These I did not mark, and I told myself I was not going to look at these again.
After 43 minutes, I had looked at every single question. I marked 29 to redo, therefore I had 51 that I wasn’t going to revisit at all. The 2 hour time limit becae moot. Also, I knew that I only needed to get about half a dozen of the marked ones correct to pass. This alleved all stress.
That’s my tip, if you are positive that you know the correct answer(s) to a question, take your time before moving on. If you are unsure, mark it quickly and know you’ll come back to it.
I hope this technique works for others too.
All,
As LEED 3.0 approaches I know many people who are starting to study a lot and worry even more. I studied hard for 10 days straight (4 hours after work and 10 hours on weekend days) and I easily passed the test. Read the book, take notes (ASHRAE), and take practice tests (each test twice). I got a 193/200 and thought the test was way easier than the practice tests (which I got around 80%). See my earlier post for more indepth study procedures. Have faith, you’ll do great!
the online practice tests are crucial, not just in testing you, but in teaching you as well. take and retake until you can pass those easily. also there was a pdf somewhere on the internet of all the credits listed out and what each requires, what documents are referenced, and just an overview on why its important. even if you dont find the pdf, making a chart would be really helpful.
Just took the LEED AP exam for the first time yesterday and passed! Whoo Hoo! it was too hard. it is just my luck I guess. InTheLeed.com was a very useful resource! Thanks Pat
Thanks for all the information posted on this site. but I studied more than it. my suggestion to those who scheduled exam create your own study notes, flash card etc. I dont think it helps you to pass only copy all those ready materials and study. study all book.:) you will see there are more specific details.
I just passed my exam, thanks in part to this site. I had been studying out of the LEED-NC book and had one decent practice test. I found this site on Sunday and that’s when I heard about the project admin and LEED Online for the first time. If I didn’t know about them, I never would have passed. There were so many questions about the admin, templates, CIRs and appeals.
I also want to say that I signed up for GreenExamPrep.com. Those tests are harder than the real test, which is a good thing. There were questions on the actual test that I didn’t see on any practice test. Two that I can think of are flowrates and calculating the “virtual” energy rate.
I used the paper they gave me to write down the credits of any questions I wasn’t sure of. I noticed that most of my problems were in EA, but not involved in commisioning. I’d suggest writing problem credits down in case you don’t pass.
Thanks again for this site. I know at least three others who are going for thief accreditation and I told them how much help this site is.
Newman, I had same ‘Virtual energy’ question too
) and I have never seen it in other sample exams. lol
I took Greenexamprep.com too. test E was is harder then others. real exam was more harder then Greenexamprep tests except test E.
I thought the LEED exam was a breeze as opposed to the Greenexamprep or Colo***o exams. In fact, I was so put off guard by the simplicity that I got hung up trying to figure out where all the beef was being hidden. There was only 1 question I had where you had to shove off the irrelvent data. In fact, most of the irrelevant data and answers were almost comical.
Guys,
Appearing for the exam in two days and taking the greenexamprep tests over and over again. So are u all sayin the real test was easier than the greenexam prep tests?? am scoring 80 – 85 % in Pool E. havent tried the colorado yet. and what the hell is ‘ virtual energy’ ?
I found the actual test much more difficult than Green Exam Prep. The thing is, every actual test is different. There is a pool of 400 questions; you’ll get 80. It depends on which 80 questions you get and how thoroughly you understand that information. That’s why there are such differing opinions on difficulty – none of us take the exact same test. I had no questions on virtual energy, very few on EA, but at least five or six on daylighting and views. Basically, be prepared for anything and everything.
I don’t know what the virtual energy is yet. I hadn’t gotten more than six hours of sleep over the previous three nights combined, so I haven’t had a chance to research certain questions.
The real test didn’t have one question that I felt was deceiving. GreenExamPrep had many of them, so you had to read the question VERY carefully. It’s good to do that, but I found myself overanalyzing the real test.
I agree about Pool E in GreenExamPrep.com being the most difficult. The first time I took it, I got a 50%, and my second time wasn’t more than 70%.
Make sure you can calculate flow rates. That was a question I just had to guess at.
My test was very heavily weighted with questions about the LEED process. I suggest finding anything you can about the actual process of how a project becomes certified from start to finish.
I had an interesting questions that had me calculate the pre-consumer recycled content of materials for a project going for exemplary credit. I’m fairly certain I got it, but I think it would be difficult for someone who didn’t know the percentages involved.
I had marked 30 of my questions, and reviewed all of them. I think that was necessary. I didn’t change too many answers (2, I think), but I felt a lot better going through them the second time.
I read in other leed forums that scoring 70-80% greenexamprep for second time. but if you can not have same score for first time that is not being correct score. because you are learning answers. thats just my opinion.
Newman, I had concrete pre consumer calculation question too
which one did you mark? I think I marked 20% but I am not sure
other question I remember about water flush/ flow rate-GPM calculation. also other one was about women ultra-low, low flow rates
I remember the calculation is 1/2 pre-consumer + post-consumer = 30% for exemplary credit.
You can’t take any test more than a few times before skewing the results because you’ve memorized the question. That’s the difference between understanding something, and memorization and resuscitiation
Pat,
Any idea how the questions r marked? does all carry the same weightage? am totally freaked out thinkin about the exam…
does anyone have anymore material about project registration/certification other than the ones in the USGBC site coz thts all tht i have. is that enough?
Memorize the percentages but learn LEED! Otherwise you’ll just be guessing at many of the questions. You can’t memorize synergies and many questions, although simple, question the “cause & effect” and the reaction of different credits when the action of another is implemented. This is critcal to LEED.
I passed yesterday by studying for about 1 week, crammed and it worked. About half way through I thought I had failed miserably. I marked 25 questions that I had no clue about.
Ended up with a 177, just enough to pass.
The green exam questions were good.
lots of questions about leed process, cir’s, submittal templates when they are submitted, project administrator, virtual energy?, flow rate calc’s, silt fencing, stabilization, etc…
me too, 177, today. So many about EQ, but No any question about project administrator this time…
Many Thanks to Pat and other friends on this great website.
just passed with 179! i was expecting it to be difficult and it was. was getting 70-75% on practice exams. had trouble with technical analysis questions on EAc1 and stormwater. intheleed great help going through the mountains of information.
passed the exam with 185..phew..that was a relief.. lots of questions on cirs and project registrations i had no clue on..Nevertheless.. LEED AP for the rest of my life.. cheers to Pat and intheleed site.. been promoting it widely !!!!
I took the exam last night and passed with a 187!! Pat, your LEED AP Walkthrough definitely came in handy. I am recommending it to my friends taking the exam. Somehow I did best on the exam in the area I was weakest in on the greenexam practice tests, and the areas I did best in on the practices I did the worst on the exam, go figure. I think I was a little over confident on the SS credits for Stormwater so I kind of glossed over those in my final reviews. Well, now back to a normal life after work everyday, I don’t think I’ll know what to do with all my free time.
This site is awesome, thanks a lot Pat!
oh another thing, I came across quite a few questions on what the actual submittals need to be so don’t just gloss over those.
Only e-course I was able to find that is under $100 and is actual online videos. Go to YouTube to see preview of one of their courses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI1BT2g_iVU
Great way to learn about every credit in the LEED Rating System.
FYI: I have been trying to register online for the last few days at GBCI and keep getting errors on submitting. Tried on multiple computers and getting the same results. Anyone else having these problems?
I registered today – no problem
Found this site extremely helpful. Used some of the guides and studied from broader concepts first and worked my way into the details. This really helped me to connect all the dots and make sense of it all (I was overwhelmed by the book for a long time until I adopted this methodology). Also taking the GreenExamPrep tests really worked well for me – watch the low scores though cause it can do a number on your brain. Keep at them, the real test is easier than these. Not only a good way to study, but it gets you in the test taking mode. Good luck!
Joohoo, I am LEED-AP since yesterday and now what?
What can I do more then when I wasn’t accredited. Only USGBC can award credits and you don’t have to be a LEED-AP to submit the necessary documents. You just get 1 credit for being involved.
And from what I have experienced in 2 tests (I failed the first one) it is just remembering a lot of details and no knowledge of whatever sustainability is required. Just fill out the forms.
Hi Pat!
Thanks for the brain dump! All of this info is so helpful! The pdf is super helpful, and it’s actually written by a guy that works here!! He’s definitely a LEED guru as well!!
I was wondering if you actually had to memorize every calculation, or if they would be given to you and you are just expected to know how to use them.
First, the exam is not a difficult exam if you know your stuff. This is what I did to get prepared:
1- I planned my studying. Since LEED is not the purpose of my life or the only thing I have to do, I had to plan and schedule. If you don’t know where you are going and when, it will be very difficult to do anything. One of my friends had passed the test. She is a Turkish architect as well, and she had said that she got prepared in 5 weeks, so I gave myself 5 weeks to study and be done with it at once. Since I am too tired to study when I go home after work during weekdays –and I have a Bible study and other volunteer stuff that I do) and I drive to Blacksburg every weekend for my pre-marital class, I thought I can do most of my studying while driving. I purchased CDs to listen while driving at http://www.intheleed.com . Well, efficiency is the key. Thanks, Pat!
2- Of the all websites, http://www.intheleed.com is the best and I definitely suggest you to take the quizzes at http://www.cce.ufl.edu/LEED/resources.asp
3- Know these http://www.leedexamstudy.com/leed-exam-prep/
4- Enroll yourself with USGBC if you haven’t done so yet and surf on the website a bit to familiarize yourself with the LEED processes.
5- You should download sample submittal templates folder from USGBC website and spend some time with them to understand the requirements of each credit.
