There’s no way to “increase your chances” of getting a lower log number, right? It’s all luck?

[tennislvr182]

I feel like I read somewhere on here that if you apply to a lottery in the last few days before it closes, you have a better chance at getting a lower log number. But, maybe that is totally untrue.

I also think I saw someone on here post in multiple lottery threads with low log numbers for each of the lotteries and it got me wondering how that happened to them. But it must have just been all luck?

[randomperson2]

Log numbers are assigned randomly.

[linamonroll]

Originally Posted by tennislvr182

I feel like I read somewhere on here that if you apply to a lottery in the last few days before it closes, you have a better chance at getting a lower log number. But, maybe that is totally untrue.

I also think I saw someone on here post in multiple lottery threads with low log numbers for each of the lotteries and it got me wondering how that happened to them. But it must have just been all luck?

Totally untrue. In fact, if you search through these forums, you will find people who are sure that they get low logs by always applying right when the application period opens and then other people who also swear up and down that they get low logs by applying at the last minute. Both can't be true!

In reality, when you apply doing the application period makes no difference. The logs are generated randomly AFTER the application period closes and also after paper applications are entered into the system. Then applicants are contacted and processed in log order low to high, taking into account the available unit sizes and AMIs as well as any applicable preference categories.

As for the person claiming to have multiple low logs, could be false (everything on here is self-report), they could be lucky, or they may not always share all the times they get bad numbers. Myself, I have been applying to HC lotteries for about 6 years and over that time I have had many astronomical numbers over 100k, also many quite low (under 300), and many everywhere in between.

[71293kate]

It's totally random. The only way to increase your "luck" is to make more $$$ because there is less competition and more lotteries in the high AMI. However, this will not change log numbers themselves. It improves your odds, because you have fewer people going after the same apartments and more apartments tend to get allocated to 130 AMI.

[macnyc2003]

You can move to a part of the city that has a high number of lottery buildings so that you get community preference.