As the new format for LEED 2009 approaches, there are bound to be plenty of people out there planning on taking the NC 2.2 exam before it is discontinued in the spring.  With the exam fresh in my mind after taking it this past week (and passing!), I thought it might help those hoping to slip in before the deadline to share my study strategy along with some thoughts and recommendations as I reflect back on the process.

My plan of attack was basically three-fold:

1)    Read the Reference Guide cover to cover.  This may or may not be necessary depending on each candidate’s background/prior knowledge of the material.  I didn’t have much of a buildings or systems background beforehand so not only did I read the Reference Guide, but I found myself frequently looking up terms and processes from the book that are probably common knowledge for a lot of candidates.

2)    Made notecards covering the LEED credits and LEED certification process.  I found it to be quite helpful to casually flip through these cards in the days and weeks leading up to the exam.  Also, although I had access to printed out, standardized notecards to help me study, I found that the process of actually writing out each credit really helped me retain the information.

3)    Took 2 practice exams: The USGBC Colorado Chapter’s Study Guide exam and the Buildinggreen.com exam (which is free online).  I took one practice exam two weekends before the actual exam and took the other the weekend before.

I also was fortunate enough to have a few review sessions set up through my company which were conducted by LEED APs who had already passed the exam.  Finally, the one other thing that turned out to be extremely beneficial for me was what I did the night before the actual exam.  The night before, I took an hour or two to go through each individual credit template one by one.  I’m talking about the actual credit templates that are submitted via LEED Online — candidates can access sample versions of these templates via the USGBC web site.  Not only do the credit templates spell out the requirements and submittal documentation needed for each credit, for me they also served to “put it all together” so to speak.  I felt like I was getting a glimpse of the actual certification process, not just reading instructions on how it is done.  Everything made a lot more sense for me after that.

Aside from my studying strategy, here are a few tidbits that I remember about the actual exam.  Remember, there a few different versions of the NC 2.2 exam so make sure to cover all your bases and don’t get too hung up on these:

• MR section- Know the relationships between the different credits.  Examples: MRc1 and MRc2 (If your project doesn’t qualify for MRc1 you can count those materials towards MRc2) and MRc3 and MRc5 (anything salvaged on site and reused automatically qualifies for MRc5).

• There was more than I thought there would be on what submittal documentation is needed (going through the credit templates the night before really came into play here)

• Although you don’t need to know actual formulas, you do need to know what the variables are for each formula and how they impact the calculations.  I remember one particular question along the lines of “Calculations show glazing of 2% in 73% of occupied spaces.  What variable might you be able to change to get it above 75%?”

• Definitely don’t overlook LEED Process questions.  Know what is the required documentation for CIR requests, appeals, etc. Know all about certification fees, registration, etc.

• My particular exam had more questions on the WE category than I expected.

• Know what credits impact other credits- synergies and tradeoffs between credits are definitely key in LEED.

• Although this may sound obvious, make sure to read each question very carefully!  Semantics are critical- there can easily be a question or two that uses the word “may” instead of “must” (or vice versa), which would impact the final answer.  This is especially true when you are asked to choose 2 or 3 correct answers in order to get the question correct.

• I found both practice exams to be marginally easier than the actual exam.

All in all, the LEED exam is mostly memorization with some common sense sprinkled in, especially for those with extensive knowledge of buildings and systems design.  The material is not all that difficult, you just need to put in the appropriate amount of time to memorize it.  Again, the benefit gained from reading the Reference Guide probably varies from candidate to candidate.  I felt I needed to read it to give me a good base to work with on the subject material.  Also, making my own notecards was extremely helpful, not just to help quiz myself periodically but the process of writing them out helped me absorb the information.  Taking the two practice exams was also very beneficial, especially after going through my mistakes and recognizing where and how they try to trip you up.  Finally, reviewing each sample credit template the night before turned out to be a very good idea for me.

Bottom Line:  Put in the proper amount of time and you’ll be ok.  Good luck!

Any other recent test takers out there that care to share your thoughts?