Although memorizing the all credits intents, requirements, approaches & strategies is a MUST, it is NOT enough. You have to understand what they mean and what is the purpose behind them, AND the interactions between the credits (called synergy and trade-offs). Synergy is good interactions like green roofs help with storm water, restore and protect habitat (provided SSc2), maximize open space (provided SSc2), heat-island roof (SSSc7.2), thermal insulation (EAc1). Therefore, for vegetable roofs SSc5.1 synergizes with SSc5.2, SSc6.1, SSc6.2, SSc7.2, EAc1. Trade-offs are bad interactions between credits like if you increase ventilation your electricity bills will probably go higher (for mild-climates), so EQc2 Increased Ventilation trade-offs with EAc1 Optimize Energy Performance etc.
The exam measures if you UNDERSTAND these good and bad interactions. If you JUST memorize the credits and take the exam, you’ll be surprised with unexpected questions. If you understand the logic behind this LEED thing generally, but not memorize all the trivial stuff, then you’ll be surprised again (not in a good way). So you need to know your stuff in & out AND understand the logic behind it (well the ultimate goal is not the get a title anyway, to be able to apply all this when there need be.) I had interest in green buildings anyway, so I understand concepts fairly well. I would highly recommend you read “Synergies” section from *** study guides notes.
6- In the exam (at least the one I took), there are lots of EA and IEQ questions. Study those sections well. My game plan was to read and answer all questions once (as quick as I can with my second language) by marking the ones I am not 100% sure (I marked maybe 30 of them to be on the safe side), then go the second time around and re-read marked questions (I changed 3 of my answers) and unmarked the ones I was sure that I got, and went and did the same thing for the third time (at the end I had 6 questions I was not 100% certain). Unfortunately, you can never make sure if you made it until you see your score at the end because of how they worded the exam. It is very humbling.
7- This forum helped me as well. Good thing you are here.
8- GreenExamPrep practice tests are really helpful. I took each twice. I was scoring around 88 before my test (except Test E, I scored 61).
9- Finally, keep things in the perspective (passing or failing doesn’t mean much or not a measure of anything) and have fun learning (not studying)! This stuff is actually fun. If I passed it with my second language, there is no reason you wouldn’t. Good luck!
I just passed the test today! I got a 180, thanks Pat, your website was very helpful.
Ok I was grilled on Water efficiency a lot!! I had two questions on the amount of times a you can use a low flush fixture and then another similar question where you needed that information to calculate the gallons used by one occupant.
I also had an exemplorary performance question for recycled content, you think ok its 30% right? Well they made you really think how you can get that 30%, I don’t know if I got it right. Plus they made me think on how to calculate the percentage of recycled content. They gave me the actual amount of pre-development discharge rate and quantity and not the percentage overall for the site.
I guess what I am trying to say is they make you really do the calculations for achieving the credit for some questions and for others if you know the basic concept you should be fine. But it still made me second guess myself a bunch of times.
I got the virtual energy question too and a lot on the role of the project adminstrator and decision makers for certain credits.
I hope this helps.
Pat-
Thank you for your website and your materials. They are outstanding. Your materials were the reason I was able to pass the first time and with a much higher score that I could have imagined. I was thrilled that you offered the audio files. I was listening to them i the car from the time I got them until the exam. Also I do agree Mehmet about the practice exams @ GreenExamPrep.com. they were the best I came across. I would recommend that if you do go that route start by selecting the option to get the explainations after you answer the question and regardless of whether you get the answer correct. We get a clear undertanding of how things fix together. Thanks again and best of luck to you
Carla
Carla
Hats off to Pat and the website. I past the first time through. The Walkthrough and the braindump were very helpful. I recommend them.
My co pays big bucks for this. Vegas here I come!!!
No more studying for me…
at least for awhile.
Where can I find more information to help me answer questions like the following (Implement LEED-NC Process)?
1. A project involves the renovation of an existing commercial office building, which
includes 4 of 10 stories and the core and shell. Project scope includes window
replacement, HVAC equipment replacement, plumbing replacement and tenant fit-out of
the owner occupied space.
Which rating system product(s) should be used for this project?
A. LEED-NC
B. LEED-EB and LEED-CI
C. LEED-CI and LEED-CS
D. LEED-CS and LEED-EB
2. If you submit credits for review in the Design Phase, what are you required to do for
the final submittal for LEED certification?
A. resubmit all Credit Templates as a complete package
B. submit only the documentation for the credits not previously submitted
C. submit the first review of the credits and the documentation for additional
credits
D. verify the credits previously submitted are valid and submit documentation for
additional credits
3. A LEED-registered project has a complex issue, which makes it so the project does
not comply with every aspect of a particular credit’s requirements as written.
Furthermore, that credit’s submittal template does not address the issue within its own
format.
What should the responsible party do?
A. contact USGBC review team directly to resolve the issue with appropriate
documentation
B. provide a separate narrative explaining the complex issue and how the credit
intent is met
C. complete the submittal template as though all aspects of the credit’s
requirements are met as written and submit for review
D. use the alternative compliance path option on the LEED submittal template
and provide a narrative demonstrating compliance
Answers are C, D, D
I think I found the information required to answer question 1 in my last post above here:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222
Its still rather vague though imo unless you learn each rating system completely you may be guessing on this type of question. Any ideas?
1) Yes, that link explains the difference between the LEED paths. Seems to me the answer is C since the owner occupied space renovation qualifies for Commercial Interiors and the core and shell renovation qualifies for Core and Shell.
2) I would look at LEED reference guide p. 16 and http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1497. It seems the answer is D as you only need to verify credits marked as “anticipated” in the design review, not resubmit everything.
3) Not sure where to get information on this except that almost every credit mentions in its submittal documentation “provide an optional narrative describing any special circumstances…”
For question (1) above it does look like the answer is (C)… However, after going through the checklist for LEED CS what bothers me is the phrase “plumbing replacement”, under WE of CS it sounds like replacement of fixtures rather than an overhaul of the entire plumbing system which is a major renovation and suggests LEED NC. Anyone know LEED CS front-to-back?
(2) I have to agree with (D).
(3) This came out in my exam and the correct answer is (D), this is more a question about familiarity with the LEED Online process. And in this case the alternative compliance path option is the giveaway to the correct answer.
Greetings, A/all!
I have just stumbled onto this site and I really appreciate all the information that I have found thus far. I actually take My exam on Monday!! (Pray for Me!!) I’m off now to study more — just wanted to take a moment and encourage all others and thank all who have gone before!
One thing though — I never heard any response to what is the Virtual Energy Rate. Anyone know?
“Virtual” energy Rate: see page 201 in the LEED 2.2 pdf (I think I have a first edition…)
“To assign a dollar value to the on-site energy, either use local utility rates or determine the ‘virtual’ energy rate by dividing the annual energy cost for the specified fuel type by the annual energy consumption for that fuel type.”
It’s an assumed energy rate to help you calculate the % of onsite renewable energy you can generate for EA c2.
(I just searched in Adobe reader while in the LEED 2.2 Guide for -virtual- and found it.)
THANKS! Fortunately the question never came up and I passed today with a 185! Thank God! I am most appreciative of allthe info I found on this site. Especially useful were the brain dumps and the charts! THANKS to all. I’ve told others in My office about the treasures that are here…..not just in the resources but in the people!!
I passed today as well!
193. 93/89/93/86.
My greenexamprep first time scores were A-49%/B-65%/C-73%/D-70%/E-70%. (Yes I was worried).
The real exam was a bit more straightforward than greenexamprep.
I really could not have done it without this site.
Thank you Pat.
Your organization and dedication helped me through this really difficult 2 weeks. Your blank pdf was really helpful as a check to see what I knew and didn’t know. Your boiled down summaries of each section really helped me hone in on relevant standards and discard the noise from the LEED Guide.
(Read that monstrosity three times…ugh)
Brain dump notes re: effectiveness.
I memorized and wrote down the percentages for Materials & Resources and Water Efficiency. I also wrote down the four names of the options available for EA credit 1. And WIMSEE. And the percentages and GC/GS SCAQMD #’s for EQ credits.
I looked at that brain dump sheet for only three out of 80 questions. It helped me more in terms of feeling in control of the information and not overwhelmed by having to recall something. But it turned out not to be useful through the exam. Helped me immensely to calm down though.
What I did find VERY useful was the CIR process sheet that the USGBC has on their website (Doc1510.pdf). Also useful was the explanation of the registration and certification process from the same site (Doc1108.pdf)
And if you know the basic %’s for Materials and Resources and Site Selection and Water Efficiency, it doesn’t hurt to know which ones are NOT just the next increment up in %.
Thanks again for this wonderful resource, Pat.
mizuchaud, congrats!
For some reason, I can’t seem to find the 2 documents that you reference form teh USGBC website. Would you be able to point me in the right direction?
Thanks!
“CIR process sheet that the USGBC has on their website (Doc1510.pdf). Also useful was the explanation of the registration and certification process from the same site (Doc1108.pdf)”
I Passed! with 194 today.
89/86/100/79
Thanks Pat for putting together such a great website. The information on this website & links to all the resources helped me achieve this goal!
Hi Pat,
I took the test for LEED NC today and passed it with a 178 score, this was my first round and I must thank you for your website as it was a great tool to study.
Thanks for your work and keep up with it,
Cesar
Good job guys, hope i do as well.
Well I since I am about to take the test, I figured Id upload my study notes for others to use (50 megs of LEED compiled over the last 5 months).
Basically Ive done the following for each and every credit:
1. Created an outline which is more detailed than the summary pages in the Ref. book, but not AS detailed as the entire credit literature.
2. Created a comprehensive list of concepts and terminology and applied them to each credit.
3. Charts, images, and supporting documentation to clarify things.
4. Sample credit submittals
You can download the file here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/2did1l
Hope it helps out, good luck to all… and good luck to me (test date is 23rd
any ideas why c is the right answer? I can get it by ruling out the others, but im not sure I know what they mean for c.
Which of the following statements is not true of light shelf design?
A
Can be a roof surface
B
Provides an ideal shelf for building vegetation
C
Creates daylight glazing areas on windows
D
Building latitude determines the depth of the overhan
Thank you so much Parker! I take it on Monday and am starting to freak out… will be cramming all weekend and I am sure your notes will help me immensely!
