Common Lottery Algorithm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This!^. Please people, rank them according to your true preferred picks. There's no priority given for ranking a school higher than another.

NP this is totally confusing to me. If no priority is given for ranking one school higher than another, why does it matter what order you rank them in at all? Also what is the alternative to ranking them according to your true preferred picks? How does anything anyone's said tell people to do anything else?

Let's say you pick six schools in the lottery. When it comes to be your turn, you only get into one of them. Which one will that be? The one you ranked highest of the five available.

Ranking it higher doesn't make it more likely to get in, that's determined by the number of people with either higher preference or lower lottery numbers and the number of spots.

I meant to say "When it comes to be your turn, only five have spaces. You only get into one of them."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What's wrong, afraid to call them youself and confirm that you're full of crap? Yes, you are, because you know you're full of crap. The person I spoke to was quite able to explain the algorithm, was not reading off a script, gave examples, and answered my specific "What if...?" questions with ease. I'll take their accurate, relevant info over your admittedly (because if you had an official, verifiable source you would have posted it by now) not-official musings/misleading.

I read your posting of your conversation with the lottery person, and I can see where you misunderstood. There is a difference between weighting and priority. Weighting means you have a better chance. Priority means the person with priority gets it every time over the person without priority. We do not have a weighted system, we have a priority system. IB first priority, sibs second priority, then priority by lottery number.

What the nice person in the lottery office was saying to you is that even if you have a good lottery number, there might be a higher priority person than you who gets the spot. The "might" isn't whether they get the spot, if they exist they get it, the "might" is they might exist.

In my experience DCPS doesn't like to admit that it's a strict priority system, they tend to waffle around that point because it's so depressing for the people who don't have priority.

I don't care if I sound like a broken record. Wrong info on this is too damaging, even though no one should be relying totally on anything said here.

Re: your post, post a verifiable official source for your take on the lottery, or I don't believe it. I did not misunderstand what I was told, as I asked the specific question re: whether someone with no sibling preference or inbound but who ranked a school #1 could get in over someone with sibling or IB preference but who ranked it #2, and was told yes that is absolutely possible. There are several variables re: who the computer even looks at first and what the other applicants who are being looked at before/at the same time had re: rankings or preferences.

I won't argue terms "priority" vs. "weighting". I just know that ranking a school #1 gives you as much of an advantage as having a sibling at the school but ranking it #2... who gets that particular spot depends on who the computer looks at first. In one pull it could be the #1/no sib who gets it, in another it could be the #2 w/sib who gets it. But in either pull, #3 with or without sib or IB or not is not getting it unless they are pulled ahead of the others and don't get into their 1 or 2.

If ranking didn't matter or wasn't weighted, it wouldn't give you just as much an advantage as IB or sibling. And it was explained to me repeatedly as being just as important, giving you the same edge as IB or sibling. (Although a combo of #1, sib and IB (for PS/PK) will be hard to beat.)

Not the PP you are arguing with, but you are now spreading total horseshit if you are claiming that putting a school #1 gives you just as much of an advantage as having sibling preference. I don't care who you talked to, that is absolutely not true. Talk about spreading damaging information.

I'm not spreading horshit or damaging info. I'm spreading what I was told 3 times by actual Common Lottery staff. It's all about what the computer gets to first. If you don't think ranking #1 is as important as sib preference, then how is it that someone ranking the school #1 but with no sib preference can get in ahead of someone ranking it #2 with a sib? If it's not as important then that couldn't happen. Ok, now really done. Guess I'll have to stop reading the thread, because it's hard to not post when people have a LOT of opinions, but no freaking sources for who said THEIR opinion to them. Done done done.

There are one or two people on here who are correct, but you are not one of them. Sorry that you got bad info from the common lottery person. It is possible for you to get into a school you ranked #1 when a sibling ranked it #2, but ONLY if that person got into their #1. They would be, in essence, not exercising their sibling preference because they got into their first choice. However, if they don't get into their #1, they are going to have priority at the school where they have sibling preference, bumping anyone who doesn't have sibling preference, no matter how good their lottery number. So the scenario that the common lottery person said was possible is possible, but not very likely since most people with sibling preference are going to use it, and those that don't will need to get lucky and get their preferred school before those slots are gone.

[Anonymous]

Chaos.

[Anonymous]

^ sigh. Clearly there needs to be a better explanation put out there by the myschools people.

But 21:12 is correct. Just cross your fingers you're an early pick!

[Anonymous]

By law, sibs get preference. No ranking of algorithm will change that. So, if there are 10 open spots with 10 siblings to fill them, you will never get one of those 10 spots. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By law, sibs get preference. No ranking of algorithm will change that. So, if there are 10 open spots with 10 siblings to fill them, you will never get one of those 10 spots. Period.

