Hi everyone! Hope you are all doing well today.

Before we can get the tournament started, we need to split you all up into the three schools! Before I explain how we will be "sorting" you all, I want to take a moment to give you a brief summary of each school as to help with your choices.

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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry You all know this school by heart by now. Founded by Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, and Helga Hufflepuff, the school educates students of magical blood all throughout the United Kingdom. The school is located in Scotland, though no one knows exactly where. Prospective students receive a letter on their 11th birthday inviting them to take their place in the prestigious school. Students attend the school for seven years, with standardized tests taken in the 5th and 7th years (OWLs and NEWTs) that test their comprehension and practical ability. Results from the OWL tests are used determine the areas of study that students continue or cease studying. Upon arriving to the school their first day, the students are sorted into four houses, each one named after one of the founders of the school. Students are sorted by an enchanted hat (known as the Sorting Hat) that is able to determine the wearer's traits, values, personality, and ambitions.

Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry This school is known for its similarities to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by witch Isolt Sayre and her husband James Steward (a muggle), magical children from all across North America are welcome to attend the school, though many Canadian students choose to attend the school located in Winnipeg and many Mexican students choose to attend the school located in Puerto Rico. The school is located at the top of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts, which is located in the western part of the state. Similar to Hogwarts, students start their education at the age of 11. However, students attend the school for eight years as opposed to seven. Standardized tests are administered at 3rd, 5th, and 8th years to gauge students' magical aptitude and are used to help fine tune the individual's specialization. The students are also "sorted" into four houses at their arrival, though the houses and the method are quite different. The houses are named for magical creatures: the Horned Serpent, the Wampus, the Thunderbird, and the Pukwudgie. Students stand on a Gordian Knot in the entrance hall, facing statutes of the creatures that represent the four houses. The statutes evaluate the student and react if they want the student to join their house. If more than one statute reacts, the student is free to choose from the houses that want them.

Alexandrian Academy for the Arcane Arts The Alexandrian Academy for the Arcane Arts ("The Alexandrian Academy" for short, also affectionately known as 4A) is located in Alexandria, Egypt. There is not much known about the founding of the school, as it was founded over 2300 years ago, prior to the burning of the Library of Alexandria. The academy is one of the sources of magical education for children from northern Africa, some countries in the Middle East, and some of the Mediterranean countries of Europe (Italy, Greece, and Spain to name a few). Like with Ilvermorny, some students from the Middle East and the European countries that are invited to attend the school choose to attend schools that are a little more local to their homes, though it is not uncommon for them to attend the Alexandrian Academy. Unlike Hogwarts and Ilvermorny, the Alexandrian Academy does not divide their students based on the individual's traits or values. The Alexandrian Academy ranks their students based on their ability. All new students are considered Novices and are evaluated at the end of every school year to determine their placement for the next year. There are five rankings that are achievable: Novice, Intermediate, Practiced, Skilled and Expert. Many students only ever reach Skilled ranking before finishing their time at the academy. Once a student reaches Skilled, they are able to narrow their coursework to fit into a specialization. Students begin their education at the age of 10 and can go on until the age of 19, however students are allowed to leave to pursue a more focused education in their specialization at the age of 17 if they are Skilled or Expert ranking.

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Now that the summaries are out of the way, onto how you can influence which school you will be divided into!

All you really need to do is post on this thread and rank the schools you would like to "attend". For example, if you would like to be a student of Hogwarts, but wouldn't mind being a student of the Alexandrian Academy, your ranking might look like the following:

1. Hogwarts
2. Alexandrian Academy
3. Ilvermorny

Please note that though you will be giving us your preferences, it does not guarantee that you will be sorted into your first choice! Since this is a special event, we want to divide everyone as evenly as possible.

Starting on Wednesday, June 21st, the admins will begin the process of dividing everyone up. To keep from creating another thread, I'll be claiming the next post in this thread. We will update the post with the assignments and let everyone know at that time. Members are welcome to continue to give us their preferences after the assigning has begun, just as with the sorting thread for regular terms! Forum groups will be created for each school, and we will invite all members to their appropriate groups as we assign.

We are aiming for the tournament to begin July 1st, but this is a VERY tentative date and is subject to change. We're really excited to get the tournament under way!!

(Disclaimer: Obviously since there's only so much information available for Ilvermorny, we are creating info that we feel would fit. If more information on the school becomes available as time goes by, we may adjust the info. The Alexandrian Academy is of our own invention and is in no way canon.)

1. Hogwarts
2. Ilvermorny 3.Alexandrian

1.Ilvermony 2.Hogwarts

1. Hogwarts
2. Ilvermorny 3.Alexandrian

I'd really be happy with any of them, but if I have to rank, I'd say:

1. Hogwarts
2. Ilvermorny
3. 4A

1. Alexandrian
2. Ivermorny
3. Hogwarts

1. Alexandrian
2. Ivermorny
3. Hogwarts

1.Hogwarts 2.Ilvermony 3.Alexandrian

1. Alexandrian Academy
2. Stay at Hogwarts in Slytherin House
3. Ilvermorny

Does this mean we'll be different characters than usual? I just started so I guess my character could transfer to Slytherin in Hogwarts in the following term... I am confused!!!

1. Ilvermorny
2. Hogwarts
3. 4A

1. Hogwarts 2.4A
2. Ilvermorny

1. Ilvermorny
2. Hogwarts
3. Alexandrian

Very excited!!! :D

So I've not been around and have missed a ton it seems. Sorry. D:

As the embodiment of Queenie Goldstein I would have to go with: 1: Ilvermorny 2 - Hotgwarts 3 - Alexandria

So excited for this event to officially start!!

1. Ilvermorny
2. Alexandrian
3. Hogwarts

:

1. Hogwarts
2. Ilvermorny
3. Alexandrian Academy

This sounds like fun! :)

1. 4A
2. Hogwarts
3. Ilvermorny

1. Hogwarts
2. Ilvermorny
3. Alexandrian

1. Ilvermorny
2. Hogwarts
3. 4A

So I'm thinking it's about time I try being active here. I had a character in mind back when I joined (Hogwarts, Ravenclaw) but had to deal with school and writer's block so I never submitted her (or finished her bio, now that I've checked). As for the school question, I'd say first is Hogwarts because I already have part of a character, and also there's the most canon info about the school to work with. Second is 4A, because it seems really interesting what with the hierarchy, and Ilvermony honestly doesn't interest me all that much. Though I worry I'd have trouble coming up with a detailed character for 4A, whereas I could come up with an American wizard pretty quickly if needed. So my list is:

-Hogwarts -4A -Ilvermony But at this point I'd be up for any of them, with Hogwarts preferred only because it seems easier, and I already have a character in progress.

(apologies for the long explanation! I tend to ramble, especially when I have to decide things- though maybe I could use that in a character now that I think about it)