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WIMSEE
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| Joined: | Tue Apr 22nd, 2008 |
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Posted: Fri May 30th, 2008 05:29 pm |
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First of all I made a career change about four months ago and had no experience with construction, architecture, or engineering. I had never herd of LEED, ASHRAE, ESC, IAQ or VOC......… I was blank slate. I read all the horror stories about people way more qualified then I was failing it the first time and didn’t feel very confident. So hopefully my complete lack of experience and passing on the first try will give other people some confidence.
My breakdown was
Knowledge of LEED Credit Intents and Requirements - 79%
Coordinate Project and Team – 72%
Implement LEED Process – 100%
Verify, Participate in and Perform Technical Analyses – 57% (I’m pissed because did so much better on this section on the practice tests)
My plan for passing was instead of reading the book I would try to take as many practice and make-shift practice exams as I could. This forced me to get some of the same questions wrong over and over. I would then see that I was choosing the same wrong answer each time and made me realize;
What I thought the right answer was?
Why that was wrong according to LEED?
What made the LEED answer correct?
I can’t say this method work for most people but I felt that reading to book wasn’t going to help me because it seemed like it was in a foreign language a couple of months ago.
My study material included:
USGB NC v2.2 Reference Guide- I never actually read it. I used it to look up information when I needed (My company paid for it)
I went to a PPI seminar that was given by Brennan Schumacher of Be Green Consulting which I thought was amazing and would recommend a seminar by him to anyone associated with LEED projects. This seminar included the PPI Sample Exam Book, Practice Problems and Flash Cards. (It was expensive but luckily my company paid for it)
Every Brain Dump I could get my hands on. Thank you to all the people who posted there experiences.
My iPhone – I uploaded most of the brain dumps, charts, glossaries and abbreviation and acronyms spreadsheets onto Google Docs. I used this anytime I had a free moment, like waiting line, traffic or commercial breaks. All those three to five minute sessions added up for me.
greenexamprep.com – I took those four test so many times they sent me a notice making sure I wasn’t sharing my account. This site woks well with an iPhone and I utilized it quite often. Once, I even took an entire test will grocery shopping. (I paid $49.95)
PPI Online Sample Exam – I was happy with the PPI seminar and the included study material so I order the online exam. I was disappointed with it. It seemed poorly designed and the explanation of correct and incorrect answers wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s only 80 questions, it referred to LEED CI quite a few times. Also one question about SSc5.1 and SSc5.2 was wrong. (I paid $24.95)
Any LEED related web site such as In The LEED, Real Life LEED, LEED Boot Camp, BuildingGreen etc.
Every practice test, quiz and individual sample question I could get my hands on. There are quite a few threads in this forum with a question or two from an exam, class or book that they thought was tricky, had trouble with or were just looking for an answer. I tried to find them all.
I would also treat every Brain Dump as a sample exam and mentally reformulate each bullet point into a question and physically write out an answer.
All totaled I felt like I had taken more then 15 unique practice exams four to five times each on average before I took the only one that counts.
I have out of town guests the next few days but I will try to organize some of the material I’ve accumulated next week.
Last edited on Fri May 30th, 2008 08:18 pm by WIMSEE
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jwolf
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Posted: Fri May 30th, 2008 07:07 pm |
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I passed the first time as well, and prepared (or over prepared) with reading the reference guide multiple times, and taking the online tests. Like you, my background is not in architecture/engineering, etc. so I never felt that I had any "edge" on the information. I believe that nothing replaces adequate preparation for any test and the folks who do the minimum run the risk of not passing. Also my company would only reimburse the fees if I passed the test... there was no way I was going to run the risk of eating the test amount so I studied my rear end off.
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kurtneis
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| Joined: | Wed Nov 14th, 2007 |
| Location: | Los Angeles, California USA |
| Posts: | 24 |
| Exams Taken: | ME, BD/MM | | Exams Passed: | ME, BD/MM | | Describes Me: | LEED AP A-R-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ |
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 06:26 pm |
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hi i am taking the test this saturday! i have been test my self with the leedexamprep tests like 4 times aday and my question is how do you feel they compared to the actual test? were they helpful and a were they a good representation of the real questions?
thanks !
