Local woman talks about 'Bachelor' tryout process
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 01/14/2013
CINCINNATI - When Campbell County High School alum Sarah Schneider was 22, she was looking for love.
In 2006, she decided on an unconventional route to find it: Applying to “The Bachelor.”
The Cold Spring, Ky., native was attending grad school at Northern Kentucky University and was not romantically involved, which she thought would be a perfect time to apply to the show.
“I felt that it was a great opportunity to kick-start a career or explore the possibility of love in a very unconventional way,” Schneider said.
While she said her mother was supportive and excited about her chance to be on the show, her grandmother was not as thrilled.
Schneider had missed the open casting call for the season with Andy Baldwin, a Navy doctor, but decided on a unique approach to get the producer’s attention.
She filled a scrapbook with photos and descriptions of herself to portray her personality to producers. She sent the book via overnight delivery and was called immediately the next day.
That triggered an intense two-month casting process that involved interviews, videos and questionnaires.
“They asked if I had family drama — what kind of underlying family issues they would find,” Schneider said. “They asked what they would find if they did a background check and why no other relationships had worked out.”
In the end, Schneider was not cast on the show.
“I like to think it was because I was 10 years younger than the Bachelor. The youngest girl that season was 23 or 24 years old. She was at least one year older I was,” Schneider said.
Luckily for Schneider, her love story didn’t end there. She is now happily engaged to a man she casually knew while going through the casting process.
As to any advice she would give future "Bachelor" hopefuls: “Pick a characteristic that will make you stand out and be sure to include it in your pitch to the producers.”
WCPO.com will live-blog this season of “The Bachelor” every Monday night from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. with help from Sarah Schneider.
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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