Last July, Long Time First Time and I went to New York to audition for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. We both passed the qualifying test, only to receive “thanks but no thanks” postcards a few weeks later. However, tryouts have recently resumed, so we decided to try our luck again. After receiving confirmation e-mails, we’ll be at the ABC Building on June 22 for our second go-round. We’ll be accompanied by Long Time First Time’s mother, who isn’t a Doper but shall be known for purposes of this thread as Avocet, since she is a veteran birder who has been to every continent (including Antarctica) in search of species to add to her life list.
If any of us are selected to appear, we’ll be looking to line up Phone-a-Friend contacts, so send me an e-mail (address is in my profile) if you’re interested in offering your expertise. Meanwhile, who else among the Teeming Millions is planning to try out for the show?
sigh Yeah, I took the qualifying test a couple of days ago and unfortunately didn’t pass. 30 questions in 10 minutes! They couldn’t tell us how many you had to get right to pass it, but I know it’s gotta be at least 28 or so, because I only had to guess on about 5 questions. Frustrating, to say the least.
Is the test something you pass by getting the most questions correct or is it a profile? The contestants seem to vary in knowledge. They may sort people into types and then choose a certain number of people from each type.
It’s a general knowledge test, multiple choice, covering a wide variety of topics. You put your answers on a Scan-Tron sheet. I can’t really say how “hard” the questions are, since they seemed to be all over the place. I’d say that if you watch the show on TV and regularly get to the $25,000 question, you’d do OK on the test.
Sample questions from the test I took a few days ago:
"What letters do doctors write on a prescription to prevent it from being filled by generic drugs?’
Answer: DAW (Dispense as Written)
“What female pop artist sang a song with the lyrics ‘No longer a girl, not quite a woman’?”
Answer: I don’t know. I guessed Pink, but someone else at my table said Britney Spears.
I don’t know what the pass/fail on the test is, but I do know that there IS a pass/fail. Of the hundred or so people who tested when I was there, only about 25 passed.
After you pass the test, you interview with a producer. I have no idea what criteria they use to determine who gets on the show from there. I figured I’d get on the show, since I’m pretty damned smart and did very well on the test, but I didn’t get on last year. I guess I just wasn’t “exciting” enough. Maybe this year my luck will change.
I tried out two years ago, passed the test, but wasn’t picked. Dunno if my status as a Jeopardy! winner counted against me, or if my personality lacked sparkle, or what, but I see no reason to try out again – I’m no smarter than I was two years ago, or any more (or less, for that matter) delightful a personality.
Sternvogel – I’d be happy to be a phone a friend – suggest you come to Philly to interview me personally for the position…
