Boston Mechanism

The Boston Mechanism is a method for assigning students to schools based on their preferences. Students list their preferred schools in order, and schools accept students starting with their top choices, but only up to capacity. If a school is full, students move down their preference list and try again in the next round. This process repeats until all students are assigned or no more options remain. It aims to be fair by giving priority to students’ higher-ranked choices, but it can favor those who apply early or list popular schools first.