How you prepare for tests can count almost as much as how you take tests. Sometimes it counts more. That's because in most cases, the professor is actually expecting you to have thought out the answers in advance of the test, not just when you get your test paper. Since there are as many different kinds of tests as there are professors, what's the best way to prepare? Here are our baker's dozen of tips for excellent test preparation:

1. Spread it out. Make sure you divide your studying time over a number of days, rather than leaving it all for the night before. If you try to learn it all at one go, you could find yourself in the same position as that Burmese python in Florida who tried to swallow an alligator whole. The result: not so pretty (for either the python or the alligator).

A recent New York Times piece, "Students Face a Class Struggle at State Colleges," describes the dramatic shortage of places in classes at California state colleges. The crisis is nationwide: Public universities in economically distressed states—Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio also come to mind—simply don't have enough spots in many classes to accommodate a student population growing at 4.5 percent each year. What should students do? Here are our 10 best tips for finding places in closed courses:

1. Try an off-peak time. Consider taking the sections that meet at times students find most undesirable. Think late afternoons and evenings, 7 a.m., and Fridays. Go for the times that your cohorts would rather be doing anything else than going to class.

Many students starting college encounter something like this:

“ENGL1013 Composition I (Sp, Su, Fa) Required of all freshmen unless exempted by the Department of English. Prerequisite: ENGL 0003 or an acceptable score on the English section of the ACT or another approved test.”

It’s that most despised of all college courses, the freshman comp requirement. We wondered what could be done to tame this beast, and so we asked our friend Raina Smith Lyons, assistant director of the program in composition at the University of Arkansas, for her suggestions. Here’s what she had to say: 

For many collegebound students—and their parents—the race for money for college begins on New Year's Day. That's because the all-important Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA) form should be submitted as close to Jan. 1, 2010, as possible for best consideration. But perhaps you haven't been thinking about financial aid for college at all. If that's the case, you're in luck. We've invited Tom Lustig, a seasoned expert from PNC Bank's Educational Loan Center, to share with us his 10 best tips:

1. Get a head start. Apply for financial aid as early as possible since award deadlines tend to vary from school to school and state to state. You can apply before you have been accepted. If you're planning to borrow, apply for aid at least two months early to be sure that there are no hidden "land mines" in your or your cosigner's credit records. In the event a loan application is denied, the extra time offers a cushion to take advantage of a "second look" process your lender may offer—or to find one that does.

Many students are heading back for the second semester of college this week. How the semester goes will depend heavily on the quality of the courses they've chosen. Many students will consult sites such as www.ratemyprofessors.com, their college's own evaluation systems (when public), and the general scuttlebutt from their real and virtual friends. But it's always better to size the professor up yourself by attending the first couple of lectures, then dropping the course if you think the professor is bad. But how do you tell? Here are our 10 surefire signs that your prof's a dud—and that you should get out while there's still time:

1. The professor is boring. Even in the very first classes, you can tell if the professor presents the material in an interesting way. Be especially alert for professors who stand up there and read large sections of the lecture from their notes. If it's a snoozer in Week 1, it's going to get excruciating by Week 15.

Many students think picking a college is just a question of SATs and ACTs, GPAs and extracurricular activities, the Ivy League and college rankings. And, to be sure, all of these can go into one's choice of college. But much more important than any of these is the "fit,"­the finding of a college where you will feel comfortable and thrive. To help you start your quest for the perfect college for you, we've invited visiting blogger Marilee Jones, former dean of admissions at MIT and coauthor of the book Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond, to share her insights:

If you are a high school junior, it's time to think about college. With more than 4,000 colleges to pick from, looking for the right college can seem overwhelming­—but it's actually an important experience because it will lead you to a deeper understanding of yourself as you gain confidence in your ability to make good decisions. The key is to take it one step at a time. Here are 10 tips to prepare you for a great college search experience:

New Year's offers everyone­—college students included—a brand-new start. And just in case some of you are still in the market for New Year's resolutions, we'd like to respectfully recommend that you make 2010 the year in which you resolve not to be a:

1. College tourist. Some students think they'll show up for class only when the spirit moves them. And when they do deign to appear, these students wind up zoning out anyway, never bothering to take a single note and even dozing off here and there. Being a tourist might be great in Europe, but when you miss 20 percent of the classes and all the info and hints the professor drops about papers and tests, your trip in college isn't going to be the yellow brick road.

After picking the college itself, picking a major is the biggest choice you're going to make in college. But as often as not, students have almost no idea what they're getting into when they declare a major. To help you be an informed consumer, here are 10 questions to ask yourself—and others who might know—before signing on the dotted line:

1. Why do I want this major? It's not at all uncommon for a student to pick a major because someone else—almost always a family member—thinks it's a good idea. Maybe that's what mom or dad majored in, or maybe they see the chance to turn you into the biggest earner in family history. But someone else's wishes really shouldn't dictate what you decide to do at college, not to mention, possibly, the rest of your life. That's especially true if it's something that doesn't interest you at all and that you would never have chosen for yourself.

