<p>Hi, I'm a little paranoid about taking tests in college next fall as opposed to my high school's tests. I'm not sure whether there will be a radical difference in the difficulty/format. Anyways, I'm wondering if its common practice / acceptable to ask a professor for a copy of past exams. I'm assuming they change up the tests every year anyways to prevent cheating, and I find that looking at the format / layout / scope of tests help me study for them more accordingly.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance and I apologize if this has been repeatedly discussed before.. I did attempt a Boolean search before posting.</p>
<p>A lot of professors automatically post practice midterms/finals (which turn out to be the previous year’s exams), but if they don’t, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask if they might post some practice problems. And most professors will definitely inform you of the format of the exam before you take it, so you don’t have to worry about that. Even in my most disorganized classes, professors have provided practice exams. </p>
<p>Don’t worry too much about this stuff now, though. The prospect of taking a college exam will be far less daunting when the time actually comes. And even if the professor doesn’t specifically provide past exams, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out how to study.</p>
<p>At some schools, they store copies of old finals in the library and you can get them just by asking for them. As you approach exams, most professors will discuss what kidns of materials you’ll need to study, they might provide you with a study guide, or they might provide you old tests (this is not as common, but it’s not out of line to ask them). This is a really good thing to go to office hours and ask about. But maybe wait until you’re actually getting close to the exam, not ask right at the beginning.</p>