360 here.

Okay, here's the deal. I've never played a mage before. It's just never been my thing. But I wanted to try something new, so I've been playing a new character who has never touched a sword or armor of any kind. It's been surprisingly fun.

Right now I'm 10th level, and just finished defeating Hevnoraak. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but it was enormously difficult (maybe because I have no partner or pet?). Doing it (and clearing his pad out) took hours, but it was fun. I've been summoning flame atronachs, using stone skin, and healing myself rather than use potions. Now I've got some questions.

1.) Are there spells that are only available through the College I can look forward to, or is what you see with merchants everything there is?
2.) Is there a way to tell when spells such as stone skin and muffle have expired without going trough the menu to active effects?
3.) What exactly does 'level scaling' mean? I assume it means as you gain levels, more powerful enemies and equipment spawn...

If that's true, and I start using staffs, will they get more powerful? I haven't bothered because the few I've seen don't seem to do anything particularly useful that I can see.

Thanks.

1. Yes, the college has the best stuff.

2. Don't know about muffle, but flesh spells make a noise and you get a visible effect when they end, but blink and you miss it. You can also see their outline if you go into third person.

3. Yes, but it's a bit of both, same as Fallout 3. Some enemies get tougher, such as restless draugr replacing draugr, and in turn being replaced by wights or whatever, but some places are fixed, for example you may find a frost troll at a particular location whatever your level.

3b: As you level, you'll find more and more powerful versions of each staff.

Jeez, didn't see the edit. Yes. The vast majority of loot is random, and you don't get the good stuff 'til higher levels, but you can still find worthless crap in some chests if you are unlucky. The better kit 'unlocks' at certain levels.

Staff's can be useful, they don't use "your" magic, so I keep one on hand for "big" battles, so that when my magic seem's to be not quite enough I switch to a staff in whichever hand I was doing distruction spell's.

Edit: Opposite hand as distruction.

Frost troll's.... at low lvl seem to kick my backside... but flame in left hand, fire staff in right, switch flame out with conjure familar and oakflesh. I use the staff while my magic is recharging from the other two spells. same type of thing with different spell's/staff's work's on other enemies.