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jwolf
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 06:32 pm |
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| I felt leedtestprep was a great preparation for the actual exam. If nothing else it helps you focus study-wise and gives you practice with the question format. Just similar to the actual exam to get you ready. Good luck!
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kurtneis
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| Joined: | Wed Nov 14th, 2007 |
| Location: | Los Angeles, California USA |
| Posts: | 24 |
| Exams Taken: | ME, BD/MM | | Exams Passed: | ME, BD/MM | | Describes Me: | LEED AP A-R-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ |
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 06:39 pm |
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thanks jwolf! for the words of encouragement. i forgot to ask what scores on the leedexamprep questions was everyone getting? im into the 90's now so im feeling pretty good?  but i dont want to get too cocky about it !
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ucb_pat
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| Joined: | Fri Feb 8th, 2008 |
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 08:08 pm |
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i remember when i first started those tests, i was getting in the 40s and 50s, even after a few months of studying. I eventually got to the 90s and thats when I took the exam and passed.
i really recommend those tests
-Pat
http://www.intheleed.com
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jwolf
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 08:15 pm |
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| Same with me. Started low and eventually got into the 90's. Don't forget...with the real test a pass is a pass, and everything else is just bragging rights.
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kurtneis
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| Joined: | Wed Nov 14th, 2007 |
| Location: | Los Angeles, California USA |
| Posts: | 24 |
| Exams Taken: | ME, BD/MM | | Exams Passed: | ME, BD/MM | | Describes Me: | LEED AP A-R-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ |
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 09:05 pm |
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thanks guys ,
pat i am lucky to have found your website through the forums... invaluable! thanks a ton.
thanks to both your comments i am more confident now! i too started out in the low 40's and now have risen to the 90's so i better be ready cuz it is saturday !
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WIMSEE
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| Joined: | Tue Apr 22nd, 2008 |
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Posted: Wed Jun 4th, 2008 01:17 pm |
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kurtneis wrote: hi i am taking the test this saturday! i have been test my self with the leedexamprep tests like 4 times aday and my question is how do you feel they compared to the actual test? were they helpful and a were they a good representation of the real questions?
thanks !
There was only one instance on my exam when I thought this question and choice of answers was exactly like one of the questions on leedexamprep and it was about MRc6. There were a few similar questions but what I benefited most from practicing with that site was leaning the tricky way the exam words questions. I felt the way that I prepared using the practice exams really helped me with the questions that ask you to choose 3 answers and there are 2 obvious yes, 2 obvious no, and 2 that you struggle with. Memorizing the right answer for that question on that practice exam will inflate you scores into to high 90’s but unless you understand why you almost choose the wrong answer and what made it wrong it is not going to seem that obvious on test day.
Make a plan of what you are going to write down on the scrap paper when you get there and practice it. I must have written out WIMSEE, all the prerequisites, the different ASHRAE’s, the differences between fundamental and enhanced commissioning and every percentage I could remember at least 30 times in the two days leading up to the exam. It knew from taking the online practice exams it wasn’t going to take me more then an hour so I used the tutorial and the first couple of minutes of the exam to brain dump on the scrap paper and take another minute to relax. I finished my last question with fifty minutes to spare. This gave me the chance to go back through each and every question once and the marked questions twice. I ended up changing 4 answers.
Good Luck!Last edited on Wed Jun 4th, 2008 02:14 pm by WIMSEE
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Pdaly
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Posted: Thu Jul 24th, 2008 11:06 pm |
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What other expam prep materials did you use? I have been trying to pass the exam and have used the leedprep exams. I appreciate your help.
Pdaly
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Pdaly
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Posted: Thu Jul 24th, 2008 11:13 pm |
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 What other sources of leed practice test did you use? I have taken many times the greenexamprep exams on-line and have passed in the 90's.
Still have not passed the leed exam. - Please help.
PDaly
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