This. And a sucky lottery number is a sucky lottery number, no ranking or algorithm will change that.

Last year, about half the people who entered the lottery didn't get any of their picks. Changing the way the lottery works doesn't make any more seats, you just find out the bad news faster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By law, sibs get preference. No ranking of algorithm will change that. So, if there are 10 open spots with 10 siblings to fill them, you will never get one of those 10 spots. Period.

So you're saying if I'm a Sibling at IT (my #12 choice) but get in at Mundo Verde (my #1) with an early choice, I will be able to keep my IT spot and bump someone from the IT spot? So I'm admitted to IT and high wait listed for MV?

[Anonymous]

Yes, until a sib bumps you at MV, you get to hold the spot. Best thing to do is rank all your dream schools and then, if its not your dream school, your safety or inbound last because doing so doesn't decrease your chances of getting in, and you can at least hold a waitlist spot at the other choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:19:58, you keep freaking out when I don't think you're actually disagreeing with 19:55. They don't pull multiple applicants at once, they pull one at a time and then work the lists accordingly. If you have preference (either sib or boundary/proximity) you boot someone off the list, that person gets moved down. If you don't have preference you get the first available spot per your rankings. The only way you are then booted is if someone with PREFERENCE comes after you, not if someone who ranked the school higher comes after you. They're simply SOL because they were drawn later.

You're making it too complicated and YOU are doi a disservice to people here.

Source. What is your source that if you have a preference you boot somoene off. That is NOT what anyone official has said. If you rank a school #1, no sib or IB for PS or PK, and you are pulled first and you get a spot, you KEEP that spot. You will not later be bumped off when the computer later gets to someone else who has a sib if the computer matches you first.

Post a source for you saying you get bumped. This is my last post, because in the end, the most important point is that your ranking matters. If anyone is still doubting that, please please call an official source. Other than that, arguing about the detail you're stating (which was stated to me differently, and again, I have a source and you're not stating your source) is useless. The bottom line for anyone wanting to do this right is still the same: be careful how you rank, and make sure it's the order you really really would want to get in. There is still some luck and randomness involved, but your ranking is key, as is whether you have a sib or you're IB for PS/PK.

Other than that, have at the algorithm, I know what I heard mulitple times, and that's what I believe and will act on.

Absolutely, 100% WRONG.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By law, sibs get preference. No ranking of algorithm will change that. So, if there are 10 open spots with 10 siblings to fill them, you will never get one of those 10 spots. Period.

This. And a sucky lottery number is a sucky lottery number, no ranking or algorithm will change that.

Last year, about half the people who entered the lottery didn't get any of their picks. Changing the way the lottery works doesn't make any more seats, you just find out the bad news faster.

This exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:19:58, you keep freaking out when I don't think you're actually disagreeing with 19:55. They don't pull multiple applicants at once, they pull one at a time and then work the lists accordingly. If you have preference (either sib or boundary/proximity) you boot someone off the list, that person gets moved down. If you don't have preference you get the first available spot per your rankings. The only way you are then booted is if someone with PREFERENCE comes after you, not if someone who ranked the school higher comes after you. They're simply SOL because they were drawn later.

You're making it too complicated and YOU are doi a disservice to people here.

Source. What is your source that if you have a preference you boot somoene off. That is NOT what anyone official has said. If you rank a school #1, no sib or IB for PS or PK, and you are pulled first and you get a spot, you KEEP that spot. You will not later be bumped off when the computer later gets to someone else who has a sib if the computer matches you first.

Post a source for you saying you get bumped. This is my last post, because in the end, the most important point is that your ranking matters. If anyone is still doubting that, please please call an official source. Other than that, arguing about the detail you're stating (which was stated to me differently, and again, I have a source and you're not stating your source) is useless. The bottom line for anyone wanting to do this right is still the same: be careful how you rank, and make sure it's the order you really really would want to get in. There is still some luck and randomness involved, but your ranking is key, as is whether you have a sib or you're IB for PS/PK.

Other than that, have at the algorithm, I know what I heard mulitple times, and that's what I believe and will act on.

Absolutely, 100% WRONG.

She is wrong - and she kept coming back again and again, but she said she'll stop now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
There is no point in arguing with you, you either refuse to understand it or you are trying purposefully to mislead people. You acknowledge weighting for sibs and IB (which only applies for PS/PK), but you are denying that you are also weighted on your ranking. That makes you half right, HALF WRONG.

There isn't weighting of sibs and IB. Those are in effect separate lotteries. IB goes first, then sibs, then everyone else. If there are more people in the IB round than there are slots everybody in the sibs or general rounds has zero chance. Zero chance -- not a slim chance, zero chance.

There is no weighting.

