what you should know before you enter this class:

basic c++ language

basic types

int’s
unsigned’s
float & double
arrays
pointers

control structures

if/else
while
do/while
for

strings (std::string)
"c" strings (nul-terminated arrays of characters)
functions
separate compilation of source files (.h .cpp)
pointers and references
use of const
dynamic memory (new, new[], delete, delete[])

classes

access control

public, protected, private
accessors ("getters" and "setters")

friend classes and functions

constructors

default and copy constructors.
trivial default and copy constructors.
initialization lists.
explicit constructors.
the difference between construction and assignment.

member objects and functions

const member functions
mutable members

inheritance

general mechanism
base class constructors in initialization lists.

polymorphism

virtual functions
overloading
pure virtual functions
chaining back to base class functions

operator overloading

members e.g.

assignment (operator=)
indexing (operator[])

non-members e.g.

ostream &operator<<(ostream &, const T &)

exceptions

throw
try/catch
catch(...)
throw;
throw clause on functions.

std::exception

base class for all standard exceptions.
const char *what() const throw().

templates

class templates

type parameters.
integral template parameters.
class template instantiation.

function templates

parametric polymorphism.
template parameter inference.
instantiate to make a function.
explicit instantiation.

standard library

at least some familiarity with fundamentals:
vector
list
iostreams (e.g. ifstream, ofstream)
iomanipulators (e.g. setw, setfill)