Common Lottery benefits schools NOT parents....unless you get a high number

[Anonymous]

It seems to me that this lottery was an all or nothing deal. Either you have a great number, which not only gave you a top choice, and potentially great wait list numbers for higher choices. Or you have an average number, are wait listed for your top choices (probably high numbers), and are matched to your IB school (that's where we stand). Or you have a terrible number, you didn't get anything, and you are at the bottom for EVERY wait list.

How can this be fair for parents?

I would welcome the anarchy of separate lotteries for EVERY school. Terrible for the schools, but at least you could count on perhaps one good lottery position for something.

Oh, and one more thing. I hope this person didn't win the Nobel prize for this algorithm. Really? Nobel Prize?

[Anonymous]

Ha, ha, a bitter lottery loser questions the algorithm! No surprise there!

[Anonymous]

Yes, it was nothing like how My Schools DC marketed this thing. They made it sound like there was a greater likelihood that you would be placed at one of your ranked schools. I was not, and based on what has been posted thus far, there are plenty who did not get in. And yes, I had several safety schools that were not safeties after all. I agree that the common app benefitted the schools but did little for the parents.

[Anonymous]

I think it doesn't work well since a lot of people ranked the same schools in the same or similar slots. So it ends up being a winner takes all situation, in a way.

[Anonymous]

It was no secret that the common lottery could not address the real problem: Not enough desirable seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was no secret that the common lottery could not address the real problem: Not enough desirable seats.

. This. Where everyone puts MV / IT / SWS at the top...most people are going to be disappointed.

[Anonymous]

But I would suspect that a number of parents put in safeties (at least I did) and still got shut out. So it's not all about the top schools.

[Anonymous]

Exactly. No algorithm can fix that.

[Anonymous]

The only solution to the incredible demand is more good schools, more openings. Unfortunately DC doesn't seem to believe that all these baby boomers are staying.

(Threatening to leave all the time doesn't help!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was no secret that the common lottery could not address the real problem: Not enough desirable seats.

Agreed, the people who did well had a lot of safety schools.

It's hard when all the LAMB seats when to siblings and CM had 15 seats for PS3 - and then fighting out for a few scraps of MV and IT seats of less than 50?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only solution to the incredible demand is more good schools, more openings. Unfortunately DC doesn't seem to believe that all these baby boomers are staying.

(Threatening to leave all the time doesn't help!)

I think the goal of myschool is to direct families towards their IB schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only solution to the incredible demand is more good schools, more openings. Unfortunately DC doesn't seem to believe that all these baby boomers are staying.

(Threatening to leave all the time doesn't help!)

I think the goal of myschool is to direct families towards their IB schools.

That would be great if those IB offered sufficient spaces for PS/PK, but unfortunately Upper NW does not offer nearly enough space to meet demand...so those uber-organized parents end up overrunning many EOTP schools only to abandon us at K.