Which colleges do random roommate selection?

[Anonymous]

This would be a good question to ask admissions reps when your student is researching schools -- how is roommate assignment handled and, if picking your own is allowed, what percentage of students do that.

DD's LAC technically allows you to pick a roommate, but they strongly suggest letting the residential life team assign roommates. The majority, boys and girls, are assigned roommates. It worked out well for DD -- became good friends with her roommate and they lived together again 2nd year.

[Anonymous]

Optional random is common, but it's not great for the kids. Mandatory random is really much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't most colleges at least make it an option?

DS is at VT and you can find a roommate via social media but if not, you fill out a roommate profile. When it's your time to pick a room, you can either pick an empty bed in a room and a future student can see your profile and choose the other bed. Or you can look at profiles of people in a room with an available bed and choose one of them. DS decided the easiest thing would be to pick the empty room. Ended up with a good roommate. They were friendly and compatible enough for that year but didn't keep in touch after that.

OP and I should have specified that I’m looking for “mandatory random” as PP above called it. I think that “optional random” is more of a good option for boys than girls, unfortunately.

It’s a good thing to look for, I think it helps build community.

[Anonymous]

Mandatory random at Carleton

[Anonymous]

Mandatory random at Vassar

[Anonymous]

Dartmouth is random for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't most colleges at least make it an option?

DS is at VT and you can find a roommate via social media but if not, you fill out a roommate profile. When it's your time to pick a room, you can either pick an empty bed in a room and a future student can see your profile and choose the other bed. Or you can look at profiles of people in a room with an available bed and choose one of them. DS decided the easiest thing would be to pick the empty room. Ended up with a good roommate. They were friendly and compatible enough for that year but didn't keep in touch after that.

OP and I should have specified that I’m looking for “mandatory random” as PP above called it. I think that “optional random” is more of a good option for boys than girls, unfortunately.

Probably true. My DS's mandatory random freshman roommate was a very bad fit but DS didn't really care and made plenty of friends. DD cared much more about being friends with her roommate and there always seemed to be awkwardness when they didn't click.

[Anonymous]

Mandatory random at CMC

[Anonymous]

Mandatory random at Bates

[Anonymous]

Mandatory random at Colgate

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame

[Anonymous]

holy cross is random. students live/with around a group of students in the same freshman seminar as them.

[Anonymous]

mandatory random at Dartmouth

[Anonymous]

Wesleyan—don’t even bother with questions

[Anonymous]

Mandatory random at Georgetown