Acing the LEEP AP v4 ExamKey Study Lessons from the “Father of LEED Exam Prep”

According to Alex Spilger,the LEED Green Associate &

LEED AP exams require different studying approaches.

Who is Alex Spilger?

Aka the “Father of LEED Exam Prep”…

Alex is the founder of , LEED exam preparation and

project experience provider

Committed to excellence, Alex has taken the LEED exam 22 times – more than anyone else in the world!

He’s also worked on more than 100 LEED projects & is a dedicated advocate for the sustainable built environment.

Alex helps people at the world’s top companies pass the LEED exams

Of course you are FREE to choose any LEED exam

prep provider on the market!

Alex reports that the newLEED v4 Green Associate

exam is Tricky…

…but new LEED v4 APBD+C exam is TOUGH.

Plan to spend at least 30-

40% more time studying & memorizing for the LEED AP v4

exam than you did for the

LEED Green Associate exam.

And the new LEED v4 AP BD+C exams are DIFFERENT from the LEED 2009 exams…

1. More Detail

2. More Calculations

3. LEED Project Experience

1. More Detail

While the LEED Green Associate exam tests you holistically, with questions that come from multiple

sources...

The LEED AP v4 exams have much more detail and cover new credits and information… and all of the LEED AP v4 questions come from one document.

100% of the

questions on the

LEED AP v4 exam

come from the

Reference Guide

The Problem is…

…The Reference Guides are not designed to be

study tools.

The BD+C Reference Guide

is 800+ page long!

The questions on the LEED AP v4 exam come from 13 or so sections including...

Intents, Requirements, Potential Technologies and Strategies, Referenced Standards, Implementation, Calculations, Exemplary Performance, Definitions, Changes from LEED 2009, etc.

The LEED BD+C Reference Guide is comprised of multiple rating systems, but LEED for New Construction is the predominant focus…

HINT!

Your best strategy is to use focused study materials...

Not ones that cover everything about LEED and green building.

2. More Calculations

Difficult calculations are common on the LEED AP v4 exams…

Questions you may encounter include not only addition and subtraction, but also more complex

questions calculating densities per acre, FAR, flush/flow rates, SRI, flushout requirements, green

power, carbon offsets, etc.

Speed matters!

The LEED AP v4 exam calculations may eat up your exam time… You only have 2 hours.

Run your practice tests with a clock.

“The perfect is

the enemy of

the good.”

-Voltaire

HINT!

Your best strategy is to seek out the

“best” answer, instead of getting stuck looking for

the “correct” answer.

3. Project Experience

The LEED v4 exams attempt to gauge LEED project experience from within

the exam itself.

Don’t underestimate the

value of having worked on a

LEED project.

“Exposure to the LEED project credit

calculations familiarized me with the process and

helped me with the more difficult exam

calculation questions.”

We’ve heard the following feedback fromLEED Project Experience attendees again and again…

This is exactly why GreenStep’s LEED v4 AP exam preparation study guides include actual project

experience.

You’ll complete LEED credits

on real LEED projects in San Francisco.

These LEED credits are common to almost all

LEED certification projects.

Read more tips from Alex and get

practice tests from someone who

really knows the exam!

The more familiar you are with the test and calculations, the faster you’ll be able to complete

each questions and move on.