“I think it’s becoming, unfortunately, more of the norm,” said Maurice Frumkin, a former city education-department official who now runs an admissions consultancy. “It’s very disappointing and, I think, unfair.”

This type of confusion helps perpetuate inequities that plague the entire high-school admissions process. Families with the savvy to navigate a hazy system, and the time to advocate in multiple ways for their child, have an advantage. Families without that savvy—even those following the city’s stated policies—are often at a big disadvantage.

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Just over half of the city’s roughly 440 high schools have what are called “limited unscreened” programs, which are not allowed to admit students based on factors like their middle-school grades or attendance. There’s only one way students can increase their chances: Demonstrating interest in the school.

One way to do that is by attending an open house at the school itself. But attending open houses can be burdensome for families. Some take place during weekdays, for instance, forcing students to miss school or parents to miss work. With that in mind, the Department of Education offers an alternative: Students can gain the same leg up by signing in at a school’s table at the citywide fair.

But many schools are not following that rule. Chalkbeat talked to eight school representatives at the fair—including guidance counselors, teachers, and school administrators—who said students who attended open houses at their schools were given preference for admission over those who attended the high-school fair.

Some said signing in at a high-school fair did not count toward admission at all. Others, when pressed, said their schools give priority status to open-house attendees first, then backfill with students on the high-school fair list if there is extra room. (Chalkbeat checked with some of these schools after the fair, and they again confirmed that only students who attend open houses get top priority.)

On one corner of the floor for Brooklyn schools, Debby Wallace, a social worker, said it “does not make any sense” to give preference to students who sign in at Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice’s table. So many students sign in, she said, it might not be a real gauge of enthusiasm. “You could come here and sign in and not be that interested,” Wallace said. Instead, students should attend an open house to show interest, according to a school brochure, and fill out a “declaration of interest” while there.

Wallace is articulating a paradox for schools. Students signing in at the fair may be genuinely interested in a school and unable to attend an open house, or they might be passing by with no real interest at all.

If limited unscreened schools stick to the rules, there is no way to judge which is which. Asking students to attend an open house helps schools winnow down their applicants. And it’s understandable that these schools want to find a class of engaged students. They are already, in many cases, taking students who do not have the grades, attendance records, or test scores to get into one of the city’s top high schools.