At some schools random truly means random with no questionnaire at all. That is rough.

random is nothing like random in our day, because 75% (at least!) of the extroverts have already partnered up. so you're stuck with the internationals or kids with no social media or super introverts. and those are the kids who really could use an extrovert roomie to push them out of the room from time to time

I pushed for a random assignment as back in my day, that was the only option and I loved my freshman roommate, though we would have never chosen one another!
My DD was intent on finding one through IG. She interviewed several girls and found the perfect fit. We laughed with the roommate's mom because it turns out that both girls' families had been saying to them for years "I feel sorry for whoever has to live with you in college."

It’s a complete crapshoot. I have 2 college kids One found a roommate via social media/school groups, one went random. Both turned out to have major issues. Find your own dropped out at then end of fall and turned out to be complete psycho during those fall months. Despite seeming to be a good match they definitely were not.

Random roommate was just an inconsiderate ahole. She assumed her boyfriend (who was not a student at the school) would be able to basically live in the room with them and was shocked when my kid pushed back on this. That arrangement lasted less than a month.

My point being you never know. You could luck out and hit the roommate lottery or you could end up with a nutcase. Unless you know the person personally you have no idea how they will handle living in such small spaces.

Anonymous wrote:Many colleges don’t put freshmen in singles or have very few and don’t begin to have enough singles to go around. Getting one requires the luck of a great housing priority. At most colleges, the vast majority of kids are in doubles. Some are in forced triples. So, maybe focus on the actual question?

Seriously - my kids were just trying hard to avoid the dreaded triple. Both of mine are at big state schools and went random. Didn't work too well for one but the other it was okay. They aren't friends but they coexist peacefully. That child does wish he had just roomed with one of his friends from home as they are even better friends now in college. Finding your own works sometimes and sometimes not from listening to my kids friends. I would suggest trying that way and if nothing clicks go random.

Many colleges don’t put freshmen in singles or have very few and don’t begin to have enough singles to go around. Getting one requires the luck of a great housing priority. At most colleges, the vast majority of kids are in doubles. Some are in forced triples. So, maybe focus on the actual question?

Room by yourself to avoid getting stuck with a Single White Female type who wants a roommate because they can’t make any friends otherwise.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not just insist on a single? That’s what my teens did.

$$ and experience. Having/dealing with a roommate is an important life skill few MC/UMC kids have had to learn.

So is meth addiction, but I’m in no rush for that.

People advocating for rooming with strangers are privileged majority/plurality demographic who don’t understand the conflict that comes from being surrounded by people who are different from you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not just insist on a single? That’s what my teens did.

I would definitely not want my kid to be in a single first year…so isolating.

Is it so isolating when your kid at home lives in their own room 3 feet from their sibling and 12 feet from their parents?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not just insist on a single? That’s what my teens did.

$$ and experience. Having/dealing with a roommate is an important life skill few MC/UMC kids have had to learn.

I’m not paying a fortune for college so my kid have conflict and sleep disruption in the one place they should have peace. They socialize in the common space.

Sharing a room with a random stranger or acquaintance is not a life skill a college educable person needs. If their future is to live in a halfway house or prison cell homeless shelter, they don’t need college.

Anonymous wrote:Why not just insist on a single? That’s what my teens did.

I would definitely not want my kid to be in a single first year…so isolating.

Anonymous wrote:Why not just insist on a single? That’s what my teens did.

$$ and experience. Having/dealing with a roommate is an important life skill few MC/UMC kids have had to learn.

Why not just insist on a single? That’s what my teens did.

my kids were both random (that's how these two colleges did it) and they were both bad matches. one international kid who never left the room. the other was a guy my kid eventually had to testify in a college sexual assault case.

I think the IG meet ups are a weird phenomenon , but at least you can weed out *some* kids.