High-quality preschool can play an important role in supporting children’s school readiness and later educational outcomes, prompting states and localities to increase investments in publicly funded prekindergarten and in coordinated application systems that streamline access to available seats. The District of Columbia is a national leader in public prekindergarten access for 3-year-old children, offering universal pre-K3 through a centralized admissions lottery system. Most families apply through the My School DC lottery before the deadline, but others submit applications only after the lottery has closed. These post-lottery applications provide an important alternative pathway into public pre-K3, but families who apply later may face a more limited set of available schools. Relatively little is known about who uses the post-lottery process, why they apply after the deadline, how their application choices differ from those of on-time applicants, and whether these differences shape enrollment outcomes. In this brief, we provide new evidence on post-lottery applications to DC’s universal public prekindergarten program, drawing on administrative application and enrollment data as well as survey and interview data from families.

Why This Matters

Centralized lottery systems are designed to make access to public preschool more transparent and equitable, but fixed application deadlines may not work equally well for all families. Some families may miss the lottery because they lack information, face timing or documentation barriers, or are still deciding whether public preschool is the right fit. Others may apply later strategically, based on expectations about school availability or sibling preferences. Understanding how families use the post-lottery application process can help policymakers strengthen outreach, improve application design, and ensure that universal public prekindergarten systems support broad and equitable access.

What We Found

• The My School DC lottery remains the primary gateway into pre-K3, but post-lottery applications account for a substantial and persistent share of applications. In recent years, roughly one-quarter of pre-K3 applicants submitted applications only after the lottery deadline.
• Post-lottery applicants differ from on-time lottery applicants in important ways. They are more likely to live in Wards 7 and 8 and in communities with higher Black and lower white population shares, although some of these gaps have narrowed over time.
• Lottery and post-lottery applicants use the application system differently. Post-lottery applicants rank fewer schools and tend to rank less competitive schools first, suggesting that late applicants may adjust their choices based on perceived seat availability or other practical constraints.
• Families who apply after the lottery deadline are less likely to enroll in pre-K3, less likely to enroll in highly competitive schools, and less likely to enroll in their first-ranked school than families who apply on time. However, gaps in enrollment and first-ranked-school enrollment have narrowed in recent years.
• Although application timing shapes access to high-demand and preferred schools, lottery and post-lottery applicants who enroll experience similar levels of observed classroom quality, as measured by Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) scores.

How We Did It

We conducted descriptive analyses using administrative pre-K3 application and enrollment data, supplemented with community characteristics from US Census, which allowed us to compare who applied by the lottery deadline with who applied only during the post-lottery period, how families ranked schools, and whether and where children enrolled. Our analytic sample included 14,024 children who submitted post-lottery applications and 41,022 children who applied by the lottery deadline between the 2017–18 and 2024–25 school years. To better understand families’ motivations and experiences, we also surveyed 11 families with children eligible for pre-K3 in the 2024–25 school year who did not apply to the lottery on time and conducted follow-up interviews with three post-lottery applicants.

This brief is one of four in a series examining the experiences and outcomes of families who do not participate in DC’s common application and lottery for public schools in DC that offer pre-K programs.