Senior Meg Miller said landing a spot on “Wheel of Fortune’s” College Week was more luck — or fate — than anything else.

“Before flying out to (Los Angeles) to film ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ I kept thinking this is a joke,” said senior Meg Miller. “It wasn’t ‘real’ until I actually got to the set.”

Miller, a long-time fan of the show, did not actually apply to be a contestant. Her friends submitted her name in an online lottery. From there, she was chosen to compete in New York for one of 15 spots.

After a series of tests, which included word puzzles and an interview, Miller won one of seven spots to fly to Los Angeles and appear on the show. According to Miller, the purpose of the interviews was to determine whether or not the prospective candidates would generate enough commercial appeal to appear on the show.

“The contestants who were chosen to be on the show after the interview process were chosen based on personality,” Miller said.

The show, which will air Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. on ABC channel 7, will feature students competing for items like trips to Europe and Volkswagon Beetles.

“Before flying out to L.A., none of it seemed real,” Miller said.

In fact, Miller explained that throughout the audition process, she was unaware she would even be representing Vanderbilt in a College Spring Break Week episode.

“Originally I thought that I would just be on a normal Wheel of Fortune episode … it was only right before I got to L.A. that I was told I would be a contestant on the College Spring Break episode,” Miller said.

However, apart from being required to wear a Vanderbilt sweatshirt and answering a few basic questions regarding her major, there was no more mention of the contestants’ respective universities.

“We weren’t even allowed to give shout-outs. Even if you wanted to say something positive about your school or simply give a shout-out to your family, friends or sorority, you were not allowed,” Miller said.

The show stayed true to its theme in other ways, though, Miller said.

“All of the prizes, such as the Volkswagon Jetta were catered towards the interest of college students. All of the questions were related to college students and campus life,” Miller said.

“I think that the fact that the episode relates to college life will generate a younger audience. It was a lot of fun to film and definitely will appeal more to college students than the average wheel of fortune episode does,” Miller said.

In general, Miller described her experience on the set as surreal and was surprised at how nice and supportive everyone was of one another.

“Every contestant is guaranteed a $1,000, so it’s a win-win. Everyone is rooting for each other and we all recognize that it’s largely a game of luck. Intelligence isn’t the determining factor,” Miller said.

While Miller did not come in first place, she explained the experience was one she will not forget, and she attributes it to her friends that signed her up.

“If it weren’t for them, I never would’ve signed up and gotten the chance to be on the show,” Miller said.