Thanks again
Parker,
Take a look a this samples of light shelves:
http://www.hunterdouglascontract.com/landing/solarcontrol.jsp?enl_semgrp=light+shelves&enl_semcamp=new+solar+control&enl_semterm=light+shelves&enl_semeng=g&enl_medium=p&enl_semmatch=phrase&enl_semadid=1302998618&gclid=CMOlhJ2goZkCFRwpawod52YGpg
Do you think you could grow trees or vegetation there?
Hope this images answer your questions!
Light shelves make it possible for daylight to penetrate the space up to 2.5 times the distance between the floor and the top of the window. Today, advanced light shelf technology makes it possible to increase the distance up to 4 times!
Omar thanks, but I goofed. What I meant to say was I can’t understand what they meant by D Creates daylight glazing areas on windows. Its worded strange is it not? I guess if they mean it separates vision glazing and daylight glazing I get it. But isnt that more a function of height. I mean, you don’t have to have a light shelf for daylight glazing as far as I understand. And for LEED, daylight glazing is simply any glazing above 7′6. Any ideas?
Has anyone used the Essentials of LEED Professional Accreditation through Ironwood Learning. Is it useful?
PRD: I havent used that, so i can’t comment. You could download my free study package http://www.sendspace.com/file/2did1l . I also have glash flashcards for my blackberry that I could share on google documents if anyone is interested.
Hi Parker,
Yes I did and found that the info and links here on intheleed along with greenexamprep were far more useful and much more cost efficient.
Hi Pat,
After taking two exams, I finally passed my exam yesterday…..what’s the relief. Since I am recovering my pain, I still have a question in the LEED exam and would like to verify which one should be correct.
Which one is right for MR4 Recycle Content Exemplary point.
(a) 20% recycle content
(b) 30% recycle content
(c) 20% post-consumer recycle content+ 10% pre-consumer recycle content
(d) 20% post-consumer recycle content+ 20% pre-consumer recycle content
Thanks
I imagine it would be D. At first glance you might choose b because you see 30% recycled content. What B does not tell you is how much of that recycled content is pre-consumer and how much is pos-consumer. D is the correct answer because 20% post consumer + half of 20% preconsumer equals a total of 30% recycled content with the appropriate amounts of pre/post consumer recyclable material as required by LEED. You would earn 3 points.
Parker: You mean it should be C?? I think you mistyped.
Nope, I meant d. Remember, you can only count half of the preconsumer recycled material.
If you chose c, you would only have a total of 25% recycled material which would not get you an ID credit anyways.
Thanks for all people helping to solve this tricky question. I got another one..
1 ton of Concrete (2000 lbs) with 100 lbs fly ash. The fly ash is 100% pre-consumer. What is the percentage of MR4 Recycle Content.
(a) 5%
(b) 10%
(c) 20%
(d) 2 ½%
Hey begals,
I think that one is pretty cut and dry.
(d) 2.5%
100/2000 = 5%, but you can only count half of the pre-consumer content.
Thanks Pat (and all forum participants!):
Passed with a 173 this morning. I used your guide as the ‘important points’ of studying and followed it up with GreenExamPrep .com which let me hone in on what questions to expect and what I needed to go back and review in your guide. Between those two resources it’s an inexpensive and efficient way to study and get it down without learning a bunch of fluff. THANKS!!!
Very happy to come across this wonderful resource. I am planning to take the exam at the end of June. Still trying ot decide which When should I take the exam. I have a question, as the registration will be over on March 31, that means I will have only one chance to take the test unless I take it on March, am I right with this?
Yes you are correct, you must register prior to midnight March 31st but you can take it till June 30. If you fail after March 31 and before June 30 that’s it, you must wait till the new test comes out. I would try and take it prior to the 31st if you can… just in case…
Hello everybody
Fisrt of I will let me thank Pat for putting up this wonderful site to help LEED test takers. It s a major source of information and information sharing regarding LEED AP test. Though I discovered it late just four days before taking my test today. However even then it was useful to go through the individual pages and the comments on this site. And I am happy to share that I passed the test with a score of 179.
Here I would like to share a useful resource that many on this website do not see as useful. However based on my own personal experience working with LEEDPASS by Shawn Scheffer helped me lot to undertsand and remmeber the nitty gritties of the individual credits. The 800 questions provide more than enough practice to memorize and remmeber the details of the individual credits and other information. Though a few of the questions have imbiguity in their answers but neverthelss if you check your answers back (that is how you learn basically) with the reference guide you find if the answer is right or wrong.
Once again I wish everybody luck on this site who are planning to take the test and thanks to Pat again. Three cheers for you!!!!
THE EVIL THAT IS GREENPREP.
hehe, while its a great study resource. Some of their questions are just terribly picky. I hope the real exam isnt this lame.
Check this out from a test I just took.
The project team on a major building renovation will try to earn EQ Credits 3.1 and 3.2 Construction IAQ Management Plan. The building will have permanently installed air handlers and use air quality testing before occupancy.
What must be completed to achieve these credits?
A
Meet the SMACNA IAQ guidelines just before occupancy
B
Have the general contractor perform the IAQ plan
C
Submit an IAQ testing report
D
Use MERV 6 air filters at each return air grill
E
Prior to occupancy, perform a building flush-out that supplies a total air volume of 14,000 cu. ft. of outdoor air per sq. ft. of floor area
If you ask me, it should be B and E, because C (the only other alternative) doesnt mention anything about the Compendium of methods for determination of air pollutants in indoor air. So it could really be any IAQ report. E is pretty straight forward and would comply! GRRR, if anything the answer should be BE and C. But…. Greenprep says its B and C and here is why.
“A building flush-out does not have to be performed. The flush-out is 1 of 2 options, and the question states Air Quality Testing will be done.”
I dont buy it. A building flushout is an option…. and if chosen it would need to be done.
Ok… getting of my soap box… (god i hope i pass)
Let me tell you one thing parker..the prcatice tests make it more difficult by provding more than one set of correct answers. In the real test you will not come accross such a situation.
Hope not, thanks for your support!
For the people who bothered to read my looong message above, I did pass the test with 188 on my first try, and intheleed had a big role in my succcess along with greenexamprep test. Thanks again, Pat. You are the best!
Congrats Nida! Im testing on monday, I can’t wait to have my life back.
Pat:
Thanks, I took the test this morning and I passed with a 182 thanks to your great book.
To all,
As there are 80 questions on this test and there are 120 mins for answering those, one has 1.5 mins to answer each question. Depending on the difficulty of the question, some may take more time or less to answer. Has anyone thought along those lines, any input about this will be appreciated
wannabe:
Im taking my test on monday. My strategy is to mark questions I dont immediately know for certain and come back to them after I answer ALLL the questions i do know. Then Ill repeat the process, if a question appears to be taking to long Ill skip and move to the next ones.
I think all story problems Ill avoid till the end so I can really work em out.
Finally play it by ear. You will know what to do
I guess I should clarify. I do plan to answer all questions, but ill skip the ones I don’t immediately know and come back to them later. You can mark questions on the actual LEED Exam to come back to later, unlike the GEP.
Thanks Parker….that is a good strategy. Are you giving practice tests now? I take my test on the 31st, 10 days to go. Right now I’m focusing more on what I know and taking practice tests. There are few things that are going to be tough anyway
Yea, I have no clue how Ill do. At this point im just reading everything i can get my hands on and reviewing what I know. Im so burned out and sick of this!!!!! I hope to pass, but its hard to know how you’ll do. Ive gotten pretty good gep tests so far
First time scores:
A: 74
B: 76
C: 88
D: 84
E not taken yet
I think ill retake the a-d with live mode on and answers at the end of each question to study some more today. Ill probably take e tomorrow to find any last holes and study that the rest of the day. Then monday ill review just a few percentages b4 the test.
So nervous!
is there any logic to the submital phases….why are some credits submitted in construction phase when it makes more sense to be in Design phase…i’m having trouble remembering the WIMSEE …I wish there would be some logic…does anyone have other tricks…i’m taking my exam on Friday and I’m freeking out!!!
thanks
jerseygirl,
First, there are minimal questions related to the two things you mention (submittal phases and WIMSEE). Credit intent, credit knowledge, implemenation, thresholds and standards referenced are the bulk of the test. Are you using the greenexamprep as a study source? There you will find the gist of the exam.
let’s ignore WIMSEE Chartfor now…my question is….
is there an easy way to remember when credits get submitted? const. phase & design phase…i’m trying to memorize it but it’s not staying…so now i’m looking for a cheat…
I’m using Ref. Giude 2nd & 3rd ed. and this website
thanks
go to the random tips heading and there is a chart someone put up.
Pretty useful i would have to admit
Hi jerseygirl –
I couldn’t really memorize this either – it helped me to think of what actually happens on a building project and who is ultimately responsible for a certain aspect of that project. In many cases we think, initially, that the specifying designer or engineer is responsible for something but if it’s a question of procuring a material and verifying that task is complete, the contractor is the last person on the job to determine what happens…in those cases it becomes a construction phase submittal. My suggestion is to read just the submittal requirements and think about what would happen on a real job to satisfy those and you’ll *get* it.
PASSED WITH A 191/200!!!!
THANKS SO MUCH TO http://WWW.INTHELEED.COM, PAT AND ALL THE CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE BLOG. WOW I CANT BELIEVE IT… ITS FINALLY OVER. ILL DO A BRAIN DUMP AFTER IM DONE GETTING PLASTERED. PARTY TYME!!!!!
Congrats parker, waiting to see your brain dump. enjoy!!
Parker, i’ve been checking the site all morning hoping you would say that…CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Please, post soon i’m taking mine on Friday and i’m very nervous
do you feel one needs to buy an on-line practice test or are the free stuff/exams sufficient …i’ve been using http://www.cce.ufl.edu/LEED/resources.asp besides this site
everyone’s imput is so great.
