Before the lottery, I went through a nervous time when I failed a Spanish class at UCLA and, due to insufficent progress (i.e., I did not become a sophomore in the required time), lost my student deferment. The draft office at UCLA said I could get my deferment back, but I first had to take the draft physical, since if I failed that, appeals were unnecessary. During the physical I saw many guys about to ship out to boot camp.
I got my deferment back and then came the lottery. I got a high number, and LBJ’s administration had already announced that they were not going to draft beyond approx. number 190 that year, so I gave up my deferment and by the end of the year had technically served my year of eligibility in the lottery. I became something like I-Y, meaning I’d only be drafted in case of an emergency. For me, the lottery was good. I heard of a case of someone hearing their birthdate as the first one for the lottery– meaning they had No.1– and they kicked in their television set.