The high elf just outside the college of winterhold tells you she'll let you in, if you pass a test. However, first you must say why you want to go inside. I replied "I want to seek the knowledge of Aetherium (alteration). She gave me magelight. I cast it. Nothing happened. Well, a bug, nothing big, just reload and try again. This time I say "I want to kill my foes with fire and ice" (destruction). This time, however, I was given the fear spell. ? I was unable to cast it, because my character isn't a mage.. so I had to reload a second time. This time I told her "I just want to see what it looks like". Now she still said i need to do a test and gave be firebolt.. The one i should have got when I said I want to destroy my foes with fire and ice. So, I shoot at the plate and i'm in..

So basically, has this glitch of options being confused, or the test just bugged for anyone else in another way? (I was playing on ps3)

It's a random spell they ask you to cast.

Update: It gets worse. I just talked to a bandit highway man who tried to rob me 200 golds. Instead, I chose the intimidate options. The bandit highway an said "hey that seems fair, now go along before the others notice" and 200 gold was removed from my inventory.

@bobjim123, in the college, if I say I want to study healing they give me a healing spell to cast. If I say destruction, they give me firebolt. If I say illusion, it's magelight. It's not randon. And this same bug occured to me now, but with a bandit highwayman...

Ha... ha ha?
I had no problemos doing this

I have never been asked for a spell from the school of magic I tell her, it's always a random one for me. I've been there (for the first time) on at least 5-6 different characters. I tell her conjuration, she asks destruction, it's never been from the same school. Also magelight is an alteration spell.

I think that's just a bug with random bandits and thieves, it's happened to me before. I just reloaded then killed them straight away, I fight them every time through speech now.