  In school choice, students make decisions based on their expectations of
particular schools' suitability, and the decision to gather information about
schools is influenced by the acceptance odds determined by the mechanism in
place. We study a school choice model where students can obtain information
about their preferences by incurring a cost. We demonstrate greater homogeneity
in rank-order reports and reduced information acquisition under the
Deferred-Acceptance (DA) mechanism, resulting in an increased reliance on
random tie-breaking and ultimately inefficient outcomes. Thus, it is critical
for the DA mechanism to have easy access to school information in order to
maintain its efficiency.
