For those who didn't get picked for any lottery choices...
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Anonymous
Yes - no benefit to entering early. Although don't wait till the night before in case the website goes down or something (has never happened, but why do that to yourself). You can also edit / reorder and mess with your application as many times as you want up until the deadline. And yes, your master number is what gets drawn once everyone's applications are in. |
Anonymous
Yes. The master number is not assigned when you submit, but assigned to each applicant after the deadline. MySchoolDC has a video on how the lottery algorithm works. |
Anonymous
Here's the link to the video. It's really helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx7-o-ff9y4&feature=youtu.be |
Anonymous
Yes. Unless you have more than 12 schools you would be willing to send your kid to, you should list all the schools you want, in the order of your true preference. And unless you have absolutely no meaningful criteria by which you evaluate schools, including location/commuting time, you aren't going to have more than 12 schools. |
Anonymous
Recommend listing another "safety" school as number 11 - such as, any less popular school which you find more desirable than your in bounds then (if there is one). We listed two out of bounds DCPS schools which are nearby or en route to work, but somewhat better performing than our IB which we ended up removing entirely, given that those two OOBs almost always went through their whole waitlists. The people I know who actually got NO match in lottery at the PK level, it was because they DID NOT have a safety school (ie, all 12 slots were highly popular schools). THAT is poor strategy; they were overly confident. HOWEVER, they were able to add themselves to the waitlists at their in-bounds school or another less desirable DCPS and get in even after the lottery. You can do that. It was not a great idea but you can still add your child to lottery after the draw; they just will be at the end of the list (except I believe still get bumped up a bit if IB preference). I still would list the long-shot charter schools as long as you have space on your list and really like them. I was surprised how many people I knew got a good PK3 draw (us included) and are now at these charters. You don't want to hedge your bets too much and then miss out. |
Anonymous
| Many of the people who don't match to any school listed fewer than 12, and/or only listed schools where they had a very small chance of success. A lot of people are trying to "trade up" so they'll only apply to schools they think are better than their current school/daycare/other situation. |
Anonymous
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don't forget to list in order of your true preference. If you get into your #1 school, you won't be on the waitlists of any of your other 11 schools when the lottery results come out. You can add yourself to the waitlists at those schools, but you will be below everyone else in your preference category.
There really isn't a lot of gaming the system. Pick your 12 choices, rank them in your preferred order, and wait for the results. If you don't get in to any, Scrilli is a good and cheap private preschool. |
Anonymous
You mean "any" Zero. None. Nada. Zilch. |
Anonymous
| We had no trouble getting into our in-bound school for PS3 and PK4, but struck out four years in a row for a school that was actually going to make us comfortable/satisfied for compulsory education. Moved for 1st grade out of DC (because we were priced out of the neighborhoods where the schools were great). Several years later life is very good, and we are thankful to have avoided some of the pitfalls of DCPS in later grades that our new school system does not have. |
Anonymous
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There’s a little room for strategy/gaming with multiple kids and sibling preference.
But for your oldest child entering PK, the only strategy is to list in your true order of preference and include a safety. |
Anonymous
| Everyone I knew got in somewhere EXCEPT for those people I know who only listed four or five of the most popular language immersion programs. This friends did not get in anywhere and their kids are in private school - these friends have money and are content to pay for private school. This was two years ago and they have note even bothered thinking about DC public schools again and whether they would have actually sent their kids to one of the few public schools they listed in the lottery if they had been offered a spot remains an open question. |
Anonymous
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It depends on where you live. We're on Capitol Hill/Hill East and we did not get into schools I thought were safety schools in the My School DC PK3 lottery last year. We did not get into our inbound school. We were matched with our 12th choice - Kipp Connect. Eventually we would have gotten into Miner and AppleTree SW (if we put it on our list). Maybe AppleTree OK Ave as well. Most Hill schools have high in-bound demand. We ended up finding other arrangements for the school year.
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Anonymous
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We totally struck out the first year, didn't get in anywhere. Like someone else said, have a solid back up in place in case nothing works out. We went back to our private preschool for a year, played the lottery again, got into Two Rivers, where we are very happy.
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Anonymous
Yes! Yes, because it's all about your master number. For the sake of argument, let's say that 1,200 families enter the lottery. Somebody is going to be #1, someone else will be #2, someone else #3, down through number #1,200. When #1 is drawn, the system will go down through #1's options starting at what #1 listed first. Because of #1's amazing luck, he/she will get into any and everything - this is why it is important to list your choices in the order of preference. Once your number is drawn, you are the only player in the game. You will be matched with the highest preference you have made. If you list Yu Ying as #1 and there is a spot at Yu Ying, you will get it. If you really wanted Yu Ying, but you failed to understand the lottery system and put your neighborhood school (Lafayette) first, then you will get Lafayette. No matter your number, once it is drawn, you will get the highest choice that still has open seats. If you have a great number, then your odds of getting into multiple great schools is high. What will happen is that you will be matched to the one that you ranked highest, that has open seats. This is why it is so important to rank schools in your order of preference. There is no "gaming" the system. Once it is your turn, you will get your first available choice. If it sounds like I'm repeating myself, it's because I'm repeating a message that is supposed to be obvious, yet people have questions every year as though the process can be gamed. It cannot. Rank your schools in honest order of preference. There is nothing to be gained by putting something you don't like ahead of something you do. Everyone eventually gets their turn. When it is your turn, you are the only player. The system will give you the top choice you have made that is still available. You will go onto the waitlists of every school that was above wherever you were matched. Hope this helps. |
Anonymous
This is ONLY true for charters. If a DCPS doesn't have room for OOB students, even #1 won't get in if they are not IB. Just to be clear. |