How to study for the LEED AP Exam

The world's leading certification system for sustainable architecture draws people from all walks of life, there is no prerequisite qualification required to challenge the exam, however don't make the mistake of assuming the LEED AP is a casual credential, it requires an in-depth of understanding of the prescribed material, be prepared to invest between 80 and 100hrs of intense preparation on your own. Underestimating the level of knowledge required is the number one reason the test has such a high failure rate (20% - 35% first time pass rate). If you are busy professional I would highly recommend taking an instructor-led class, it's a nominal cost when you consider it will more than halve your preparation time, not to mention the cost and embarrassment of failing the $400 test.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• LEED NC reference guide
• Sample Questions
• LEED Credits Summary Sheet
• Practice Test

1. Schedule yourself for a test. You will need about 80 hours of studying to prepare, so plan ahead to ensure you will have enough time to finish studying by the test date. With a looming test on the horizon, you are more likely to take studying seriously since you'll have $400 on the line.

2. Read the entire LEED Reference Guide cover to cover. It will be tough as the book is dense and very dry. Do not worry about taking notes just yet as you are familiarizing yourself with the material in this first step. Cost of the Reference Guide is $150-$200.

3. An alternative to reading over 400 pages is taking a seminar. There are both online training courses and live seminars for LEED, such as the ones offered by Everblue Energy (http://www.everblueenergy.com/leedtestprep.html). Online courses are cheaper, but live courses offer a real instructor to interact with and are generally considered higher quality.

4. After reading the book, write down a short summary of each credit. Then, memorize each one.

5. Once you have memorized the credits, begin practicing with questions. Every time you get a question wrong, re-read that section of the reference guide to make sure that you understand the material. Update your summaries with any appropriate information.

6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as many times as necessary. Then, go take the exam.

Tips & Warnings

• Studying for the LEED exam on your own can be challenging and requires a lot of self-motivation. Consider creating a study group with other members of your local USGBC chapter or take a LEED exam preparation class such as the offered at Everblue Energy (http://www.everblueenergy.com/leedtestprep.html).
• Do not waste your money taking a LEED Technical Review offered by the US Green Building Council if you only want to pass the test. They are a review of LEED but they are not intended to help students pass the exam.

Resources

• LEED Exam Seminars
• USGBC Website

[energysaver1]

on 2/5/2009 I was really worried about passing the LEED exam, so, I took Everblue Energy's Prep course. It was way better than I expected. They really know their stuff, with all of the practice material and practice test questions, the real exam was a breeze. I have now joined the ranks of guys like Muzicdude as a LEED Accredited Professional.

[GreenTeam]

on 2/5/2009 GreenDude, I don't know what you are talking about as the Everblue course I took was the best class I've ever taken. I had two instructors and they were no nonsense focused on the exam. I aced my test and would reccomend them in a heart beat. You're just on here plugging clean edison.

[greenbuildsouth]

on 2/1/2009 Just a quick comment - I also took the seminar from Everblue a few months ago. I scheduled my exam for the next week and studied every evening. I passed - comfortably. I have a GC license and thought that exam was difficult - this one is ten times harder! It also is not a "fair" test, which they explained in the class. "All's fair . . ." is what I say!

[Muzicdude]

on 1/15/2009 I could not have passed (on the first try!) had I not taken the exam prep course that I did. Incidentally, I took a two-day course from the same company mentioned by others on this site, Everblue Energy. It was a great course because it saved everyone TONS time by teaching participants exactly WHAT we need to know... and what we DON'T need to know. This enabled us to focus our energies EXACTLY where they needed to be focused, instead of wasting valuable time learning things we would not be tested on. I am now a LEED Accredited Professional!