True, the test scores don't seem to count for
anything once you reach the second round, nor is the test
sufficiently difficult to narrow the field enough to give one
reasonable odds of getting on the show. Like the show, the
initial test is a mix of pop culture and relatively easy
academic stuff. Somewhere around a fifth of people taking
the initial test in Miami passed it, so, as Mr. Nam
mentions, it's all up to the interview and mock game
process and one's demonstration of extroversion or
"'tude" or whatever it is they want. So don't go in
expecting to have (say) a 1 in 5 chance of getting on the
show -- the pool of interviewed applicants is way too
large for that.
Still, it offers the potential
for a bunch of free money for little work, and that's
good. I didn't find the tryout process that awful. I
don't know that it's worth missing work for, but it
wasn't too bad, except for having to endure a bunch of
jokes about pregnant chads and correct marking of
answer sheets. Since the tryouts are open, I'd
definitely advise getting there an hour before they start
(or more), so you can get in the first group and
avoid having to come back later in the
day.
--Raj Dhuwalia