Pat you are GREAT!!!
thanks
thank you Heidi & Arpita
WOO HOO! Just took the exam this morning and also passed with a 190/200… Thank you Pat for this website and your tips. Greenexamprep was good way to go I thought, otherwise just study, study, study… and take the test. “You can do it!”
Jerseygirl:
Heading to work so this will be short. I recommend buying the mock exams at http://www.greenexamprep.com/ . I found the test questions were very similar in presentation and content. I do also advise re-reading all the synergies in the reference guide. The actual test seems to focus on these more than percentages and thresholds. You also should make sure you are up to speed no ALLL the definitions in the book.
If your scoring 70+ on your GEP on the first time you should be ok on the actual exam.
Good luck, I will post a better brain dump on the ARE and post a link here
Parker, n8patrick:
Congrats, way to go!
Thanks for everyones help and guidance. Just starting out to study here but sure am glad I found this place, everyone is so helpful!
Hope I can end up giving back too.
thanks parker
Pat, I just wanted to thank you for your EXCELLENT Walk-Through Guide. I took the test yesterday for the first time and scored a 189. I did so much better than I ever imagined and I owe it to you. For those who are interested, I used Pat’s LEED Walk-Through in combination with the greenexamprep.com practice exams and online tutorial, the Colorado Study Guide, and USGBC’s website. The Walk-Through helped me immensely because it was concise yet informational. As mentioned previously, the sample exams were very realistic. I consistenly scored 70-75% on the sample exams; the actual exam didn’t seem as picky to me, but maybe that’s because I had taken so many practice exams.
Thanks again and good luck to everyone still studying!!!
g8rgirl_AP
Congrats!
Did you use the audio package of the walk-through too?
Pat,
I spent 40+- hours studying for my exam, using tables, the v2.2 book, and reading your website. Thank you for your help! I passed with a 173. Every minute of studying helped!
Sincerely,
TIM
This qn which was posted by parker earlier:
#
any ideas why c is the right answer? I can get it by ruling out the others, but im not sure I know what they mean for c.
Which of the following statements is not true of light shelf design?
A
Can be a roof surface
B
Provides an ideal shelf for building vegetation
C
Creates daylight glazing areas on windows
D
Building latitude determines the depth of the overhan
By parker on Mar 14, 2009
Why is the answer C? Answer should be B.”Provides and ideal shelf for building vegetation” Please clear it for me. Thanks!!
Light shelf as i understand is to reflect light deeper into the building and making it more uniform.
Ideal shelf for building vegetation- HAHA!
1. Because you dont want plants around your lintel.
2. they would absorb the light and not transmit it to other parts of the building
Hope this helps
Congratulations Parker – 191 is a great score…
Arpita: re: light shelves,
I just got done with a desing for a Medical Office Clinic in which I used veggie light shelves extensively … vegetation on a white tile base for reflectivity. There’s a great plug-in for Revit on Autodesk for configuring exterior shades as well. (admittedly a little off topic) … Also, check out IAQ filtering characteristics of good ole spider plants … pretty amazing what they’ll do. So, for the test it’s “C” … and once you’ve passed you get to apply all that good stuff in practical applications. Thanks again Pat, couldn’t have done it without your site … RB
Just passed yeterday w/ 189 first time, still can’t belive I passed. This web site was a big help. I also found the test was a little eaiser than the Colorado and greeexamprep tests, never got better than 80% on them), but they were a big help. I have been out of school for thiry years so figuring out how to study was the biggest problem. I spent way to much time looking online for short cuts when I should have just beeen reading, hightlighting and taking notes. I asked both my kids who are in college the best way to study and they said reading and taking notes, which I did over the weekend. I took the technical review class and found it very helpful, mainly on what was realy important to know and what you did not need to know. It was also real scary when I realized tha alot of people were there because they had not passed the test. The best advise I could give would be don’t panic, I had no clue to the answers of the first couple of questions on the exam, but answered every question (did not leave any blank), marked alot to take a second look at. After a few question that I was comfortable with my answers, I just calmed down, got into the groove and moved along. I finished in less than 90 min., so had plenty of time to go back to the marked questions and review them (I probably only changed 2 out of all the ones I marked). Taking lots of practise test helped. Good luck to everyone, (you young kids need to stop blogging and start reading). I am looking forward to getting back to a normal life.
Hello all!
Quick question, and probably you have answered this before.
In the questions that the exam asks you for multiple answers (i.e. choose three)
and you make 2 and the third one is wrong.
That means the whole answer is wrong? or they count that other two.
My exam is tomorrow! I’m kind of anxious.
but I feel confident to take it.
JERS there is no partial markin.In multiple choice all answers have to be correctly marked otherwise whole answer is wrong.
Good luck!!
I still can`t believe it!!! I cleared the exam today with 184. I studied for 3 weeks. Pat`s audio LEED walkthrough was very helpful along with the green exam prep tests.
My exam was full of synergies. So you need to know them well.
Thanks everyone for all the useful information on this site:)
Jersey Girl, I created a small table for the design submittals, as well as the exemplary credits in one chart. I can email it to you it you’d like…….I wasn’t able to remember them until I made this…
Hi Julio,
sorry I didn’t get back to you …busy at work….i got one from a friend and it’s working find…tonight I’m signing up for the green exam prep and let’s see what happens.
If i need more help i’ll let you know
Thanks so much
one more day of studying…
This was posted in a recent brain dump:
o For example: To become eligible for LEED certification, what is needed? (choose 3)
A LEED AP on staff
A recycle area with storage bins
Complying with ASHRAE 62.2
A Soil Erosion Plan
A Cx authority to review construction submittals
Complying with ASHRAE 90.1
Although you are to choose 3, four of these can be selected, 1) recycle area, 2) Soil erosion plan, 3) ASH 62.2, 4) ASH 90.1…….what am I missing?
I did notice that ASHRAE 62.2 is incorrect, should be 62.1……is this just a sneaky trick question and I should have thrown out the incorrect 62.2??
Julio…
As I see it, it is about prerequisites. You NEED to comply with ASHRAE 90.1-2004, and have a Soil Erosion Plan (ESC), and a recycle area. The Cx statement has to do with Enhanced comissioning, and that credit may not be pursued. You are right that the ASHRAE 62.2 is not the correct name of the standard
Pat:
In the EA section of the e-book, pre requisite 3, fundamnetal refrigerant management, it states that for the lternative option for existing buildings that if simple payback for the replacement of a CFC HVAC system cannot be met, then the project is exempt from this pre requisite. It was my understanding that to attain LEED certification, that ALL pre requisites must be met. Please clarify this. Thanks.
Question on CIR’s. ON the greenexamprep.com test, one of their answers says that a CIR can apply to two different credits. Other reading suggests it cannot. Can I get a ruling on the rulings please? I am going to believe that one CIR per credit is the way to go, unless somebody else can tell me otherwise. Thanks.
Todd,
You’ve touched on an open can of worms. While our office copy of the Reference Guide walked away, I think it contained ambiguous language like “one CIR for each Credit, unless special circumstances…” That being said, all actual CIRs I’ve seen that attempt to address more than one credit get shot down immediately (or they address the first credit listed only).
The best reason for one CIR per Credit is when you are trying to resource previous CIRs (as requested in the CIR process). Since CIRs are listed by Credit, you would want to research only the Credit you need.
That being said, has anyone noticed that IDc1.1 through IDc1.4 all have different lists of CIRs (at least for NCv@.0/2.1)? There is no difference between the IDc1 credits! To me, that oversight is impossibly amateurish at this point in time. Hopefully they’ve cleaned that up.
Just took the test and failed with 167. I can literally write every single credit and it’s options and percentage which i did as my brain dump for the first 10 minutes. I was so confident going in but i don’t know what happened i over analyzed every single question i guess
But still thank you, Pat! such a great site.
Hi Pat, Do you know the default #’s for residental and commercial for fixture waste rates. In the NC ref. guide it states 3-flush/flow, 3 faucet, 1 sink for commercial and 5 flush/flow, 4 sink, 1 shower for residential.
Thanks,
Hi Pat and ALL!
I Passed today!!
thanks for your guide!
GUIDE and AUDIO was very helpful!
I studied for 2 weeks full full
exam was full of synerg, water calculations
and material and resources questions!
THANKS! from now on
I’m a LEED APPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!
For EA c2 & EAc6, For using an energy baseline:
1st option is the baseline for EA c1, 2nd option is CBECS, …. what can be used as a backup instead of these two options for baseline?
Hi Cely – So sorry to hear that you did not pass. I have recently been contracted to work on the new official USGBC study guides for 2009 and therefore have reviewed a lot of study material.
Pat has done an exceptional job with this site and the Walkthrough package but you might need more study practice. So, in my opinion, the greenexampreps are the sure-fire way to go to for you to pass the exam. These exams really do reinforce the details and most of the synergies of LEED, especially if you do not have the technical background.
Register for a new exam *immediately* because 167 could have been just two questions you missed.
~ndb
Hi my “intheleed” friends..
Just passed w/ 177 first time ….i’m still in shock……but very happy
Pat, thank you, this web site was a BIG help. I also signed up for the greeexamprep tests Wednesday night and I’m glad,eventhough I never got more than 60% on them,it showed me where my problems were…the GEP test’s questions were very similar to the actual test….thank you Parker for recommending it….$50 bucks well spent My actual test focused on percentages , CIR and chain of custody….
Once again thanks and good luck to all!!!
Just passed the test this morning with a 174!
This site helped me to ‘package’ my study materials in easy to digest packets. For example, I reformatted many of the charts from scratch and personalized them, from basic items to things I was having trouble memorizing under normal circumstances. But without the great examples from ‘in the leed,’ I would not have passed.
I had a similar experience as jerseygirl, I got the greenexamprep questions during the week (please get them well before your test for maximum efficiency…) and got nothing but 50’s and 60’s on them…..
