based on my own experience, and subject to the qualifiers in your own post, i'd say an hour each week-day, supplemented by longer weekend sessions, might be enough. I suggest you gauge your progress by your performance on the various 'practice test' available. if those give you trouble, ramp up your study schedule.

most people I know who have taken the test agree that it's not a cakewalk

good luck

24 hours total was recomended to me.

having just finished the test i would suggest reading the book two times cover to cover, and then work your way through colorados practice exam without using the answer key and you will do fine.

the folks who inhabit areforum claim to study between 20 to 40 hours. I did the longer route since my office was really slow at the time and I was paid to be sitting there.

The NC2.2 guide is about 1/2 the test (maybe less), remember to explore the USGBC website to find out about the project registration and submission process, the usgbc organizational structure (what the committees are), who can be a member of the USGBC, read through the CIRs, know what the reference standards are, and who provided what info during the certification.

It's a difficult test with many multipart answers, ie is it a, b, c, or d, or a+c+d, b+d, b+c+d...

thanks so much for the advice!

pay close attention to the last part of treekiller's advice -- much of the test is really subtle -- many of the questions are like "in order to satisfy the requirements for such-and-such, which 3 three of the following items must be provided" -- then they give you 5 choices, all 5 of which are plausible -- you must possess more than a superficial understanding and knowledge of both the process and the requirements.

i studied an hour or two a day for 2.5 weeks with longer on the weekends.

i agree with eveyone's previous suggestions.

there's also some practice quizzes on the university of florida website - i lost the link, but if you look through the areforum - i know it's mentioned somewhere in there (or google). my office didn't get the colorado test in time, so i just used those. and they were pretty helpful and free, if your office is not providing you with materials.

I just took (and passed) the exam a couple of weeks ago. Quizzical is absolutely right about the nature of the questions. Some of them are pretty finely grained and you need to be well acquainted with the details of the credits.

As far as preparation and study, I attended a USGBC Technical Review (a one-day LEED training class run by USGBC; my office sent me) in late spring, then did sporadic review on my own through the summer (I was also taking a few ARE sections in June and July). I joined a group of local architects getting together once a week for study and review. We were trying to go through the book covering about 10 credits at a time. It has proved mostly to be a tool for encouraging everyone to read through the sections, rather than putting it off.

I got a set of study guides and a practice exam on eBay (LEEDPASS) that I found aggravating and mostly unhelpful because it was poorly worded and misleading in some places. I wouldn't recommend it.

There may be other resources that are helpful. Taking the USGBC seminar and otherwise trying to steep myself in LEED beyond just reading the manual was definitely helpful in the process. Some local USGBC chapters have also been setting up study groups that are more structured that I think other people have found helpful. Those may take more of your time, but I think they, too, are probably worthwhile.

i just read six sample questions and got them all correct without reading anything. which surprised me cuz i am a bad multiple choice taker and am not really interested in this subject.

cornellbox do you mean the refernce guide when you say "the book"? I just got my hands on the 2.1 version to begin reading until my 2.2 version is obtained. The office will pay for my time to study but most of the workshops are a flight away for me. Anyone out there take advantage of the online class? Suggestions?

Hi smallpotatoes. Yes, I should have been clearer; I was referring to the Reference Guide there.

Don't spend too much time on reading 2.1 , because there are things that changed or were added or eliminated between versions. I think you're more likely to confuse yourself once you get into it if you don't recall whether something was in the old version or the new version. If you have your copy of the reference guide on order, just wait for it to arrive and look at the USGBC website or other resources until then.

Personally, I found the book from the Technical Review (itself a volume as thick as the Reference Guide itself) was my best study resource.

Also, if you have access to the USGBC website, reading through some of the CIRs can also help explain and expand on understanding the credits. That is also very helpful information for studying.

vado - those sample questions are way easier then anything on the exam.

didn't say they weren't. just telling you what i did.

can you write a theme song for all those people studying for the accredited professional exam??? that will show how brilliant you are unlike those easy questions :-P

if i wanted to, i could. but i don't want to.

wowee! we get a NC AP theme song!

