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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We applied to 12 schools.  At least half were schools that I didn't think were particularly popular and we had a shot at.  But this was for K and there aren't many spots for K at many schools.

We weren't matched anywhere in the lottery.  I was disappointed because prior to the lottery we were given the impression that we'd have 12 separate chances to get in, [b]but really our luck with any of those choices depended on a single draw.  [/b]As far as I could tell we were about at the midway point in most of the waitlists that we joined (probably in the top 45 percent).

But, by the end of May we were offered spots at Lee, Bridges and Shining Stars.  We're going to Lee and happy with it.

Unfortunately we know many others who still don't have options for K.[/quote]

Thank you for reinforcing my scepticism regarding the common lottery.  Yes, all the popular schools have WLs in the hundreds.  However, back when they each ran their own lotteries, you had more than one shot at a decent number.  Now it's just one bad number and you're screwed everywhere.[/quote]

I really wish the lottery computer would run separate lotteries for each school in the common lottery.  Can't see any reason it couldn't look at each applicant and each school and do mini lotteries for each school, sort by preference group, and fill slots.  Then the overall process would be one common lottery, but each applicant would have 12 different chances to get a good number.[/quote]

If they did this, then there would be trades possible where I get into A but prefer B and you get into B but prefer A. The way it works now, everyone gets into the highest choice school possible. [/quote]

Everyone would still get into their highest choice possible, because once the computer does the individual school lotteries it reconciles the bigger list, dropping people off of any matched slot or waitlist slot lower than their highest accepted slot.  It would still give everyone the highest choice they got into, but not damn you with one single number for all 12.[/quote]

It would not maximize the number of people who got into high-ranked choices. I might really want Mandarin immersion and put YY first (assuming it is in the common lottery), and have Cap City as, say, my 8th choice. But through separate lotteries, I get into CC but not YY. Someone else gets into YY and not CC. We can't trade spots. Instead, I go to CC and they go to YY, and we both could have crappy waitlist numbers at the schools we prefer.

The algorithm my school dc uses is the best one. Even if it entered you into 12 separate lotteries, that would not change the # of seats available at every school, so the outcome would be the same in terms of # of seats available--only it would be much worse at getting people into the schools that they prefer.

I say this ad someone who had an awful lottery draw and was almost the last PK3 # on the MV waitlist, my first choice. If it were not for IB preference at an unpopular school, I would have been shut out. The really problem is that there are not enough good seats to meet demand. No lottery can change that.[/quote]

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