However, as I took each exam, I took notes regarding things I needed to improve on as well as totally new things I had overlooked. I would research the Ref.Guide on those ‘highlights.’
Then I would move on to the next test, follow the same process, until I finished all of them.
Then, I would go through every question with the answer key to have it really all sink in. I found the GEP tests to be slightly more difficult and nit-picky than the actual, which was frustrating during the study process, but helpful when it was time to take the real test.
The other thing I would tell people is to make sure you get at least 90% of your normal sleep the night before and try to relax. Pulling an all-nighter will leave you a zombie during the real test.
Good luck to all & thanks Pat for the great support!
Great Job Julio!
Thanks for the information, I had moved my test date from earlier and its now this week. I am doing exactly as you said and going through the GEP tests one by one and looking up every question I get wrong and making notes about them… Hopefully I will have the same luck as you! Congrats tho!
I passed LEED exam today with 191 score..so happy that I am a LEED AP now. Thanx Pat for this wonderful blog and thanx all who helped me through my questions.
Good Luck to all!!
I passed my LEED exam today too! LEEP AP….YAYYYYY!! Thanks Pat and to everyone for posting qs. and answers- two of my questions were from the posts[:)].
All:
We would all have to register to become LEED AP+ – that is log for two specializations, membership, and continuing ed+ have to work in atleast 1 LEED project – otherwise we go out of the LEED system in 2 years from now…
So its just the begining
CONGRATS mamz
thnx Arpita, congratulations to you too…party time.
yup its just a begining but one step at a time.
HI Guys! I just passed with a 181!! I still cant believe it. That hardest part is pressing the “end” button but I swear without Pat and Greenexamprep study exam questions I couldn’t have done it. Thank you so much for all your work on this website Pat.
My brain dump will be brief because my memory is poor but:
Lots of questions about synergies, WE and EQ.
What is ‘needed’ to pass (know and understand all aspects of pre req’s and why they are required) versus non-pre req credits…
Green Power, and Lots of lighting questions…
Don’t spend time memorizing all the credits (to write down in the 10 min you get before the exam starts), if you need to memorize things, know ASHRAE, The different referenced standards for credits, and which phase they are submitted… That being said of course know EVERY credit, but its more about understanding the credit and how it works with other credits and all the implementation strategies.
Thanks again to all and good luck to the rest of you!
Awesome Jana, great work. I’m taking my test tomorrow, so nervous. Going through all the GEP’s and Pat’s book for today and tomorrow.
Thank you good luck tomorrow!
One last thing that helped me (http://www.intheleed.com/leed-ap-walkthrough/), I bought Pat’s mp3 Audio Files and put them on my ipod and literally listened at the gym, on the bus, at work… they REALLY Helped for those of you with a little bit of time left!
I just wanted to say thanks. I have been following everyone’s comments and took the exam on Saturday and I passed. I must say that the greenexamprep.com were very good and helped me to understand the requirements easier after a month of studying the main aspects.
I had questions on MR3.1, and 3.2, Standards Ashrae, Lighting, Daylight, one on changing facilities SS4.2 but no use of a calculator to work this percentage out!, alot on Materials MR 4.1 to 4.4. There were only a couple of scenarios questions which involved MR.
That’s all I remember at the moment, if I can remember more I will be back.
I missed the exam by one point! Shoot.
I did my worst in section “Coordinate Project & Team”. Do you know where I can look to study this & the submittals for construction documents? is it in the reference guide?
Also – One Question was about – What type & size of Bldg would be NC (verus EB, CI, etc)? Is there a minimum SF size?
Hi Katrina
I dont remember of any minimum SF sizes. However I do remember LEED NC to be for buildings with 4 or more occupiable floors. You may also check the individual pages for the different LEED certification types at:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222
Hope it helps
Another Question- “Who would be interested in a vegetated roof” – (choose a few options)?
a) civil engineer
b) mechanical
d) commissioning person
e) ?
Any help? I believe its civil but not sure of the remainder since I think it most clearly applies to Stormwater Mgmt – Quality rather than quantity.
One more question I remembered thinking – what the hecK?
Which would be considered Recycled Pre-consumer?
a) clay from manufacturing firm that makes clay tiles
b) broken glass from manufacturing firm used to make windows
c) purchased something or other ?
d) another purchased something or other?
* I believe if it’s purchased its not recycled – I could of course be wrong. Which answer would it then be – a or b, both seem so similar. Any help would be appreciated with these questions. Thnx
Katrina, I think I took the same test as you. I had those questions. I think I missed the veggie roof question, but I think you nailed the pre-consumer question. From USGBC:
Pre-consumer material is defined as material diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process. Excluded is reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it (read: clay).
I found that this site, the brain dump link below, had many of the same questions that I encountered on my exam:
http://www.usgbcidaho.org/resources/docs/LEED-AP-Training/Notes-from-LEED-NC-2.2-Exam.pdf
I’m so frustrated after missing this test, it’s just too expensive to miss by one point. what the heck!
Side note: I reminded a coworker that he needed to sign up for the test by March 31. Lo and behold the gbci.org site has crashed. Too many people trying to register before the deadline, apparently. The deadline has been moved back to April 1, 2009 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Time).
To Pat and ALL;
HURRAYYYYYYYYY..I am LEED AP now….passed the exam this afternoon with 181..studied hard for 3 weeks with ref. to this website and greenexamprep…THANK You to all of you…it feels nice to be part of the community..
the exam had lots of questions on WE, MR, one question i can remember is
What does a project has to do get exemplery point in MR Credit 4 recyle contect;
a. 20% recyle content
b. 30% recycle content
c. 20%post consumer + 10% pre consumer
d. 25%post consumer + 15 % pre consumer.
Answer is D
and recyle content, certified wood, regional materials and Leed technical analysis, and synergies… and good luck to everyone who is scheduled for the exam in the coming weeks it feels good to acoomplish the mission…..
SO, Leed AP’s what is the next process once you pass the exam, when can you expect the certificate and what is the process for us to tranfer on to the new AP program..please reply!
I am going to celebrate tonight with lot of booze……PAT cheers to you for this great website…
I just took the exam (first time) this morning and passed with a 188! Many thanks to Pat for this website, book/audio files and recommended other resources. (I am a licensed architect so I do have industry knowledge.) I studied for about 4 weeks (currently unemployed so lots of time). First week I read comments on this website and the ARE Forum (lots of good advice and discussions on both.) Second week I read the USGBC Handbook in depth; ended up being overwhelmed by the massive amounts of information thrown at me. Then I got Pat’s book (which pares the credit info down to the essentials) and really started learning the system. GEP’s Exam Guide and the Colorado USGBC Study Guide both contain excellent summaries/discussions of relevant processes and fees for CIR’s and submittals. You CAN find this information on the USGBC website by poking around on it but you find the info piecemeal and it’s hard to know if you’ve found it all (and it’s not organized). The Colorado USGBC Guidebook also contains some discussions of related but wide ranging Green Building issues (background knowledge helpful for the exam.) My learning process involved writing out a lot of the credit information in outline form on index cards. I also took lots of practice tests: the free ones on BuildingGreen.com and the University of Florida’s LEED prep website, and ones I bought in the Colorado USGBC Guidebook and from GEP. In all cases, I read (and highlighted) the answer explanations for ALL questions, not just the incorrect ones. For my “10 minute brain dump” this morning I wrote down a personalized WIMSEE chart (which incorporated columns for “number of credits” and “submittal phase with exceptions”); a CFMFSME chart and an ASHRAE chart. Then I listed all of the prerequisites/credits in SS, MR and EQ (letters & numbers only) with percentages noted. Credits with Exemplary Performance were “starred” and associated percentages were noted in parentheses. (The WE & EA credits I listed when I encountered questions concerning those categories.) This helped me to keep everything straight in my mind and to keep calm. The actual test was easier than the GEP practice ones, not as nit-picky. First run-through of test took 90 minutes; I did not rush and tried to read every question carefully. Then I reviewed the marked questions (changed 2 or 3) and finally reviewed all questions. Finished with about 5 minutes to spare. Once again, thank you Pat and everyone who wrote in here with tips and information.
Katrina, I also had the question concerning the Recycled Pre-consumer. I think the answer is (b) broken glass (used to make tiles?) from window manufacturing firm. My reasoning: (a) clay is typically recovered and used to make more tiles. One of the other possibilities was ground up recycled tires used to make a play area. The tires were used by consumers then ground up so that makes them post-consumer. The broken glass was recovered from the waste stream of making windows and used to make something else, the definition of pre-consumer.
Wahoo! Passed the LEED NC today with 192! Thanks for the study guides, Pat!
I failed my exam today, and I register again for next week. I practised and get 98% for greeneprepexam & usgbc. But, the question @ the riil test seem wierd to me. Please does anyone can help me where should I practise my test again? Please… I really need a help. Thanks.
FYI: I just visited the GBCI website and it is still posting an exam registration deadline of March 31, 2009 (11:59 PM Pacific Time). No mention of the deadline being moved back one day.
You get to have another shot at re-register the same axam, Katrina. Here is the latest announcement that was GBCI posted on 03/25/09. Most people are not aware that you can re-register the exam as soon as 3 hrs after you has failed. It used to take GBCI up to 72 hrs to post your test result, and you can only re-register after GBCI post your result. Due to a high demand of people who try to re-register by March 31st, GBCI has now expedited their posting process to only 3 hrs.
You can re-register the exam tomorrow 03/31/09.
I hope u see this message so you can sign up for your test by mid night tomorrow, Katrina.
