Anonymous wrote:For some reason I’m having a hard time picturing how this actually plays out. (And this is just my curiosity. I’m sure my teen will know/figure it out.) if they talk in division media do they decide right then or are they talking to a bunch of people at once and eventually someone asks them/they ask someone if they want to room together. That seems harder than roommate match but what do I know..

i know for my two kids, they just start talking to a bunch of people and then if they think they could work as roommates, one of them broaches the subject. My DS was very clearly looking for a roommate, as was the other kid, so they knew that going in. Not just random chatting. its really not that hard and if they have trouble with that kind of social interaction, then I guess random college selected roommate is best.

My DD did this and frankly, I was against. But, it has worked out beautifully. She "interviewed" with several girls till she found one she clicked with. They are great roommates. We (her entire extended family was very worried that any roommate she would have would hate her because she's such a train wreck. Turns out her roommate's family thought the same thing! So, they can put up with each other's sloppiness, neuroses and shouting in their sleep!

My UVA kid used the class's Facebook page to find his. It was a perfectly fine relationship but they didn't remain friends after first year.

For some reason I’m having a hard time picturing how this actually plays out. (And this is just my curiosity. I’m sure my teen will know/figure it out.) if they talk in division media do they decide right then or are they talking to a bunch of people at once and eventually someone asks them/they ask someone if they want to room together. That seems harder than roommate match but what do I know..

Our two kids, at two different schools, both used Instagram and Facebook to find their freshman year roommates. They met up with them in person before they moved in. It was fine for both. Not best friends but basically compatible.

we used the roommate match - they live together fine, did not end up being close friends but no complaints so I guess I consider this a win.

for those we know who picked roommates it seemed like a 50/50 situation. It did not seem like they had happier arrangements over all because when it went bad it seemed to go quite bad where the auto-match seems to max out at indifference.

Please search other posts about this. It has been covered extensively, and recently.

I suggest the roommate matching survey that Housing gives out. It is much better than checking out someone's instagram page.

Thanks, pp, that’s helpful!

Both of my kids did this. With my DS he saw the other guys post on Instagram and started chatting. Turned out they are two peas in a pod. They did a couple of FaceTimes and did talk about a wide range of things. They are best friends and will live together all four years.

My DD did this as well but was talking to other girls before she decided. She saw her future roommate in person and they felt that they’d click. I remember her saying they both decided they were so chill that even if they were not friends, they’d do fine as roommates. Unfortunately did not work out mostly because the roommate was a full year younger and very much a hard partying, sleep all day type. My dd tends to think of herself as a partier but in reality she is not and this girl just drove her nuts. They survived the year but are not friends anymore. My DD also had a very hard year with variety of issues (illness, academic and boys) and probably was way less “chill” than she described herself.

It’s kind of a crapshoot honestly.

If your college student found their roomate on Instagram, how did it work out? Did they chat with lots of people before deciding? How soon after they were admitted did they find someone? Did they ask questions about habits like early/late sleepers, tidy vs. less tidy or was it more if they “clicked”? Thank you!