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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PLEASE, there is NO weight assigned to your ranking! Those awful FAQs are deceptively vague on this. The reason they tell you to rank in order of preference is simply because you will drop off of the ones below.

I can't vouch for if or why the people answering the phones at the common lottery are giving out misinformation, but I think it must be because they don't understand it themselves. Hopefully there will be more information forthcoming from DME for those who want to understand the exact algorithm.[/quote]

You need to call the Common Lottery people yourself, right now, and ask them if it's true that "no weight will be assigned to my ranking?", because I just got off the phone with them and you are completely, 100% WRONG!  And you need to STOP. SAYING. THIS!

I just got off the phone with them, and asked really specific questions, and she understood and was able to explain and answer my questions, and give examples just fine.

Here is what she said:

There are 2 factors that the lottery algorithm will weight in matching students to schools:
1. How you ranked each school
2. Your particular child's preferences (i.e. sibling preference at any school, or in bound preference for a PS or PK inbound school)

The computer will try to match those with double advantage (i.e. you ranked the school 1st and you have sibling preference 1st) first, and then go down the line.  HOWEVER, since the computer is doing this with thousands of applications at once, [b]it is possible that someone who ranked a popular school #2 but has sibling preference at that school could get a spot before someone else who ranked the same school #1 but has no sibling preference. [/b]

In other words, it's not as simple as "everyone who ranks the school #1 will be considered 1st, then everyone who ranked it #2", because people with siblings at a given school are also weighted over those with no siblings.

So, once again, IT MATTERS HOW YOU RANK THE SCHOOLS.  And even though she wouldn't go as far as saying ranking a majorly popular school #2 if you don't have siblings there is as good as accepting that you won't get in, it sounds like it's a good bet that's true.

PP that I quoted, either call the Common Lottery yourself and then come back and explain how no weight is assigned to ranking, or shut up.  It is irresponsible to assert that so strongly when according to this 3rd Common Lottery staff person I've spoken to who confirmed that the computer WILL WEIGHT BASED ON RANKING (and sibling preference or inbound for PS/PK) (because I have asked this same question, but with less detail before, 2 other times on 2 other occaisions).[/quote]

On sibling preference, likewise, someone ranking the school #1 but with no sibling preference could get a spot over someone ranking the same school #2 but with sibling preference.[/quote]

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