I take the Jeopardy test in 4 weeks.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

What’s the answer to #12?

I am actually very nervous and excited about this. They are having contestant tryouts in Atlanta next month and I got the call to go down there to take the test.

I have a co-worker who has been on the show (he came in 2nd, won a trip to Granada) and has given me some good advice so far. Beyond that though, has anyone else anything to offer? While my strengths are pop culture, vocabulary, and US geography, I find myself seriously lacking in history (including our own US presidents), ballet, opera, and religion. Should I start lots of reading to try and cram for the test? Will it help?

As an aside, assuming I pass the test, how long will I be waiting for the call to fly out to LA? What was it like on the studio? Were the other contestants jackasses or was everyone relatively friendly (and nervous)?

2

What day are you taking it? I’m heading down there the 23rd, with the test at 11 (I’ll drive Knoxville->Chattanooga that Tuesday, then into Atlanta for the test on Wednesday).
It seems like something to do. If I pass the test and get on, maybe I can win tuition or something. If nothing else, I get to see my former boss that day, as the where I used to work is across the street from the Marriott Marquis.

3

I’ll be there on the 24th at 11am. Are you trying for the college Jeopardy or do you think they will tell you which one you would be on once you pass the test? I live just north of the city, but I rarely drive downtown so I will be studying the MARTA maps religously to see if I can get there via subway.

My co-worker said that of the 100 or so who took the test when he applied, only 8 passed. VERY nerve-wracking.

4

Nope, I’m a grad student so I don’t qualify for the college tournament. I’m for the regular one.

To take MARTA (I used to do this every day): Go south to the Peachtree Center exit, exit toward P’tree center, take the escalator upstairs and go through the food court.

Do not exit onto the pedestrian footbridge on the farside of the food court, but head left. You’ll cross another footbridge, go left past the escalators. You’ll be in a room with a round central feature - it’s used for lunches and the like. Turn right, and you’re in the center of the Marriott’s lobby area.

This is what I remember - I’ve not made this walk since August, so I could have left out a detail or two. There are signs/maps to that will direct you to the correct place.

I’m likely going to head to the Dunwoody station and ride from there when I get into town - I don’t see the point of driving all the way into downtown. It will add some time to my exit from the area as I’ll have to ride back north, but free parking at the station is worth it.

5

Well damn.

I just filled out the application form myself. They’re coming to Washington DC in May.

What’s the process like? Keep me posted.

6

I’ll take colors that end in urple for $200 Alex.
:wink:

No advice, just good wishes to you.

7

Words that end in “gry” for $200, please.

8

What days in May are the tryout in DC? I’ll be back in the city for a week in May, and would look forward to trying out.

9

I passed the test and the audition 6 times, and never got the call to appear on the show.

I don’t say that to shatter your dreams, just to give you a reality check. Even if you pass the written test and do well in the oral round, they never promise you’ll be on the show. They put your name in a rotating file, and at SOME point during the taping season, they may call you. If not, they toss all the names and start from scratch.

Now, I haven’t taken the test at all in nearly 5 years, so the procedure may have changed, but here’s how it went: There’s a 50 question written test. They’ll give you a form with 50 numbered spaces, and they’ll play a videotape of Alex Trebek asking you 50 questions on every topic Jeopardy deals with.

Remember this: you do NOT have to write “who is” or “what is” on the written test! If Alex says “This President lived on an estate called Mount Vernon,” just write “George Washington.” Don’t waste time writing “Who is George Washington?”

Now, for years, the testers wouldn’t tell anyone what the passing score is, and they wouldn’t tell you what your score was. Today, they admit that the passing score is 35.

After the test was over, they collect the papers, and spend about 20 minutes scoring them. After that, they’ll announce “The following people passed: if we call your name, stick around. If not, thanks for trying, and feel free to try again in a few months.”

When I tried out, there were usually about 75 people taking the test, and in most cases, about 8 or 10 passed.

After the others left, the coordinators break the successful folks into groups of 3, and put them through an oral round of the game. This is where they’ll decide if you’re lively enough and personable enough to be on the show. So, it’s important that you be alert, friendly, and AUDIBLE (they don’t want timid or soft-spoken contestants).

After that, the coordinators talk among themselves, and return saying “Okay, the following people made it. THe rest of you, thanks for trying.”

Now, as I said, even if you make it to the very end, there’s no promise you’ll actually be on the show. I never appeared on the show, but I saw some people who auditioned along with me make it, and that was a thrill (you really do form a sort of bond with fellow auditioners).

All in all, whether you make it or not, it’s exciting, it’s fun, and I wish you luck.

10

I’ll let you know what happens when it happens (and I hope Lsura will do the same). One thing to keep in mind is you can’t just show up. After you apply, you wait for the phone call (heck, it has been 4 weeks or so since I applied this time around) where they ask a few quick questions (been on a game show in past 6 months, etc.).

Assuming you pass that, they tell you they will send you a letter, your ‘golden ticket’ to getting to take the test.