Post an official, verifiable source that this is the way the lottery will go. Otherwise, you're lumped in with the other "there's no weighting rankings" poster who is saying this with no source and in total opposition from what actual, real life, official common lottery staff are saying.

CONFUSED? CALL THE COMMON LOTTERY YOURSELF. DO NOT LET ANONYMOUS POSTS ON DCUM MAKE YOU PUT LESS STOCK IN YOUR RANKINGS!

From the FAQ:
"When there are more students than spaces at a school, students who have a preference (such as a sibling preference) will be the first to be offered spaces. Then, random selection decides which other students will be offered spaces.

Students will be matched with no more than one school. My School DC will try to match each student with their 1st choice, then their 2nd choice, and so on through the student’s list."

No weighting. Priority. Random selection. Students matched in order of their choices.
http://www.myschooldc.org/faq/#common-3

This is correct, but if you ranked another school higher than your IB/Sib school (ranked #2) and you got into your #1 you would not also be granted acceptance into your IB/SIB school. This is because you ranked it lower than the school where you were granted acceptance. Remember the point of the common lottery is to maximize satisfaction across the board. In this instance the family should be satisfied as their child got into their first choice. If this family did not get into their first choice then they would be more likely to get into the SIB/IB school then say a family who did not have a preference, but ranked it #1, hence sibling/IB preference.

If you are saying it does not work this way, then I how will DCPS deal with potential enrollment issues for K when IB children who were refused a PK/PS seat seek attendance at K along with all of the OOB children who were accepted ahead of them in the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
There is no point in arguing with you, you either refuse to understand it or you are trying purposefully to mislead people. You acknowledge weighting for sibs and IB (which only applies for PS/PK), but you are denying that you are also weighted on your ranking. That makes you half right, HALF WRONG.

There isn't weighting of sibs and IB. Those are in effect separate lotteries. IB goes first, then sibs, then everyone else. If there are more people in the IB round than there are slots everybody in the sibs or general rounds has zero chance. Zero chance -- not a slim chance, zero chance.

There is no weighting.

Post an official, verifiable source that this is the way the lottery will go. Otherwise, you're lumped in with the other "there's no weighting rankings" poster who is saying this with no source and in total opposition from what actual, real life, official common lottery staff are saying.

CONFUSED? CALL THE COMMON LOTTERY YOURSELF. DO NOT LET ANONYMOUS POSTS ON DCUM MAKE YOU PUT LESS STOCK IN YOUR RANKINGS!

From the FAQ:
"When there are more students than spaces at a school, students who have a preference (such as a sibling preference) will be the first to be offered spaces. Then, random selection decides which other students will be offered spaces.

Students will be matched with no more than one school. My School DC will try to match each student with their 1st choice, then their 2nd choice, and so on through the student’s list."

No weighting. Priority. Random selection. Students matched in order of their choices.
http://www.myschooldc.org/faq/#common-3

This is correct, but if you ranked another school higher than your IB/Sib school (ranked #2) and you got into your #1 you would not also be granted acceptance into your IB/SIB school. This is because you ranked it lower than the school where you were granted acceptance. Remember the point of the common lottery is to maximize satisfaction across the board. In this instance the family should be satisfied as their child got into their first choice. If this family did not get into their first choice then they would be more likely to get into the SIB/IB school then say a family who did not have a preference, but ranked it #1, hence sibling/IB preference.

If you are saying it does not work this way, then I how will DCPS deal with potential enrollment issues for K when IB children who were refused a PK/PS seat seek attendance at K along with all of the OOB children who were accepted ahead of them in the lottery.

True, but you can always come back to your in-bounds school at any time, K and above. You do not need to enter the lottery for your in-bounds school after PK4.

[Anonymous]

U r guaranteed a K spot in boundary, regardless of any lottery stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ranking matters, but you don't get PRIORITY for it. You could rank a school #1, but that doesn't mean you get in of you're pulled later in the draw. People,pulled before you will get a spot first if its at the top of their list (even if the top of their list is now their #10 ranked school because their 1-9 is filled.)

Someone earlier up the thread insinuated that if you put a less-desirable school as#1 you'd have a better chance of getting in even if you're a late draw because you ranked it #1. In other words, game the system by ranking a school with more slots (fewer preferenced spots) or that is just less popular as your #1 because this will somehow guarantee you a spot. This is not the case and it only decreases your chances (or removes the chances all together) of getting into your true "preferred schools."

Please people. The computer does not know what your "real" preferences are it only knows what you indicated on your application. What the person said on the earlier thread is absolutely true. A person who ranks their schools this way is simply concerned with getting into an acceptable school immediately after the lottery. If the school is an acceptable school and less popular I see nothing wrong with ranking it higher on your list as long as you understand you will be dropped of the waitlist at your lower ranked school if you are offered a seat. This is not gaming the system, but ranking your schools in an order that reflects the needs of your family.