Random Numbers in Admissions

What is a random number?

A random number is a long string of letters and numbers, for example: B51920AF-F1C6-40EC-8E9A-3E1E50CB13BB (this is a real random number!). Random numbers are used in admissions to determine the order in which students are matched to schools during admissions. These numbers are sorted in both numeric and alphabetical order, as follows: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F. 

1. 5B1920AF-F1C6-40EC-8E9A-3E1E50CB13BB
2. B51920AF-F1C6-40EC-8E9A-3E1E50CB13BB

How are random numbers used in admissions?

Each applicant is assigned a random number once they begin an admissions application. Random numbers function as tiebreakers in cases where there are more applicants in a priority group than seats available.

Example:
Bedford Avenue School has 15 seats available, and 20 applicants.

Applicants are sorted into two priority groups:

Priority Group 1: Brooklyn students or residents

• 10 applicants are in this priority group, and 15 seats are available.
• Random number is not considered, as there are enough seats for all applicants.

Priority Group 2: New York City residents

• 10 applicants are in this priority group, and 5 seats are remaining
• Random numbers are used to sort applicants. Only the first 5 applicants are admitted, as there are not enough seats for all applicants.

Review the "How Random Selection Works" video to learn more.

When and where can I view my child's random number?

All applicants can view their random number in MySchools after they start their application. Once the application has been started, an applicant can log into MySchools and click "edit profile" in the small font just above the student's name. Scroll down to find the random number.

If I'm applying for multiple children, how are their random numbers assigned?

Families with multiple children (twins, triplets, foster siblings, etc.) eligible to participate in the same admissions process have the option to link their applications in MySchools. Linking applications results in children having the same random number, maximizing their chances of receiving the same offer.

• Families who do not wish for their children to have the same application choices can submit a separate application for each child. The same random number will be assigned after the application closes.
• Linking applications does not guarantee the same offer. For example, children who are eligible for different seat groups (General Education or Students with Disabilities) or apply to programs that require individual evaluations, like auditions, assessments, or academically screened programs, may not receive the same offer. 

I’ve heard that knowing my random number can help me decide whether to apply to certain schools. Is this true?

Random numbers, on their own, cannot tell you your chances of getting into any specific program. In order to do so, you would need to know the random numbers of all other students applying to that same program and how your random number compares to those applicants’ numbers. Here’s why:

• The strength of your random number depends on who else applied. 
  • While the matching algorithm runs, some students who apply to the same program as your child may match to a higher choice from their application. This means they are not actually considered for a seat in that program.
  • For example, on a list of 100 applicants to a program, your child’s random number may place you at #75. During the match, it’s possible that 30 students with a stronger random number match to a more preferred choice, meaning that your actual position would jump to #45. With tens of thousands of applicants and hundreds of programs, this is fairly common.
• Eligibilities and priorities matter. 
  • Many schools are open only to specific applicants (such as students who live or go to school in that same district or borough) and/or use priority groups, which means that these schools make offers to some groups of students before other groups.
  • In these cases, all students from a program's first priority group get offers before any students from the second priority group, regardless of random number.
  • If there are more applicants than seats in a priority group, the random number is used to determine offers to individual students within that priority group.

What’s the best advice on how to build my child's application?

The choices on your application and the order in which you list them matter! Here are three key strategies:

1. List your application choices in your true order of preference: there is no advantage to listing them in any other order.

• The admissions match always tries to match your child to your top-choice program first. Listing a program lower on your list won’t hurt your chances of getting into it—if your child doesn’t match to a higher-ranked choice, they’ll still be considered for the next one on your list. So it’s best to list schools in the order you most want your child to attend them.
• As a reminder, your child will automatically be added to the waitlists of any programs listed higher on their application than the program where they received an offer.
  • If your child is offered their first-choice, they will not be added to any waitlists automatically.

2. List a balance of high-demand and average-demand programs on your application.

• If you have, say, four programs of interest that are high demand, you should definitely list them!
• Also consider adding other options that are average or low demand. This helps maximize your child’s chances of getting an offer to a program on their application.
• Learn more about building a strong, balanced application on each of our admissions pages, which include video series and detailed information about each process, including how offers are made and how to know your chances of getting offers to specific programs.
• Applying to high school? You can view your child’s chance of offer for most high school programs. Learn more here. List no fewer than 12 choices on your application, and also be sure to apply to programs that use a variety of admissions methods (not just to screened and audition programs).
• Families can view the number of available seats for each program, as well as which priority groups received offers, by expanding the program card for any school in MySchools. This information helps families understand whether a program is in low, average or high demand.

What is the code used to generate random numbers?

Random numbers are generated completely at random for each applicant and each admissions process (high school, Summer Rising, 3-K, etc.).

• Each number is assigned independently through a secure randomization process.
  • MySchools generates the random number (also known as “lottery ID”) using Python coding, which triggers the generation of a random value used as the lottery ID, which is then assigned to each applicant’s application (“StudentApplication”).
  •  Python’s coding does not accept any arguments (student demographics and/or characteristics) to influence the generated lottery ID. Examples of student demographics and/or characteristics include race/ethnicity, income, zip code, and seat group, among others

Below is the Python computer code MySchools uses to trigger the generation of random numbers and assign them to applications:

CreateModel(

    name='StudentApplication',

    fields=[

        #...unrelated lines omitted for brevity...#

        ('lottery_id', models.UUIDField(default=uuid.uuid4, editable=False)),

        #...#

    ],

)

How are random numbers used for waitlists?

Applicants do not keep the same random number from their application. Instead, applicants receive a new random number for each waitlist they are on, You do not need to know the waitlist random number because the waitlist position reflects this information.