Comment for Ken regarding the april register deadline rumor you indicated on the previous post…I think it is very irresponsible for you to post info that is not based on fact to mislead people. People like you should be banned from writing on a professional forum such as this one.
stephanie
Title: GBCI Announces Improvements to Accommodate High Volume of Candidates
Author: Media Contact
Source:
Date Written: 3/25/2009
THE GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES IMPROVEMENTS TO ACCOMMODATE HIGH VOLUME OF CANDIDATES
Results to be Processed Within Three Hours to Allow Candidates to Re-register by March 31st Deadline
As previously announced, registration for taking the current LEED for New Construction (NC) v2.2 and LEED for Commercial Interiors (CI) v2.0 LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) credentialing exams must be submitted and accepted by GBCI no later than March 31, 2009 (11:59 PM, Pacific Time). The exam itself must be completed by June 30, 2009 (11:59 PM, Pacific Time); this is the last date that candidates can take these exams.
In accordance with policy, candidates are informed of their test results upon completion and it typically takes GBCI seventy-two (72) hours to process those results. Candidates have not been eligible to re-register until that process has been completed.
However, in order to accommodate the volume of candidates wanting to re-register by the March 31st deadline, GBCI has expedited processing exam results, so that they should now post to the GBCI website three (3) hours after a candidate completes the exam. This makes it possible for those who do not pass their exams to re-register quickly with GBCI in order to meet the March 31st registration deadline. Candidates must register on the GBCI website, http://www.gbci.org, by March 31, 2009 (11:59 PM, Pacific Time). Candidates who fail to re-register on the GBCI website by the deadline will not be able to test again under these exam tracks.
Candidates then schedule their exams with Prometric at http://www.prometric.com/GBCI and are still subject to exam availability and all other standard Prometric terms and requirements.
As part of the changes to the accreditation process announced at the end of 2008, going forward the LEED NC designation will be replaced with the LEED Building Design and Construction (BD+C) designation and the LEED CI designation will be replaced by LEED for Interior Design and Construction (ID+C) in order to maintain alignment with the new LEED 2009 Rating System. Details of the changes to the LEED AP program are at http://www.gbci.org.
About GBCI
GBCI was created to administer certification and credentialing programs related to green building practice and to ensure that the LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) program continues to be developed in accordance with best practices for credentialing programs. To underscore this commitment, GBCI will undergo the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accreditation process for personnel certification agencies complying with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 17024. Beginning in 2009, GBCI will begin administering the LEED certification process for buildings. For more information, please visit http://www.gbci.org.
###
@Sheree,You are right. Before, around 5PM today, when the website had a problem I saw that notice. But, no more right now.
Cindy,
Since you got 98% on GEP, I believe you have more than enough to pass the exam. Be aware that some of GEP’s notes/explanation are not clear or sufficient, make sure you got them all cleared by checking on the Reference Guide. Good luck.
Hi,
I passed the exam yesterday, with a score of 180!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Pat for this wonderful website and thanks to all for contributing to the forums.
Stephanie, Thanks for calling me a liar. Much appreciated. But what I posted was indeed true around 5 pm (mst) yesterday. I thought I was being helpful alerting people the site was down. Oh well.
I don’t know why gbci pulled their previous release note (about April 1), but it reeks of the amateurish trend I’ve commented on before regarding USGBC and GBCI. Even on their home page, it notes the 1st on a link, but then contradicts itself. A press release site notes the original posting here:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/03/prweb2283464.htm
As does this other “professional forum”:
http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=87115_0_42_0_C
I think gbci MUST honor this date, since they posted that info (albeit only briefly). However, it appears they may be proceeding like their posting never occurred (again, this does not seem very professional).
I do not appreciate being essentially called a liar. I’ve been a regular poster on here before and now since I’ve passed the exam. Good luck all – I’m out.
I just wanted to thank Pat for this great website. The information your provided was invaluable to passing to Leed AP
test.
I received a 188 yesterday and the test was much easier than I had excepted. It didn’t require many of facts & referneces that i had memorized, there were more analytical type questions based on the background from reading the reference guide. The Colorado Study Guide questions were much more complex and more difficult than the eactly exam so if you can pass the Colorado sample exam then you’re in great shape. I studied for about 6 weeks and put an intense 30 hours in the 2 weeks and that extra studying to add much.
If you just read the entire reference guide and use the Colorado study guide then you’ll be in good shape taking the exam!!!!
Thanks Pat for a fantastic website as well as everyone’s thoughts and comments. The gep exams were also essential and I found a lot of good advice on the areforum.org. I passed this week and I couldn’t have been successful without all of this information!!!
For those not registered yet……..I am confused by information posted on usgbc.org
and the gbci.org. as one site says April 1 at 11:59pm and the other March 31 at 11;59pm. Both are currently posted, however, I would certainly error on the side of caution and be signed up by 11:59 pm TONIGHT March 31.
Copied from the usgbc.org site, home page under highlights:
The GBCI website underwent maintenance March 30, 2009 until 11:59 pm (Eastern Time).
Due to unexpected website maintenance, we are extending the deadline for registration for the LEED AP NC and CI exams to April 1, 2009 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Time).
But information from gbci.org:
GBCI News
LEED NC and LEED CI exam retirement date is June 30, 2009. Exam registration must take place by April 1. Read more here.
Title: GBCI Announces Improvements to Accommodate High Volume of Candidates
Author: Media Contact
Source:
Date Written: 3/25/2009
THE GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES IMPROVEMENTS TO ACCOMMODATE HIGH VOLUME OF CANDIDATES
Results to be Processed Within Three Hours to Allow Candidates to Re-register by March 31st Deadline
As previously announced, registration for taking the current LEED for New Construction (NC) v2.2 and LEED for Commercial Interiors (CI) v2.0 LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) credentialing exams must be submitted and accepted by GBCI no later than March 31, 2009 (11:59 PM, Pacific Time). The exam itself must be completed by June 30, 2009 (11:59 PM, Pacific Time); this is the last date that candidates can take these exams.
In accordance with policy, candidates are informed of their test results upon completion and it typically takes GBCI seventy-two (72) hours to process those results. Candidates have not been eligible to re-register until that process has been completed.
However, in order to accommodate the volume of candidates wanting to re-register by the March 31st deadline, GBCI has expedited processing exam results, so that they should now post to the GBCI website three (3) hours after a candidate completes the exam. This makes it possible for those who do not pass their exams to re-register quickly with GBCI in order to meet the March 31st registration deadline. Candidates must register on the GBCI website, http://www.gbci.org, by March 31, 2009 (11:59 PM, Pacific Time). Candidates who fail to re-register on the GBCI website by the deadline will not be able to test again under these exam tracks.
See stephanie’s post above for the complete memo.
I suggest that you register by March 31 11:59pm to have no doubt and study what is suggested in everyone’s brain dump comments.
From previous post-
What does a project has to do get exemplery point in MR Credit 4 recyle contect;
a. 20% recyle content
b. 30% recycle content
c. 20%post consumer + 10% pre consumer
d. 25%post consumer + 15 % pre consumer.
Answer is D
Without seeing the exact wording of the exam question, I believe the correct answer is most likely B- 30% recycle content, but could also be C- 20%post consumer + 10% pre consumer depending on how things are actually written.
I found that the exam tested you on many levels, percentage facts and your understanding of the intent all in one question.
The intent is to incorporate “new” materials made from recyclables that ultimately decreases the impact from extraction and processing of virgin materials.
Please refer to the v2.2 3rd ed. reference guide p. 273:
Exemplary Performance
“Project teams may earn an Innovation in Design point for exemplary performance when the requirements reach the next incremental step. For recycled content, the total recycled value must be 30% or greater.”
Important to note that it is recycled VALUE equal to or greater than 30%.
Also important to know that the total recycled percentage comes from the combination of post-consumer and pre-consumer materials and that eah pre-consumer is limited to 1/2 the preconsumer content based on cost/total value.
Notice how MR credit 4.1 is written:
10% (post-consumer + 1/2 pre-consumer)
MR credit 4.2 is written as:
20% (post-consumer + 1/2 pre-consumer)
If I understand the intent and based upon how the question is written in the post, I could also say that answer C is correct since the combined post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content is 30%; 20% post + 10% pre because no use of brackets the way credits 1 and 2 are identifed.
This is an exam question where the brain dumps stress reading the questions (as well as answers) and thinking through the process/intent etc. before choosing one.
What does someone else think would be the correct answer B or C?
Indeed, as a follow up to Ken, I received an email from PPI (Professional Publications) from where I had purchased a LEED guide and the header read as follows, “GBCI Extends Current LEED Exam Registration Deadline to April 1st”. I do not think they would have sent that out to all their clients if this were just a “rumour.”
Anyways, on the usgbc website, they have posted that that will honor the April 1st deadline.
“The GBCI website underwent maintenance March 30, 2009 until 11:59 pm (Eastern Time).
Due to unexpected website maintenance, we are extending the deadline for registration for the LEED AP NC and CI exams to April 1, 2009 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Time).”
Thanks again to all that have helped make this website a wonderful resource!
I just got home from the test and PASSED with a 173…by the skin of my teeth. I was nervous throughout the test but it all worked out ok. There were several questions on EQ prerequisites and also EQ Credit 1 and 2. Need to know and understand commissioning and enhanced commissioning. Several questions about the different synergies as well. The question about (about recycled content) was on my test as well. Just to give all of you some hope, I only scored 48%, 50%, 64%, 65% and 60% on my practice exams through GEP.
Thanks for all the tips. I just found the site the other day but if definitely helped in my studying!!
Time to celebrate!
From previous post-
What does a project has to do get exemplery point in MR Credit 4 recyle contect;
a. 20% recyle content
b. 30% recycle content
c. 20%post consumer + 10% pre consumer
d. 25%post consumer + 15 % pre consumer.
The answer is C
To IKC and ALL;
The answer to the recycle content on my previous post is “what does one has to do to get an exemplery point in MR credit 4″
Well the answer if D, the reasons;
1. To get exemplery point in MR credit 4 recyle content one has to get 30% totoal of (precosumer recyle content + 1/2 post consumer recycle content) so to qualify for that;
Option 1 and Option 2 does not count; the reasons are we know its recycle content but 20% recycle content and 30% recycle content dosent say how much of post cosumer and pre consumer.
so now we are left with option C and option D which might qualify but we need to know how much of the total comes to 30% or above the treshold limit.
