WinTuition

''OPENING SPIEL: It's time to WinTuition. (Insert three contestants from city, state, schools, colleges, and occupation). They're all here for a chance to win $50,000 towards a College Education on WinTuition. And now, a man (insert fact), your host, Marc Summers. ''

''REST OF SPIEL: It's WinTuition, the only show that turns knowledge into College. In the next 30 minutes, we're gonna take you from 1st Grade all the way through High School and beyond.''

A show with a school-oriented theme in which three contestants competed to answer questions on general school-based subjects in an attempt to win $50,000 in college tuition.

Main Game
The main game was divided into twelve levels, or "grades," with each level containing question material appropriate to that particular grade The subject of each grade was announced before the question was asked. All three players started the game with 500 points.

Round 1: Elementary School (1st-5th Grade)
One buzz-in question per grade level was asked for the first four grades, while in 5th grade every player had a chance to score. Correct answers were worth 100 points each; missed questions cost the player 100 points.

Round 2: Middle School (6th-8th Grade)
Questions in this round had several correct answers, each of which was worth 250 points. Each player got to give one answer, starting with whoever buzzed in first, after which they could try to give answers to any or all remaining parts of the question. A miss cost the player no points, but froze him/her out of the rest of the question. Four correct answers were possible in 6th and 7th grades, seven correct in 8th; after all three grades had been played, the lowest-scoring player was "expelled" from the game.

The first player to give a correct answer in this round won a $200 bonus prize, either as a gift certificate for Domino's Pizza or as quarters ostensibly for "washing machines".

Round 3: High School (9th-12th Grade)
Players alternated answering questions, starting with the leader. Correct answers scored 500 points, while wrong ones deducted 500. In addition, each player could use a "Cut Class" card once in this round, forcing the opponent to answer the question. The buzzers were not used for this round.

Senior Year Showdown
After the 12th grade question, the "Senior Year Showdown" was played, focusing on a single subject chosen from two alternatives offered by Summers. Players continued to answer alternating questions each worth 500 points, starting with the leader. As soon as a player missed a question, he/she was out of the round, meaning that the trailing player would have a chance to catch up if the leader made a mistake. The player with the most points won the game and moved on to the WinTution Final Exam bonus round.

Bonus Round: The $50,000 Final Exam
Seated at the "Desk of Destiny" (a small wooden school desk), the winner had 60 seconds to answer up to 10 questions in various subjects. He/she could not return to passed or missed questions. Each correct answer was worth $250, and getting 10 correct in 60 seconds won the $50,000 scholarship.

Interactive Online Game
WinTuition once had its own online interactive game where you were allowed to play along with the show thru GSN's very own website in 2002.

Trivia
On segues to commercial breaks one child called "The Answer Kid" would give viewer information related to a previously asked question. Also home viewer questions along with the answers.

A flag with the GSN logo sits next to Marc's entrance door. The classroom where the game is played in is called "Cronin Hall" according to the window above the entrance doors. It refers to then network CEO, Rich Cronin, who has led the campaign for more original programming.

Four contestants won $50,000 towards their college education. They were Jose from December 9, 2002, Brian from January 13, 2003, Ben from January 20, 2003 and Mike from April 1, 2003.

WinTuition became a BigJon PC Game.

Tagline
"We'll see you next time for another session of WinTution where you get the education and...we get the bill. I'm Marc Summers. See you soon, bye-bye." - Marc Summers (2002-2003)

Link
Rules for WinTuition