I must admit that I am curious about one thing, Vado -- what subject are you interested in? ;-)

me?
well, i'm interested in sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design process. oh and getting paid and getting laid.

nice, that rhymes - so what tune do I humm the words too? I'm thinking of johnny cash's: 'i've been everywhere...'

might work in the shower :)

Lots of the questions try to trick you, so really concentrate on exactly the bit of info. the question is asking. There are questions from the website which isn't in any guides. There are some obscure terms/dates that just have to be memorized.

has anyone taken the LEED-EB exam?...I feel that I may have made a mistake signing up for it instead of NC...but it is too late now...the ARE forum thread makes the LEED exams sound like a nightmare, are these people just really dim and alarmist? I've gone through the Colorado guide, the sample templates, the credit sheets, and feel like i have a pretty good grip of the information...I teetering a line of being really freaked out, but on the flipside fairly confident.

steph- there is no penalty for changing dates/canceling the exam. (or did they change the policy???) so call prometrics/usgbc and confirm which version of the exam you're spending $$$ on...

and yes the dweebs at ARE forum are pathetic.

well.. USGBC has a backlog on sending out exam materials, so I had to call Prometric to get the date changed from the 10th to the 21st next month, to give USGBC enough time to get the ref guide out. They waived the fee because of it, but basically its 0 fee for up to 30 days before the exam, $30 for 30-5 days, some massive penalty for being within 5 days

it is free if you reschedule 30 days in advance, after that, it costs something, i don't know what. I've had fits this week where I've thought about it, but, I solidly reasoned why I signed up for the EB exam -I tend to get handed a lot of remodel/upgrade projects, and I thought my knowledge would contribute useful information for the office, since people are fairly well versed in NC, or that EB will be the next step in greenbuilding...all of which may or may not be true.

I've been studying for the EB exam, I'm going to take the EB exam, I'm fully committed to my decisions...I just seem to have moments where I feel that NC would be easier to pass (despite the website's statement that all tests are equal). Honestly, at this point I'm probably just looking for reassurance.

thanks again archinect for one more moment where you've helped me work out my internal neuroses! maybe i should get a blog.

k.. now I'm just irritated. I ordered the Colorado study guide.. it hasn't shown up yet.. and then USGBC won't be able to get the reference guide to me until AFTER my exam date.. which means I'm refused to studying for their test purely online (since the downloadable version can't be printed). Urghhh!

can't type today.. "refused" should be "reduced"

urbanist - that sucks. i couldn't imagine sitting in front of a computer trying to study that. then again i get easily distracted, oh by archinect or some other random website.

stephanie - i think you'll do fine. while a good chunk of the test was about the credits, the rest was about coordination, etc. and it seems like that would be pretty similar from test to test.

i do think the are forum people are total alarmists. it made me freak out for - i don't want to say nothing, but more than i needed to.

i know someone who just took the leed-nc test and has no background whatsoever in building construction and passed. if he can do that and not even really know the components of a building, i'm sure you'll do fine on the leed-eb test.

good luck!

Is it me or the LEED Colorado site is down???
Or it's just the fact I live in China; and the Net squad blocked it??

I want to order the LEED Colorado study guide everybody talks about...

anyone knows the link or other links thru it?

Cheers

If you are looking to take the LEED Exam. A very efficient way to study for the LEED Exam is taking practice exams. There are a few online locations for practice exams. Most of them I have found are $50.00 for three months of unlimited use. The one i found most helpful was architecturexams.coursehost.com. They provide the exams plus any questions you have they will answer via email.

vision - please don't spam us by toting your own product. (if you have no association with that website, I'll be amazed).

The BEST way to study for the LEED exam is to certify a project.
Once you've dealt with the submitals, dealt with the USGBC Credit Letter Templates, dealt with coordinating between consultants and the GC/subs, you could pass without any studying.

The architecturexams.coursehost.com is not my product i used it to study for the LEED NC exam.

Also, It is one thing to become a LEED AP from passing an exam and another to be a LEED AP on a project. Someone could never take an exam and work on a LEED project as you suggest. But why would they when having the LEED AP title after thier name will help to promote them in thier career, too.

You cannot pass any of the LEED Exams without any studying. This is a completely obtuse comment, on your part. Not even a genius could pass the LEED Exam without studying. The LEED Exam is very difficult in that you need to understand synergies with credits and thier are multiple response answers with no partial credit.

so now I eat my words. as a first time poster, you seemed to be rather commercial in your message.

But this entire LEED-AP exam discussion is rather passe, since points are not the point. most of the archinect sustainable design discussion has moved beyond LEED.

do you have those practice exams to share, vision? i'd love some more study material

I have to agree with laurilan, the leed test is not the most difficult test you will ever take. it does not require a month of studying and no social life. It is more difficult than a written drivers test, but read the book, study the reference guide, and you will be fine.

btw, i read the book in one week and took the test the same day i finished reading the book. I don't recommend that since I barely passed, but some people seem very worried.

btw, i read the book in one week and took the test the same day i finished reading the book. I don't recommend that since I barely passed, but some people seem very worried.