Lottery stops in October? No enrollment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Echoing what was said above that 95% of schools (especially charters) will stop taking new students after "Count Day."

But, as some whose kids have literally started new schools on count day before, waitlists can move like CRAZY late September into early October. Like going from 50 something to getting an offer in some cases (depending on the school).

As a real data nerd, my biggest piece of lottery advice is to be prepared to move for your preferred school in Sept/early October. There are SO MANY schools that take like 2 or 3 kids a grade in the lottery, maybe another 2 off waitlists by August... and then make like 25 offers in Sept/Oct. For a school like that (ie, all Deal feeders, lots of other in demand schools especially DCPS schools) you literally quintuple your chances by being willing to move after school starts. SO MANY people say no after school starts! They fly through lists!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Echoing what was said above that 95% of schools (especially charters) will stop taking new students after "Count Day."

But, as some whose kids have literally started new schools on count day before, waitlists can move like CRAZY late September into early October. Like going from 50 something to getting an offer in some cases (depending on the school).

As a real data nerd, my biggest piece of lottery advice is to be prepared to move for your preferred school in Sept/early October. There are SO MANY schools that take like 2 or 3 kids a grade in the lottery, maybe another 2 off waitlists by August... and then make like 25 offers in Sept/Oct. For a school like that (ie, all Deal feeders, lots of other in demand schools especially DCPS schools) you literally quintuple your chances by being willing to move after school starts. SO MANY people say no after school starts! They fly through lists!

Yeah this. Trust that kids are adaptable and having a plan through 12th grade is priceless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Echoing what was said above that 95% of schools (especially charters) will stop taking new students after "Count Day."

But, as some whose kids have literally started new schools on count day before, waitlists can move like CRAZY late September into early October. Like going from 50 something to getting an offer in some cases (depending on the school).

As a real data nerd, my biggest piece of lottery advice is to be prepared to move for your preferred school in Sept/early October. There are SO MANY schools that take like 2 or 3 kids a grade in the lottery, maybe another 2 off waitlists by August... and then make like 25 offers in Sept/Oct. For a school like that (ie, all Deal feeders, lots of other in demand schools especially DCPS schools) you literally quintuple your chances by being willing to move after school starts. SO MANY people say no after school starts! They fly through lists!

Yeah this. Trust that kids are adaptable and having a plan through 12th grade is priceless.

As someone whose kid is single digits on the wait lists at three Deal feeders right now: this is the pep talk we needed...we're on pins needles both about getting in - still mentally prepping to wind up hitting the top of the list the day AFTER they stop making offers! - and also, torn about the idea of switching locations (as in, finding a new crew of weekday friends) after a year and a month in school with the same kids. It's a tradeoff, but - a dilemma we're still hoping against hope we actually have this year!

[Anonymous]

We’re in low single digits at Ross (K) but have given up for this year - not all schools are filling in a last spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’re in low single digits at Ross (K) but have given up for this year - not all schools are filling in a last spot.

Just my observation from the cheap seats, but: in NW, feels like PK4 is just a completely different lottery ballgame than K (+ higher grades)...the stats suggest schools often kind of max out their PK4 and then correct as needed in upper grades - obviously they have less uncertainty for incoming K because it's not a class of complete unknowns who might or might not show up on Day One - it's a class of real kids who have already spent an entire year enrolled and are either returning or not. So yeah, the starting assumption would be that schools would tend to give a "last spot" offer for PK4, but not for K.

(Just checked for Ross: looks like the only time they've ever made K wait list offers anytime after school started - as in, literally anytime in the past decade - was during the pair of weird pandemic/lockdown years when everything was online. So yeah: if it's literally a thing they've never done, ever, when school was open for daily attendance then I wouldn't necessarily expect them to start this year. They have, however, made multiple Sept/Oct PK offers each of the past 5 years, maxing out PK with double-digit Sept/Oct offers last year... which makes any K offers this year - for that specific class - even less likely, imho.

fwiw, we're fairly high on the Ross list ourselves, but for PK, moving up several spots this month - no clue whether it's people withdrawing from the wait list or some ahead of us getting in. What I'm saying is: it feels like schools ARE "filling in a last spot" - they're just doing it for the year relevant for the majority of lottery parents, not the specific random year that you happen care about right now. I'm genuinely sorry, and hope you're on some other list that's moving!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’re in low single digits at Ross (K) but have given up for this year - not all schools are filling in a last spot.

Ross K is not moving. The class is big. They are done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re in low single digits at Ross (K) but have given up for this year - not all schools are filling in a last spot.

Ross K is not moving. The class is big. They are done.

That sucks.

Ross ROCKS.