Admissions Lottery Process

Overview

Why is GLTS changing its admissions process?

The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education recently adopted new regulations requiring vocational-technical schools with waitlists to implement a lottery-based admissions process. As a result, GLTS will begin following these updated requirements starting with the Class of 2030, in accordance with 603 CMR 4.00.

Admissions Lottery Drawing Information

Lottery Numbers Now Available

All in-district applicants applying for the Class of 2030 were sent an email with their lottery number and additional lottery details. Applicants can view their lottery number in their email and in the GLTS Application Portal.

GLTS Application Portal

Official Class of 2030 Lottery Results

The official lottery results for the Class of 2030 will be posted here within 24–48 hours after the March 12 lottery. The list will show the order in which Lottery IDs were drawn and will indicate students who have been offered admission and those placed on the waitlist.

What type of lottery will GLTS use?

The GLTS District Committee voted to use an unweighted lottery for admissions. This means every student who submits a complete, on-time application has an equal chance of being selected.

Although the lottery drawing is random, seats are distributed by town through a process called apportionment:

• Each member community (Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, and North Andover) is allocated seats based on its percentage of the district's student population.
• We run one lottery for all applicants.
• After the random drawing, we organize the results by city/town (Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, and North Andover).
• We list students from the lowest number drawn to the highest until all available seats for that city/town are filled.
• Seats are filled for each town until its allocation is met.
• This ensures fair representation for all four communities.

Understanding the Lottery Process: Step-by-Step

Key Terms to Know

Step 1: Assigning Lottery IDs

Before the lottery event, GLTS assigns every in-district applicant a unique individualized Lottery ID. This ID is emailed to the student and their parent/guardian prior to the lottery so they can track their results privately on the public broadcast. Applicants can also view this Lottery ID on the application portal.

Step 2: Go2Solutions Takes Over (The "Pull Order")

The night of the lottery, GLTS will go over the admissions policy and then turn it over to the third-party provider, Go2CTE. They will begin the technical process of the lottery. They use a computer system to shuffle all applicants into a random "Pull Order". This is like giving everyone a random "place in line" to ensure the draw is completely random. The Pull Order determines the sequence in which students draw their lottery number.

Step 3: Drawing the Lottery Numbers

Following that random Pull Order, Go2CTE runs the software to draw a unique Lottery Number (between 1001 and 9999) for every single student. Once a number is drawn, it is removed from the pool so it cannot be reused.

Step 4: Sorting by Town

Once every student has a lottery number, Go2CTE sorts the entire list into four groups based on the student's home town: Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, or North Andover. Within each town's group, the students are then ranked from the lowest lottery number to the highest.

Step 5: Filling the Seats

The school uses these ranked town lists to fill the available seats based on the town's specific allocation.

• Accepted: Students with the lowest lottery numbers in their town are offered a seat until that town's allotment is full.
• Waitlisted: Any remaining students are placed on a waitlist for their town, staying in order from lowest to highest lottery number.

Step 6: What Happens After the Lottery?

Notification: Immediately following the lottery, every applicant will receive an email notifying them whether they have been offered admission or placed on the waitlist. Results will also be updated in the application portal.

Public Results: Go2CTE will certify the results, and the list of Lottery IDs will be posted on the GLTS website within 24–48 hours. The list will indicate which Lottery IDs were accepted and which are on the waitlist. We will update the website regularly and continue to contact waitlisted students as seats become available. Students can also check their status anytime in the application portal.

Taking Action: If your child is offered admission, you will have 10 calendar days to log into the application portal and click "Accept" to secure their seat. GLTS Admissions will make every effort to contact families directly if we do not receive a response within that 10-day period.

Next Steps for Waitlisted Students: Students on the waitlist do not need to take any action immediately. If a seat becomes available, families will be contacted directly and given instructions on how to accept the offer.