< Back | Home

Sophomore Elizabeth Studer (on-screen and third from left) watches herself on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with friends. The show aired Monday and Tuesday. She won $25,000.

WHO WANTS TO BE ... A MILLIONAIRE?

One student's brush with reality TV

By: DANIEL BURNETT

Posted: 11/20/08

Editor's note: Elizabeth Studer, a sophomore from Lawrenceville, competed on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with her mother and grandmother. The show aired Monday and Tuesday.

Q: Why did you apply to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"?

A: My mom is a really big fan of the show. She and my grandma watch the show and saw the "Family Week" advertised on the local station.

We all like game shows and trivia, and with three generations of knowledge we thought we had a pretty good shot.

Q: What was the application process like?

A: We went to a local mall, about 15 minutes away, and we all had to take a trivia test. We had to take a general knowledge test that we all had to pass it, because you had to make it as a team. We got to go on to the next round with our good scores, and we were interviewed as a team. Then they asked us to come in again and do an on-air interview to see how we looked on TV.

Then they gave us a postcard that said we were entered in a contestant pool. I actually got called the first day of school and was notified that we would be filming on Sept. 11.

Q: Have you always been a fan of the show/trivia?

A: I really like trivia. My friends and I do trivia in Athens. As far as watching game shows, it's my mom and grandma who are into it.

Q: How did you prepare for the show? Did you study?

A: I went online, and went on trivia Web site and looked on different categories I wasn't strong in. I'm not strong in science, so I did a lot of practice questions. My grandma looked at almanacs, and my mom went on Wikipedia. We all used the Internet to study. It's one of those things you really can't study for because they can ask you almost anything - either you know it or you don't.

Q: Were the questions easier or harder than you expected?

A: Well, looking back they were pretty easy. But there's a time constraint [a new element to this season], and that's a lot of pressure.

We had to think on our feet really quickly, and it made me doubt myself and I had to calm down.

Q: What was it like being in the "hot seat" with your mom and grandma?

A: It was really nerve racking, and kind of surreal. I remember watching it [the show] in fifth grade with mom and it was weird being on it seven years later.

Q: What was your favorite part of being on the show?

A: The way they treated us backstage was awesome. They fed us the whole day, walked us through it step by step the whole process and what to expect.

Q: How do you plan to spend your $25,000?

A: I only get $8,333, because we split it three ways. That part of it kind of sucks. I want to buy some clothes, and invest some of it and put some of it away. I want to talk to my dad first.

Q: On television, the show was showed over two days. Did you film over two days as well?

A: We filmed it one day. If you noticed, we were wearing the same clothes.

Q: Do you regret using both lifelines on the $25,000 question, leaving you left with none?

A: Yeah, I kind of do regret it. Later on we found out information that would have changed our opinions.