Holiday time is family time. And family time, in many families, is apply-to-college time. Many parents, despite their best intentions, do more harm than good to their collegebound children during this anxiety-ridden time. So we invited visiting blogger Marilee Jones, former dean of admissions at MIT and coauthor of the book, Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond, to offer some advice to parents of children caught up in the college application maze. Here are her eight "guiding principles":

1. Understand the college admissions process for what it is. Many parents think of college admissions as a competitive battle to be won. But, in truth, it is a key developmental phase to be experienced. This is your child's initiation into adulthood and, at the same time, an important moment in parenting. Your job now is to become your child's "grounding cord"—the calm and confident adult who keeps things safe as your child is exposed to the judgment and serendipity of college admissions officers.

[For more on the process, see the Complete Guide to College Admissions.]

According to a recent survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, one third of college freshmen plan to major in science and engineering, while about 8 percent of all first-year students intend to concentrate in engineering proper. Some of these engineering students are destined to land major leadership roles in the United States and worldwide, while others are . . . well, every field has its "lesser lights."

We were interested in finding out what current engineering students could do to put themselves on the fast track to career success. We invited visiting blogger Edward Crawley, professor of engineering and director of the Bernard M. Gordon Engineering Leadership Program at MIT, to share with us the advice he gives his own undergraduate engineering students. Here are his best tips, most of which would work for any career-aspiring college student:

With today's economy, college students are more worried than ever about what kind of career awaits them. The best way to increase the odds that the job you'll get won't involve waiting tables or flipping burgers is to get the skills you need while you're still in college. Here are our 11 critical job skills that every college student should master, regardless of his or her ultimate career path:

1. Writing clearly and forcefully. Students often don't recognize how important writing skills are in many professions: Many students, without a trace of shame, proclaim "I can't write" and consistently avoid courses that require them to write papers. But the "I can't write" excuse won't stand you in good stead later when you have to write a strategic plan for your business, create clinic notes in your medical practice, write briefs for your legal case, or pitch your advertising plan in a report to the client. Actively seek out college courses that give you lots of opportunities to write. And use the feedback you get on one writing assignment to improve on the next.

Some college students are pros at taking short-answer and multiple-choice tests but are at their wits' end when the prof springs an essay test. Some go to incredible lengths to avoid any course that might have essays on the exam. But with dozens of required courses, many in areas such as social sciences and humanities, such a strategy is bound to fail. Instead, take a look at our 10 best tips for acing the essay exam:

1. Survey the landscape. When you first get the test, look over the whole thing. Figure out what the tasks are, paying special attention to how many essays you're asked to write (be sure to note any choices offered) and, most important, how much time you're supposed to devote to each. You'd be amazed at how many students make a mistake about the basic instructions.

The holidays are a great time to load up on new technology. What college student wouldn’t love a special gift selected especially for him or her? Here’s what’s hot:

1. Netbook. Every college student ought to have a really good computer. The hottest and best choice is a netbook, a new kind of subcompact notebook that combines a relatively good processor with genuine portability and an attractive entry-level price. We especially like netbooks that weigh no more than 3 pounds, have a 10-inch screen and a battery life of six to 10 hours, and have a 160GB hard drive and a full-size (or at least 92 percent of full-size) keyboard. Top choices include the Toshiba NB205-N312 ($400 at Office Depot), the Samsung N120 ($329 at Amazon), the Asus Eee 1005HA ($359 at B&H), and the HP Mini 110-1030NR ($315 at Buy.com). Students on a tighter budget might consider the previous generation, smaller screen, and shorter battery life Asus Eee PC900 ($230 at Sears), which has a smaller screen and shorter battery life.

Given how concerned most students are about grades, it's amazing how little they know about how grading is done. Actually, it's not so amazing. Universities go to great lengths to hide—or at least not disclose—facts about grading that anyone who's taught at a university for more than a year knows. Want a peek? Read on.

1. It's 10 minutes—and then on to the next. You might think that your grader will spend half an hour to an hour grading each student's piece of work. Not so. Unfortunately, given that an instructor might have a stack of 30, 40, or even 70 papers or tests to grade, he or she has only about 10 minutes to devote to each piece of graded work. This is why you should make your claims clearly and forcefully, avoid any irrelevant or unnecessary material, and take the trouble to really explain your points.

2. The grading is often outsourced. In large classes at large colleges, the professor giving the lecture is rarely the one who does the grading. Instead, there is usually a cadre of low-paid grad students who do the grading. You might know the grad student as the TA running your discussion section. But your grader might also be an unseen and unnamed person who has been hired only to grade the written work, with no other duties in the course. Some professors actively manage the grad student or grader, going over sample papers and setting a grading scale. But other professors are happy to delegate the whole job to the underling and never set eyes on student work.

Everyone's a critic these days, college students included. And why not? With the average tuition at a public college having gone up almost 6 percent this year, students have a right to mouth off when things aren't to their liking. The trouble is that faculty and staff are overworked and, in many cases, haven't gotten a raise this year. What can you do? Here are our best suggestions about how to remedy the most commonly hated things about college.

1. College costs too much. What you can do: Be sure to research all the possible forms of tuition assistance, from the federal government, the state, the university, your major, and community organizations. Consider cheaper alternatives, such as community colleges or, in some cases, summer school. Take as many courses as possible (within reason) if you're paying by the semester rather than by the credit. Save on textbooks by buying online, renting, or sharing books, or by buying E-textbooks. And be sure to check out all the tax incentives for higher education.