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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Thank you PP, the above is clear and very helpful.

The only thing that is very different about what you say and what most other people have been harping on, is your last bit of advice.  Even though I do NOT at all believe that being strategic about where you apply (i.e. applying to schools you have a better chance at because, say, they went through most of hteir waitlist last year) is "gaming the system", a LOT of people here have been saying that that is somehow gaming hte system and not being "honest" about your "true preferences".  So if you really really want Ross, most people are saying you should put Ross as #1 even if, as OOB with no sib preference, your odds are almost nil at getting in.

Me, I'd do what you suggest and combine our dream list with what is more likely.  I would not do strict "just put it in true order" if my #1 choice is an OOB DCPS that NEVER takes OOB.  Charters do seem different though, since Sib preference is the only preference category (right?), so seems like hte odds there would be generally much better?  Or do I have that wrong?[/quote]

I think that what I am saying is not that different from what other people are saying. That is, you need to choose your 12 schools with whatever criteria you want--one of which may be probability of getting in. For me, it is, because our priority is getting into a PK3 program, even if it's not a long-term solution (like Appletree). Once you choose your 12 schools, you should then place them in the order in which you truly prefer them. I have heard some people say that maybe you can "game" the system by putting a school that you desire less as a higher-ranked option to maximize the probability that you get in somewhere. This is not a good strategy--once your 12 schools are selected, you should rank them with your true preference. But you might be strategic about what choices you make.

Ross is a good example. I'd love my child to go to Ross, but we are OOB, and they took zero out of boundary people last year (even as late as count day) for PS3. They couldn't meet the in-boundary demand. For me, it's not worth putting it down as a choice. However, maybe for someone else, who has a good in-boundary option but would prefer Ross, it makes sense to apply even though they know they have virtually no probability of getting in. They know they can always fall back on a good IB option, so that makes sense for that family.

Hope that makes sense![/quote]

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