One part of going into the college experience that can be particularly hard is finding a roommate. The processes can differ from school to school whether it is random, an app, or dming on Instagram.
These days less and less schools have been assigning roommates randomly based on interests but at Holy Cross, they are sticking with their regular program. Senior Rebecca Curtin explains her roommate selection process.
“We fill out a survey about our lifestyles and overall preferences, then they go through and try to select the best matches. I think our policy is really good because it takes away a lot of the stress that comes with the process. It’s comforting to know that everyone is starting off in the same way. I think the amount of information I put on the survey will be sufficient enough for me,” said Rebecca.
Every school differs in policy but most schools allow both assigned roommates and self-picks. Although the date to commit has come and gone it is still early in the roommate selection process and some people are still looking. Nick Poulos and Alyani Veiga, both seniors at Oliver Ames, are in the process of choosing their roommate and getting to know them.
“St. Johns allows both assigned roommates and personal selection but, I don’t have a roommate right now but I’m still looking for one but If I can’t find one then I’m gonna go random. I would say that I put a decent amount of effort into the process, I was talking to one kid and plans changed so now I’m looking for another one,” said Nick
“I think I checked the UMass class of 2030 Instagram every day, but I wasn’t reaching out every day. Me and my roommate met because I reached out to her and we ended up going to breakfast,” says Alyani.
Although some people have had smooth transitions into finding roommates, not everyone has. Ava D’Arcy, another senior at Oliver Ames, is going to University of Alabama. She had a best friend as a roommate which turned into a horror story. She explains what happened and how it got resolved.
“I had a roommate who was from Milbury MA and we became very close. We both had the same interests, we flew to Bama together and went prom dress shopping and then a couple months ago she texted me and said that she was talking to other girls and that she was gonna room with them,” Ava said.
“I felt like I had no time to find a roommate. So I started to freak out, but then I found out that these girls texted me saying that she was trying to room with them for forever and then they told me that she’s actually going to URI for physcology.”
