'So What's Going to Be on the Test, Anyway?'

"For some college students, nothing will match that moment of terror when they look down at their test and find questions they never dreamed of staring back at them. At that very same moment, there's usually some student somewhere else in the room feeling smug satisfaction at having figured out the questions in advance. (Lynn even admits to once wasting valuable exam time shooting "I told you so" looks at her BFF and study partner.) How can you figure out in advance what's going to be on the test? Here are some tips guaranteed to work:

• Professors test what they talk. Students often think professors are out to trick them by testing some picky, obscure issue. But professors usually try to teach the most important material—and then test it to see if students have mastered it. Kind of makes sense once you think about it, doesn't it? So look over your notes and see what the prof spent the most time on. That's likely to provide fodder for the test.

• Professors ask about what interests them. In many courses, you can detect some issue that really excites the prof so much that he or she brings it up again and again, even as the course moves from topic to topic—kind of like that friend of yours who keeps obsessing about her Facebook page. It's a good bet that your prof's obsession will pop up on the test in some form or other.

• Professors drop hints. Much as we try to keep mum, most professors can't help themselves. They have high-value information that throngs of adulating students are eager to get. So, take seriously comments like "Wow, this would make a really good test question" or "and speaking of . . . ." It might all sound like a joke, but it's not.

• TAs spill the beans even more. They're usually younger, less experienced, and would like to be liked. So, they'll usually cave quickly if you ask them a few questions after class or in office hours—or just show up to the section meeting. No bribery necessary!

• Professors are lazy. Professors are pretty busy and don't have much time to write entirely new exams. The result is that many times profs will simply reuse—or modify slightly—questions they asked last time around. So if you can dig up one of the old exams, from a friend who took the course with the same prof, from library reserves, from fraternity or sorority files, or (if your stars are aligned) from the prof him- or herself, you can get a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Extra pointer: Be sure not to use Dr. O's exam to study for a course from Professor P—even if both teach the same course. Most likely, Professor P thinks Dr. O is a bozo and would never be caught dead asking such idiotic questions.

• Professors Tell It Upfront. The syllabus often lists the educational goals of the course, which can give pretty good clues about the test questions. After the first day of class, you might never cast another glance at the syllabus, but it can actually tell you what the professor thinks is most important—and what she's going to want to test you on.

• Professors Recycle. Questions or problems on the homework, quizzes, problem sets, and study guide often reappear in slightly different form on the test. Hey, everybody's going green these days.

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