Also, Lsura, slight hijack. If you take 400, you can park at North Springs station, brand new. It is free for same-day parking ($6 a day otherwise). And thanks for the directions, sounds like where DragonCon was, so it should be easy enough.

One other question. Do I have to have wacky anecdotes ready assuming I pass the test?

I’ll take “Anal Bum Cover” for $200 Alex.

11

Oh, and as a practical matter, there’s really no point studying for the test. The chances that THIS particular test will ask about any particular thing you study now are pretty slim. Most likely, there’ll only be ONE U.S. history question, ONE pop music question, ONE movie question, ONE medical question, ONE art question… and so on. So, there’s not much use in studying a subject you’ll only get one question on.

My advice: get a good night’s sleep the night before, and do SOMETHING shortly before the test to get your mind functioning (a crossword puzzle, maybe)… other than that, just relax and try to have fun. There’s really nothing else you can or should do.

12

**

Yep - I got called a couple of weeks ago, and got the letter last week. I can’t wait - it sounds like fun if nothing else, and it will make for a short break from the world of students.

I know - I used to live in the apartments next to N. Springs. Depending on how I decide to come in, that might be my choice (if I hit heavy traffic coming in on 75 south, I’ll pop off onto 120 and head over to N. Springs station via Roswell Rd.) Thanks for the tip though!

13

I applied online several weeks ago and just got the call today from “Bob” at Jeopardy!.
Evidently, I’m “in” for the tryout in Cleveland on 12May.
Any other Clevelander Dopers gonna be there?

14

I tried out in Louisville about a month ago. Stood in line with about 2000 other folks for 3 and a half hours to take the pre-test. Passed that and got asked to come back to the real test the next morning.

There were two sessions of testing, with about 60 people at each one. We filled out an information form which included spaces to write down 5 interesting things about yourself. We did the 50 question test, although it involved a videotape of Johnny Gilbert reading the questions rather than Alex.

They did not tell us what a passing score was, and expressly said that they would not. About 30 of our group passed. The testers said this was an extremely high passing percentage. I don’t know if they were blowing smoke up our collective asses or not. They probably say that to everybody. Anyhow. I know that I didn’t miss any more than 3 of the 50 (left one blank, two I was doubtful about, the rest I was sure of.)

They read the names of those who passed and we stayed. We filled out another form with more detailed contact information and disclaimers. They took Polaroid pictures of each of us. We did little mini-rounds of Jeopardy in groups of three that lasted about 5 minutes each. Then we were done and I left.

They said you stay on the list for one year of taping. The taping year begins in June, so the earliest we could expect to be called would be May. If we don’t hear anything by next May, we ain’t gonna.

15

I also took the test in Louisville last month. I made it through the first round with no problem. The second round of 50 questions the next day was a bit more difficult. I found that my knowledge of American Playwrights, John Steinbeck, Olypmic Figure Skating, Scottish Surnames and Shakespearian Heroines has some gaping holes in it. Otherwise I thought I did pretty well.

The questions seemed even harder and more obscure than on the real show. Even harder than on my handheld “JeopardyTM” game from Tiger Electronics, or my PC “JeopardyTM” game. I’m something of a “JeopardyTM” addict. I almost always get nearly everything right when I watch the show.

But, alas, my name wan’t called after they’d graded the 50 questions. Ides of March, indeed. I didn’t get to stay for the practice rounds and the polaroids. I did get a “JeopardyTM” Ink pen to take home as a souveiner.

I will try again though. It was a fun and positive experience to have had.

:smiley:

16

Yes, that’s definitely true- in fact, the test coordinators said that the test questions were the equivalent of $800 answers from Double Jeopardy (of course, that was a few years ago, so now they’re the equivalent of $1600 questions from Double Jeopardy).

So, the questions will be pretty tough, even by normal Jeopardy standards.

17

My mom was on the show back in 1994, and tied for second. She DID get Final Jeopardy, thank God. I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous, and I wasn’t the one on stage!

Don’t try to learn everything possible. Don’t cram. If you know you’re weak on some basic stuff like history, look at some introductory normal-people type material. But if you don’t know it now, even during the test you’re going to be too nervous to come up with it. I tried out for the teen version two or three times and never got past the written part. Even that was a bit nerve-wracking for me.

And one thing she did which helped a lot when she was waiting to get the call was to practice clicking in to help get the timing right. So she’d sit there with a pen or something and click…click…click. It wasn’t as annoying as it sounds.

Good luck!

18

Sorry for the bump of this, but I figured it was at least an appropriate bump.

I didn’t even make it past the written test. But at least I got to have lunch with my old boss and see my former co-workers!
How’d it go for you, LlamaPoet?

19

I didn’t see this the first time around. I tried out in Memphis about a month ago and…

Y’know, there’s no use retyping it. Scroll up a few to Frankd6’s post. That is exactly my experience (except in Memphis instead of Louisville, of course).

20

Maybe another time.

I don’t know what the pass line is, but it must be really high.