If you consider
postconsumer = X
pre consumer = Y/2
total equation has to be X + Y/2 >= 30%,
then the answer is OPTION D.
hope that will make easier for people to crack this kind of questions…..all the best..
(btw; I bought Green prep exam, but used only 2 exams, I have 3 exams left out and some one can use It)
Raj
To Ekta and All;
Recycle content question on exam,
LEED will be a very easy exam, If the answer are very staight forward.
The answer cant be C the reasons are;
Option C – 20% Post consumer + 10% pre consumer (remember only half of pre consumer conunts; so half of 10% is only 5 %) which totals to only 25 % total recycle content.
Option D – 25% Post consumer + 15% pre consumer (remember only half of pre consumer counts; so half of 15% is only 7.5%) which totals to 30% +
So answer is D.
AND TO ALL;
PLEASE DONT CHOOSE YOUR ANSWER in a hurry; GIVE IT A THOUGHT. IT will pay back handsomely….
Hi everyone
I passed last night with 184. It was a HUGE relief, wow feels so go good to have accomplished this. Working 14 hours a day, weekends and studying for this is very gruelling and tiresome. But, let me tell you, I I can do it anyone can.
GEP: 71,60,64,76,60.
LEED: 183.
I did not read the entire USGBC refernce guide, rather used it only for REFERENCE. Here was my approach:
1. Memorize entire Pat’s book
2. Make my notes
3. USGBC website
4. GEP (make sure to go thru each question after the test and then look at reference guide for more information)
Let’s be honest 400 pages of information is a LOT to read. You really don’t need all that, plus how much can a brain retain from those 400 pages.
Stick to your plan, believe in yourself. YOU CAN DO IT.
Congrats Wannabe!
Thanks for the tips too
Can someone help me with these questions- I hadn’t heard a response, I could really use some insight so I don’t fail the test yet again…:
1)I did my worst in section “Coordinate Project & Team”. Do you know where I can look to study this & the submittals for construction documents? is it in the reference guide?
2) One Question was about – What type & size of Bldg would be NC (verus EB, CI, etc)? Is there a minimum SF size?
3)Another Question- “Who would be interested in a vegetated roof” – (choose a few options)?
a) civil engineer
b) mechanical
d) commissioning person
e) ?
I believe its civil but not sure of the remainder since I think it most clearly applies to Stormwater Mgmt – Quality rather than quantity.
Any help out there? Much appreciated.
hi Pat,
I have a question…How the marking is done for multiple choice questions. If i get 2 out of 3 options right do I get 2/3rd marks or ‘zero’
Thanks.
Pat,
You will get zero, not 2/3’s as you actually got the question wrong (did not completely answer it). I hope that helps!
Justin Fogle, LEED AP
hi pat,
failed the exam today with 161. just last night i stumbled upon your blog- which was quite a revelation.
what is “your book” every one is talking about. where can i find it?
thanks
I heard about this opportunity to take the new LEED AP+ exam for free by qualifying as a beta tester. Deadline to apply is April 17th, 2009. I passed the exam last month but I thought I would pass along the info. Find out more info here http://1sillygreengoose.com/2009/04/take-the-leed-ap-exam-for-free/
Thank you to Pat for this great website and to everyone that has posted comments and thoughts through each section on the website.
I passed today with a 181. I began studying pretty heavily about 2.5 weeks before this, reading through the book. I also read the book while browsing this site and the comments people left for each section, and that was tremendous.
The biggest thing to help me was the GreenExamPrep tests, because they helped me demonstrate what I read. For me, I could have read the book 100 times, but that would be no measure of how I would/could do on a real test. Times are tough yes, but GEP is sooo well worth the money. You learn more from your mistakes than you do the (poorly written) reference guide.
Good luck to all!
First off, thanks for this website. It’s been helpful in a number of ways.
I failed the test today for the second time and am completely peeved about it. (First exam 158 second 161) I’ve read the book twice, the most recent go through was within the last 4 days! I’ve poured over every website, including this one. I’ve taken a local test prep class. I can rattle off how each credit works and multiple ways to implement and why they’re important.
But what I don’t have is hands on experience with a project. I am changing careers (I’m an EE) and am trying to join my father-in-law in his consulting business. So I’ve not been around any of the filing and design process steps. You can read about them but never really understand them until they’re actually done. At least that’s the way I am.
What annoys me most is that this test shouldn’t be this hard! Why are their so many “trick questions”?
Examples: (I don’t remember these exactly as worded but you get the idea.)
What submission method should be used for a NC 2.0 project?
LEED Online
Commissioning Agent
Paper Submission Method
Email
I went with LEED Online as the answer, as I’m sure most of you would. However the answer is Paper Submission Method! NC v2.1 and 2.2 are online, 2.0 is not. (Why exactly is this so important to be on the test?)
Another example:
Once you receive a ruling on a submitted CIR, what should be included with the credit submission?
CIR ruling and all submitted documents
Description of methods used to meet credit
Credit which CIR is relating to and LEED submittal
Original CIR inquiry and ruling
I answered CIR ruling and all submitted documents. The answer is Original CIR inquiry and ruling. (Again, why is this important?)
There seems to be a number of items on the test which to me seem unimportant. What is LEED all about after all? The paperwork and technicalities or sustainable structures and conserving energy?
Maybe I’m alone on this, but I’m angry and $400 poorer because of questions like these. Yes I must have gotten other questions wrong as well, but what is the point of these questions? To keep us from passing the exam so they can get another $400 out of us, or are these things really that important?
If nothing else, maybe writing this will help someone else get these questions right.
Good luck to all…maybe I’ll see you there…again!
Barely studied, except for trying to memorize flash cards for a week or two. Finally sprang for Greenexamprep practice exams yesterday. Went through all the exams once or twice, memorized the WIMSEE/ASHRAE/CFMFSME stuff from various sites, including a watered-down credit table. Basically Pat’s “5 Day Countdown” condensed into one day.
Got a 188!
GreenExamPrep tests had me spooked because I was getting 45-65% on the tests. The actual exam is much easier and straight forward (in comparison). GEP really makes you aware how finicky the test COULD be.
This is my only comment on this site, but thanks to everyone on here for your support and contribution!
Hi all!
I approached this the same as Rick, hardly studied (like a true procrastinator, I have had the ref book sitting on my bookshelf for nearly 2 years, and haven’t come around to taking the test until now); however, i did read thru the reference guide once, making notes in the margins (1 word triggers, essentially), filled out Pat’s blank matrix one category at a time, filling in with red pen what i’d missed, and spent the better part of this past weekend just reviewing by taking greenexamprep exams and then reviewing the questions i had missed (this was a HUGE help both for knowing where to focus my energy and for understanding the importance of reading the questions and answering what they are asking for, not just spitting back percentages, etc).
Anyway, I passed with a 191 despite a great deal of uncertainty on a bunch of questions due to terrible wording and failure to be straightforward (be flexible, try to APPLY your knowledge to eliminate choices that are obviously wrong) — so I believe there is some leeway.
I would say DEFINITELY know water efficiency, EAc1, the certification process and administrative stuff, and do not worry too much about the littlest details (if there are only 2 or 3 questions on the test that really test on how deeply you read the text, you can miss them or make educated guesses) — try to understand the bigger picture of sustainable development, intents and LEED strategies…the details will come more easily if you understand the “what” and “why”.
Best of luck to all!!!
I’m pleased to report that I passed today with a 189 (My 4 scores were 89%, 89%, 80% and 86%, which just adds to the mystery of the weighting system).
Here’s my brain dump from the version I got.
- Surprisingly numerous questions on the CIR process (maybe 4 or 5)
- Use PROCESS OF ELIMINATION! I found that figuring out the 2 wrong answers was generally much easier than figuring out the 2 or 3 right ones. When you eliminate enough wrong ones to leave you with the correct number of right ones, well, then you’ve got your answer. This is my #1 piece of advice: there wasn’t a single question that I was unable to eliminate at least one answer, which ups the odds even on those you’re less sure of.
- Two hours is plenty of time, so take it easy. First run-through took me about 45 minutes, so I went back and re-read every single question–even the ones I was confident of. I found 2 bonehead mistakes (missed the word “not” for instance) that saved me on those questions. Also one awkwardly worded one that I couldn’t figure out the first time, but for some reason made more sense on the second read through.
- Although I took advantage of the 10-minute prep time, I didn’t need the WIMSEE chart and really never referred to anything I wrote down. My advice would be to use that time to write down the 2-3 things that you usually have the hardest time remembering and that you just doublechecked before you walked in (for me that’s keeping SS 5.1 and 5.2 straight)
- My test was scheduled for 1 PM. By 10 AM I wished I had scheduled a morning time, because I was totally stir crazy. I was about as ready as I was going to be, and just more review was adding little value. Next time (if!) I’ll schedule a morning appointment.
- I actually think the wording was not as tricky as some of the practice exams I’ve seen. Not totally straightforward, but if you read c.a.r.e.f.u.l.l.y almost every question eventually makes sense.
I hope this helps for the few of you left before the new 2009 system takes effect.
Good Luck!
I passed the exams today after three weeks of intensive studies.I got 175. I did not get the time to do any of the online practice exams but tried my hands on the Colorado Chapter exam which was much difficult than the real exam. Thanks everyone, your brain dump and comments were very helpful.
I passed the test today with a 191 (96, 89, 93 and yes, a 71).
That is remarkable to me, because I also sprung for the greenexamprep practice tests and never got higher than a 76 on any one of those and I took all 5. I was hoping to only squeak by based on those results, but the practice tests certainly helped me focus on how tricky the questions could be and how picky. Use the practice tests, but don’t let them sap your confidence.
The good news is that the actual test is much easier than the practice tests and you will have plenty of time (I had a good half hour left to go back and review my marked answers).
The bad news is that there were several badly worded questions and answer sets about CIRs and the process and there may be some questions where you will just have to take a wild guess. I am not an engineer, architect, design or construction professional, so my “educated guess” wasn’t worth much and I still got through it.
