And think how much better you'd "know the underlying concepts" if, in addition to listening in lecture and staring blankly when they ask questions about the rea

And think how much better you'd "know the underlying concepts" if, in addition to listening in lecture and staring blankly when they ask questions about the reading, you read a section in advance, did some practice problems, noodled around with assorted Wikipedia pages on the topic, talked to and sparred with your friends about the material, and dropped by the professor's office to nail down some esoteric edge case? Actually, I'm guessing you did at least some of those things if you were a successful student. All of them are forms of studying; cramming facts for a test is but the slightest part (and, as you say, likely a sign of a poorly-written exam).