We examine parents' knowledge of discrete, verifiable facts--what we call "hard knowledge"--in a high school application process. Using parent survey data (n = 658) from the School District of Philadelphia, this study examines whether parents knew the admission criteria and acceptance rate at the high school they most wanted their child to attend. We argue that these two facts are critical to making strategic application decisions. We find that hard knowledge is low overall but varies by parent education, and that all parents are more likely to have information if it is provided directly to them by the district. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)