Students Compete to Get "Schooled"

More than twenty students began their quest for academic dominance, local television fame, and part of a $15,000 grand prize during auditions Monday and Tuesday for Harvard’s delegation to the New England Sports Network’s game show “AT&T Schooled: NESN’s College Face Off.”

Though the show is in its second season, this is the first year that Harvard will be represented in the seven-episode series.

The show will pit teams of three students from eight local colleges in a competition focusing on academic knowledge and intelligence, possibly including logic puzzles, memory games, and trivia, according to Scott Masterson, the show director.

The challenge will involve head-to-head face offs between teams, with chances for cash and prizes throughout the rounds, and the winning schools advancing in a tournament bracket.

Teams from Boston College, Williams College, Amherst College, Norwich University, University of New Hampshire, and University of Vermont will also compete, all vying to dethrone returning champions Providence College.

Masterson said that Harvard is expected to do well this year, but Boston College and Providence College both have strong teams.

Akanksha Sharma ’14, a Cabot resident, auditioned for the show this week after seeing the booth in the Square.

“I was just walking by and one of the guys caught my attention,” said Sharma. “I ended up talking to him for a minute and auditioning. I thought that it was a fun thing to do.”

The audition process included a written questionnaire, a test, and an on-camera interview.

John M. A. McCallum ’16 said that his favorite part of the process was the question about his biggest regret in life. McCallum’s answer: “applying to Yale.”

Kim-Mai T. Le ’16 said that she had never heard of the show before, but might consider watching it this season.

“It depends of the questions. I’ll watch the first episode and see if I like it,” said Le. “I think it might be like ‘Jeopardy!’”

Filming for the show will begin on Oct. 8 at Harvard, when Harvard’s team will take on Boston College. Filming will take place at the Harvard Stadium, the Bright Hockey Center, and along the banks of the Charles River.

Michael Showalter, a Brown alumnus and comedian known for his work on MTV’s “The State” and the film “Wet Hot American Summer,” will host the show for its second season.

The show will air starting in the last week of October, with the final set to be shown at the end of November.