Now that you’ve decided where what college you will be attending, you got over with the hardest part of the college process. However, the next stressful step is who you will room with. If you will be living in the dormitories of your college, you most likely have to find a roommate or even roommates to share that space with. While it may feel impossible to find a roommate, here are some tips to help with your search.
Firstly, the BEST tip is to search up the Instagram of the class of committed students for the school you committed to. On this page, you will see thousands of people posting a short description of themselves including where they live, their hobbies, and a few pictures that they believe capture their personality. Seeing so many different posts may be overwhelming, but this where you have to trust your gut and message the people you could potentially see yourself getting along with.
Senior Lior Oren agrees that it can “be nerve racking and difficult to figure out what to say and how to say it when reaching out to people on social media,” but you have to remember that everyone is on the same boat of trying to find their person in a new environment. I encourage you to text as many people as you can, there is no harm in doing so. Only good can come out of it! Even if you start talking to someone and feel it is not your perfect match, you can end up making new friends and have a familiar face in college!
Another great way to meet new people is through attending the events your college holds for admitted and committed students. It may be an effort to travel to the location of the event, but for the most part, colleges try to have events at many different locations. At these events, you are likely to hear information about the college itself AND get to meet people who are passionate enough about the college that they put in the effort to attend.
Senior Elena Kacherova found her roommate at an admitted students event and said, “I couldn’t have found my roommate at a better place. I was able to interact with my roommate in person AND be able to see how she acts in a social setting because there were so many other admitted students there.”
Again, it is important to understand everyone is a bit nervous but ultimately all want to meet new people, so be the one to step up and start a conversation! The biggest advantage of this is that you will have a conversation in person which would help you assess their character and see if you have good chemistry with them. This would also help with the fear of meeting your roommate for the first time in college!
A tool you should utilize in your search for a roommate is the roommate portal of your college. Almost all colleges have a section dedicated to matching you with others. You usually fill out a form with what you’re looking for in a roommate and a little bit about yourself. Then, you can be matched with potential roommates and you can read through other people’s descriptions and reach out.
Senior Julia Hasenstab recently committed to college and has not finalized her roommate yet, however, she highlighted that “the portal for my college has been a great tool in my search for a roommate. Even though I didn’t pick my roommate yet, I found all my options through the portal and started making new friends!”
Lastly, there are many apps that are designed to introduce you to others who will be attending the same college. For example, ZeeMee is an app that allows you to join a group chat with fellow interested/admitted/admitted students. On this app, you can join specific group chats like for admitted students or people looking for roommates. The app is built similarly to Tinder where others can see your profile picture and facts you share about yourself, and you can message people you are interested in. Senior Sydney Migardos mentioned that ZeeMee has been helpful in “meeting potential roommates as well as getting friendly with other committed students.”
Overall, no matter how you meet your roommate, if you can try to meet with them in person, it is highly recommended. Although it is the easiest to find someone through social media, it is important to remember that people may not be exactly as they present themselves online. Therefore, if you can meet with your potential roommate before finalizing it, you should do so.
