Here's my advice to OP:

Make a list of schools where if you were offered a spot you would realistically attend, considering all the factors.

If there are 12 or fewer, you're done, rank them by your actual preference and turn it in.

If there are 13 or more, you need to winnow the list. In this case, I would divide the schools by whether they admitted OOB kids last year. Rank them, and take off the lowest-ranking schools that didn't admit OOB last year until you get down to 12.

I don't think there are many families that realistically can consider 13 or more schools for PK4, the logistics are too hard, the transportation will kill you. So for the vast majority of people the best advice is to rank schools in your actual order of preference and ignore how easy or hard it is to get in. But I don't know the details of your situation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fair enough, but the point is that you have to rank your choices in true order of preference.

That’s just not true if you prioritize getting *some* match and have more than 12 schools you would rank. Why is that so difficult for people to understand?

Yes, if you do this you may end up with nothing because you truly just adore 12 schools which never admit more than 5 OOB. Or something.

Are there even 12 schools in that category?

Well no but if you include tough charters, that's your recipe for panic on results day. "Why didn't I match anywhere!!!?"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fair enough, but the point is that you have to rank your choices in true order of preference.

That’s just not true if you prioritize getting *some* match and have more than 12 schools you would rank. Why is that so difficult for people to understand?

Yes, if you do this you may end up with nothing because you truly just adore 12 schools which never admit more than 5 OOB. Or something.

Are there even 12 schools in that category?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fair enough, but the point is that you have to rank your choices in true order of preference.

That’s just not true if you prioritize getting *some* match and have more than 12 schools you would rank. Why is that so difficult for people to understand?

Yes, if you do this you may end up with nothing because you truly just adore 12 schools which never admit more than 5 OOB. Or something.

Anonymous wrote:Fair enough, but the point is that you have to rank your choices in true order of preference.

That’s just not true if you prioritize getting *some* match and have more than 12 schools you would rank. Why is that so difficult for people to understand?

Fair enough, but the point is that you have to rank your choices in true order of preference.

Anonymous wrote:The only number that matters is your lottery number. Rank your schools in order of personal preference. Really. When it is your turn, you are the only player on the board.

This isn't hard to understand.

No need to roll your eyes. She isn't asking to game the system, just to know which schools are truly pointless to list for PK (like JKLMs). Your advice is only true for charters.

The other PP is right that it's hard to predict. It's getting tighter every year.

The only number that matters is your lottery number. Rank your schools in order of personal preference. Really. When it is your turn, you are the only player on the board.

This isn't hard to understand.

This is truly impossible to predict year to year.

Here is the link for 2016-17. https://dcps.dc.gov/page/my-school-dc-lottery-results

It reflects the initial draw only — there is movement post lottery that isn’t reflected here, such as new students moving into a school’s attendance zone or students who get in pull their siblings up the wait list.

No need to be rude. We just moved to DC and are learning the DC lottery system for the first time. Appreciate any resources you can provide.

SOS , really?

Looking for a website that lists how many spots went to IB vs. OOB students for each PK4 school last year. Help! We only want to include schools that offer spots to OOB kids on our top 12 list. Tried googling and no luck.