A solid systems knowledge is key to success in the program. It all comes together in the simulator, but you have to have that base or you will get swallowed up fast.
That said, hit the bases documents hard. A lot of good information on why a system does what it does and how it does it. Not only that, the NRC expects you to know tech spec or other regulatory requirements with actions to be performed within an hour from memory. See flash cards below.
Learn how to draw the systems, and makes sure you walk them down. Also, walk down the control boards as much as you can to get a feel for where things are. This will help when you finally get to the simulator. Plus, there will be questions about switch positions, meter readings, and what not that will be easy peasy if you've seen them a few times. I personally go in 30 minutes early everyday and walk down a panel or two in the simulator. And I get to the plant a few hours a week to walk down systems.
There are some things that are pretty much just memorization, like lists of trips/scrams, turbine trips, safety actuation's, etc. You have to know those cold for the rest of your life. I keep some flash cards handy at all times and when I am randomly bored, like say sitting in a car wash, I will break a few out and go over them.
For control systems, get the logic down cold. If you can do a simplified sketch of the logic, it will make questions that ask about transmitter or instrument failures much easier. There will be all kinds of questions dealing with things failing like the master pressure controller or reactor level controls, feed controls, etc etc ad nauseum and knowing the logics helps tremendously. Some people rely on just memorizing the words, but if you forget if it is an AND or an OR, that could mean the difference between you getting a question right or wrong. Knowing the actual logic diagram can help prevent that.
Also, don't forget your fundamentals. Things like thermal limits and D/P (level) detectors will come up again and again.
Your test taking skills also need to ratchet up a bit. You will eventually have some questions that have a stem nearly a page long. Being able to identify your key parameters is important. If the test writer constructed a good question, every piece of information in the stem will be useful..., not necessarily to prove your answer correct, but sometimes to prove another answer wrong. For example, a lot of times they will say "no other alarms are in." Seems innocuous, but that one piece of information can help you cross off 2 or 3 distractors. I not only prove my answer right, but I also prove all the distractors wrong and put as much data on the test as I can so that if a challenge is warranted later, my thought process is clear.
When in doubt, ask the proctor. A lot of times they can't say much more than what is in the stem, but sometimes they can help clarify what is being asked.
Speaking of alarms, when you study a system, read the alarm response procedures that go with them. There is a TON of good information about the system ops buried in those things. Not only that, they usually give locations, setpoints, auto actions, etc. Again, tons of good info.
Finally, as you build up your systems knowledge, it will be come clear what areas you need to maintain a high level of memory on and where you can slack a bit. Yes, the standard answer is "you have to know everything," but the NRC doesn't really care if you know that some turbine building drain sump pump (unless you are bwr) is powered from normal 480v compared to say your high head safety injection pumps. You get my point..., somethings are clearly not as important to others. Safety systems are what you need to know absolutely everything about, and go down from there. That is my opinion though. I don't waste my time restudying low level non safety related equipment the deeper into the program I get. YMMV.
Anyway, good luck and feel free to ask any questions you have! We have a good cadre of licensed people around here now of varying experiences so the depth of knowledge is great.
Justin
