Prepare for Lottery: Validate Data and Run Test Lotteries in Sandbox

What is covered in this article?

• Steps to Prepare Application Data for Lottery
• Steps to Run Test Lotteries in Sandbox
• Prepare Post-Lottery Communications to Families

Tools for Data Clean-Up:

The SchoolMint team recommends that you begin data clean up early and utilize these tools to ensure that your applications are clean, valid and ready for a successful lottery. You can begin any of these data clean up steps now!

Steps to Prepare Application Data for Lottery:

1) Clean Up Application Data

• Duplicate Applications Report (Reports > Duplicate Applications)
• Goal: Flags applications with matching the First Name, Last Name, or birthdate. Use this report to find and cancel duplicate applications to ensure each student gets one entry into the lottery
• Article: Duplicate Applications Report
• Age / Grade Inconsistencies Report (Reports > Age Grade Inconsistencies)
• Goal: Highlights students whose birthdays fall outside the expected range for the grade. Use this report to find and correct students’ ages or grades.
• Article: Age/Grade Inconsistencies Report
  

2) Validate Priorities

• Go to Admissions > Validate Priorities > "Approve" or "Deny" all Pending priorities. Students with “Pending” priorities will be entered in the lottery with those priorities
• Goal: This page will show you the applicants who have been flagged with a priority for your lottery. Take action to ensure each student receives the correct priorities in the lottery. The applications present will be in one of the following statues: Submitted, Waitlisted, or Pre Offer.

3) Are Open Enrollment (lottery eligible) Dates set correctly?

• Settings > Calendar Dates
• How do I confirm that lottery eligible applications are properly marked as Open Enrollment (OE)? Only Submitted applications that are OE are eligible for the lottery (Cancelled or Post-Enrollment applications are not entered into the lottery) 
• Export the Application Index Data > Check `application_type’ column > Are all applications eligible for the lottery marked as OE and in Submitted Status?
• Update as needed: 1) Application Index (Settings > Select Student > Bulk Action > Move to Open Enrollment) or 2) Student Profile (Click into Application > Update Application Type)

Test, Test, Test! 

We highly recommend running test lotteries in your Sandbox site at least 1 month prior to your actual lottery date to ensure a smooth and accurate live lottery.

This is a very important precaution to ensure that all lottery priorities and settings are working as expected and that a member of your team knows how to run the lottery with confidence and ease!

Steps to Run Test Lotteries in Sandbox:

• How to Run the Test Lottery
  • Open seats will receive a Pre-Offer at the time of the lottery
• *Make sure you are in your Sandbox site! (Hint: It is the same URL but with a "2" after SchoolMint i.e. https://yourdomain.schoolmint2.net)
• Step 1: Admissions > Open Seat Setup > Set your open seats per grade and school
• Step 2: Admissions > Lottery Dashboard > Click Run Lottery for each grade and school
• Step 3: Admissions > Lottery Results > Review for accuracy before making results public to families
• Step 4: Admissions > Make Offers > Select school and grade > Once reviewed, click "Make Offers with Notification" to publicize lottery and/or waitlist results for each school and grade (in Sandbox!)

• Want Additional Step-by-Step Guidance? Find the WalkMe icon on your site! 
• SchoolMint launched WalkMe, an exciting and interactive tool that will guide you step-by-step through this lottery checklist
• Where can I find WalkMe? Click the "WalkMe" button at the bottom right-hand corner of your SchoolMint site

• How to Validate Test Lottery Results
  • Admissions > Lottery Results > Select each school and grade > Export as CSV
• Download lottery results to review for accuracy
• Are your sub-lottery #1 priorities at the top of your list? Followed by sub-lottery #2 priorities, then sub-lottery #3, etc., according to your lottery design?
• Would you expect to see your dynamic sibling applying priority triggered now? Or, at the time of Make Offer, Accept Offer, or Registration Completed? 

Prepare Post-Lottery Communications to Families:

• Automated Text Messages & Email Templates - Outbound messages to families
  • Make Offer
  • Accept Offer
  • Decline Offer
  • Rescind Offer
  • Publicize Waitlist
  • For example, add yourself as a cc on the "Decline Offer" message to get a notification whenever a student declines an offer
• Customize lottery-related notifications to inform families of school-specific information, dates and next steps for your school
• Tip: To help manage enrollment activity, you can add yourself as a cc to receive emails when a family receives a notification

• Custom Messages - Website text
  • Examples: Log In, Student Dashboard or Header Message (appears at the top of every SchoolMint page!)
  • Instructions on how to Accept or Decline offer or view Waitlist status in SchoolMint
  • Deadline to accept offer or complete registration
• Update the Custom Messages that families see when they log in to SchoolMint to check their application status
• Tip: Helpful Info to include: 
  • Instructions on how to Accept or Decline offer or view Waitlist status in SchoolMint
  • Deadline to accept an offer or complete registration

For additional step-by-step guides, click the WalkMe button at the bottom of your SchoolMint site! You can find many other Lottery-related Articles and Webinars here in our Help Center.

Please note that all lottery/waitlist changes and configuration questions must be requested at least one month in advance of the lottery to be processed by the SchoolMint team. 

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