This site was awesome for exam preparation. I particularly liked the tools (charts and lists) and this Post-Test Evaluation and Brain Dump discussion. It really helped me focus my efforts – thanks Pat!
Good luck to all of you out there trying to get this done before June 30!
Hi Pat and all the helpful people on this board,
I ordered your study guide and audio which have been very helpful. I started doing some sample questions off the buildinggreen free test. I am very confused with a couple questions. The first is #15. Which of the following materials contribute to the rapidly renewable content calculation under MR credit 6. Rapidly Renewable Content? (Choose4) A.) Bamboo cabinets B.) Cotton-insulated ductwork C.) Landscaping plants with a less than 10 year life cycle D.) cork flooring E.) Rigid foam insulation with corn-derived binder F.) Composite wood using saplings culled from an FSC certified forest G.) Straw-plastic composite decking H.) Maple flooring.
So I thought the answer was A,B,D,G. but the answer key said A,D,E,G. I don’t get this…instead of cotton-insulated ductwork, the answer is rigid foam insulation with corn derived binder. How is the case when they specifically say cotton insulation is a RR material, but no mention of the Foam insulation. Am I missing something or is the answer key wrong.
My second issue was with question 21. You are required to provide what data for compliance with WE credit 3, Water Use Reduction? (Choose 3) A.) Dishwasher flowrates B.) Number of fixtures C.) Lavatory flow rates D.) Fixture model and manufacturer E.) Default baseline reduction of 20% F.) Male to female ratio, in special occupancy situation. The answer is C,D,F. My confusion is with F. I’ve scoured the material and don’t see where they mention male-female ratio special occupancy situations as being vital WE 3. If anything I thought that the ratio was moot because the usage rates are equal. PLEASE HELP all experienced LEED people.
Signed, very perplexed and slightly frustrated, Jack
Jack –
As to question 15, I believe B is wrong because it says DUCTWORK, and MEP is not included in this, or any of the other MR credits. Be careful bc a lot of the questions throw in tricks like that.
And as for question 21, this is another trick bc in the Ref Guide it says to use the default of 1:1 male:female ratio, which makes you think the ratio does not matter — however, it is used in commercial/institutional and comes into play when there are special circumstances such as an overwhelming difference in number of male vs female occupants(ie an all-girls school). If you have a question like this and don’t know all the components, try process of elimination — in this case, it would have worked nicely, too, since you know dishwashers do NOT count, the number of fixtures is irrelevant bc it’s the rate that matters, and the default baseline is EPAct, not 20% — 20% is the design case or the percentage reduction you are aiming for.
Hope this helped and didn’t confuse you more!
Hi Everyone, I am taking my NC exam on May 11th and have been studying quite a bit. I will probably have a few questions (Is this a good place to post them?), and hopefully I can pitch in and answer some other peoples questions. My first question is this:
It says on the USGBC website:
There are 100 base points; 6 possible Innovation in Design and 4 Regional Priority points
I thought there were just 5 ID credits available. Am I missing something?
Thanks,David
David,
I think you may be missing the difference between v2.2 and v3 … which test are you taking?
Hi Rich, I’m taking New Construction 2.2. I guess that’s the problem. Whew thanks. I’ll just stick to the reference guide.
David
Hey Everyone,
I just want to thank Pat for everything he has has done in making intheleed a very useful website in preparing the LEED AP EXAM. I am excited to say I passed this morning with a 186, first time. It was a one time only chance. My study time was about 4 weeks, with at least 2 hours per day. In addition to this website I purchased the Green Exam Prep- very very helpful! My background in case anyone is wondering: professional engineer-civil. Another website I visited frequently was the Harvard Green building- it shows the submitted templates for actual projects.
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!
David,
I would recommend highly Pat’s v2.2 study guide and the greenexamprep tests (if they’re still v2.2). Those two items are the best “bang for your buck” that I found when I was prepping for the exam and they helped me immensely in focusing on what I needed to know.
Of note, since the exam I’ve been putting all I learned into practical experience and it has augmented my practice inredibly well.
Best of Luck!!
Does anyone know how many questions one needs to answer correctly inorder to pass?
I know someone who passed the test exactly at 170. Based on her numbers of the section scores, average was 61.5% in terns of marks.
Ron
Hello everyone,
I passed the exam yesterday! Thanks everyone for sharing their views and thanks Pat for putting up this wonderful website! Here are a few things I would reiterate as they have been told before – The real exam has a language/ form that is different from the GREENPREPEXAM so you it takes some time to settle down, also the level of difficulty might increase intially or at the end (depends since it is a simulated program) so I would suggest simply marking the questions and coming back to them later! Also I have a few charts on the certification, credits and CIR process which I can email if anyone wants!
This website very aptly summarizes the Registration, CIR, Appeals process and I would recommed it the most..also there are a lot of questions on MR , EA and registration and certification process. I would recommend reading the colorado guide atleast once since it explains a few concepts in a lot more detail than the reference guide. Thanks again everyone, please keep posting your experiences as it helps a lot! Cheers!!
Hi Shalaka,
I am about to take the NC v2.2 exam this Monday. I would love the certification, credits and CIR charts you are talking about. I am taking the Green Exam Tests and that seems to be my worst part (sect. 3).
b.t.w. Pat thanks for the amazing site!
Good luck everyone and congrats to all who have passed!!
Well, just returned from failing my NC 2.2 this morning with a 165. I’m a licensed architect, but have been a stay at home dad for almost 10 years with ZERO LEED experience in the field or in an office. I thought that studying LEED and passing the test would help when I return to the workforce (soon I hope). I bought LEEDPass a few weeks ago and pretty much memorized it, but where it is lacking is what killed me – actual LEED Experience. Working with contractors, assigning tasks, solving problems that crop up in the field and how all these things affect the LEED process – I got a 46% on that group of questions. So, if you guys are currently working in an office with access to LEED online, LEED projects, GET ON THEM! The rest of the stuff is just memorization but there’s no substitute for experience on some of those questions.
Good luck, I’m heading for a beer or three…
Sure Ruth..just send me your email address and I will email them to you! Good Luck!
Hey All..
I just cleared my test with a 178…and for me the mantra was – “Keep Cool” and don’t panic.. you will NOT forget what you have learned in the past few weeks.. don’t get anxious or nervous before the exam.. In fact the day before the exam (like Pat suggested) I just did a couple of hours, caught the Celtics game at night.. and got a good night’s sleep…
You get ENOUGH time to review not only your marked questions but also the entire paper.. read the questions carefully and don’t jump to answering the questions just because they sound familiar to something you remember.. pay attention to “Key words”…and on trick questions use the elimination method.. or apply simple logic..
Lastly, thanks Pat for the great website.. the Brain Dump was totally useful.. and was luckily allowed at our site..
Good Luck to all those studying!
thanks so much Shalaka…
ruthpla18@hotmail.com
I’m taking the LEED NC exam in 3.5 weeks and am beginning my crunch time. Though I am familiar with many of the components, I have not memorized them yet. If anyone has a suggested schedule for going through the material and implanting it into my brain I would be grateful. When should I take the practice exams? How much time should I plan to spend every day? Thank you!
Hi Ruth,
I’d start taking the practice exams now. They helped me lots (greenexamprep) … and further helped me guage my retention.
Good Luck!
Rich Beedle LEED AP
This is for CloseButNoCigar. You don’t need real world experience with a LEED project to pass the exam. You just need to study the right things. It’s not just about the credits and the techniques you can implement to earn them (although, as an architect you would think that would be the most important thing). You also need to study the mundane details like who is responsible for what submittal, how much it costs to register a building (i got a question about this), and the CIR process, etc.
In my opinion the LEED exam doesn’t really reflect how architects learn and work. We have never been a brood of rote memorizers. We understand concepts, are aware of codes and standards, but keep plenty of reference books on hand to look things up when confirmation is required. However, the types of questions asked on the exam require memorization, not understanding. And the tricky way in which the questions are asked means that you need to focus on beating the question rather than understanding the material.
So I find the best advice is to ignore your architectural instinct of wanting to understand and explore the key concepts and strategies. Instead do the following:
1. pay close attention to the Exam Specs https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2159 and study what will be covered, including the more mundane details.
2. MEMORIZE, use tricks like the WIMSEE chart, do a brain dump of all the % and standards as soon as you enter the exam.
3. Learn to beat the exam. Take as many practice tests as possible to understand how unnecessarily tricky they are with the questions, so you will beat them on exam day.
oh, and i have to add…
Use intheleed.com. It helped me the most when I was studying. I wouldn’t have passed my exam without it. Thanks Pat!
Good luck!
ALL:
I passed my exam on Friday last with a 184. As everyone is different, here’s what I did the evening before, and morning of the exam. On Thursday evening, I went through the GEP questions I got wrong on tests C and D ( I didn’t bother with E as I felt the questions were “gotchas”, with not much redeming value.) On Friday morning, I listened to Pat’s audios of the credits, and followed along with the book. I felt that this was very helpful as a last reminder to not forget important facts. Regarding test, it was very similar to the GEP tests. The test was about as difficult as the D test was. So in closing, I offer KUDOS to Pat’s web site and his mission to make everyone who takes the exam as prepared as they wish to be.
PRE-TEST PANIC
I’m scheduled to take the test on May 28th so I just took a couple of GreenExamPrep tests. I have almost memorized key numbers, thresholds, etc. and have read ALL the credits and taken a USGBC tech review course. And of course, I’ve been to this terrific site.
With all that, I got a 69% and 68% on the two practice tests. I can fine tune the memorization for a slightly better score, but thought I had a decent grasp of the credits, synergies, etc. and don’t know how to improve that.
What do I do? Am I screwed?
Any comments welcome. Thanks everyone.
Hi Shalaka/ Rith, can you email me too the charts you talked about @ faiavi@hotmail.com thanks