Navigating NYC school choice: advice for families

 Each year a new cohort of families has to navigate school choice in New York City.  The city offers lots of resources for gathering information.  One advantage of employing methods that make it safe to reveal true preference orders is that at least one aspect of the process is straightforward. (Of course, constructing a list of 12 schools out of the many available isn't easy.)

The NY Times offers a guide, which is full of information on how to go about gathering information with which to form preferences over schools:

Applying to N.Y.C. Public Schools Can Feel Daunting. Here’s What to Know. What matters when choosing a school? How should you compare options? And what’s the best strategy for getting your first choice?  By Troy Closson, Sept. 5, 2023,

"What’s the best strategy when applying?

"You should rank schools and programs in order of your true preference. There is no better approach. Students are considered for a lower choice only if a higher ranked school does not have space.

"Admissions experts suggest creating a complete list of 12 schools with a balance of programs, priorities and demand per seat, which you can find on MySchools. Apply by the deadline; there is also no benefit to applying earlier"

HT: Parag Pathak

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Another resource:

Abdulkadiroglu, Atila , Parag A. Pathak, and Alvin E. Roth, "Strategy-proofness versus Efficiency in Matching with Indifferences: Redesigning the NYC High School Match,'' American Economic Review, 99, 5, Dec. 2009, pp1954-1978.