Anonymous wrote:Ridiculous. They should go back to random for everyone the way it used to be.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this post is giving me anxiety and I do not even have a dog in the fight (have boys and their colleges did random assignments of roommates).

Here is my question: For sororities and finding a roommate, if you are judged based on your Instagram account, how can you start over if you had a rough HS existence? I mean, let's say you did not have tons of friends so your IG does not show tons of pretty friends pics. Are you doomed in finding a roommate and heaven-forbid rushing a sorority?

Yes. Pretty much. Colleges talk a big game about prioritizing mental health and being inclusive but then they farm out roommate selection to a toxic social media site.

There is a choice. Many kids go through the random process.

The hard part for kids is that even though parents will tell them that many kids go random, if they had their heart set on finding someone through Instagram, when it doesn’t work out, they feel like there is something wrong with them. I think they probably feel there is some stigma about going random and that it is just for the kids who couldn’t find a match. it is easier as an adult to see that’s not the case, but stupid social media makes it look like everyone who is cool and fun finds someone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this post is giving me anxiety and I do not even have a dog in the fight (have boys and their colleges did random assignments of roommates).

Here is my question: For sororities and finding a roommate, if you are judged based on your Instagram account, how can you start over if you had a rough HS existence? I mean, let's say you did not have tons of friends so your IG does not show tons of pretty friends pics. Are you doomed in finding a roommate and heaven-forbid rushing a sorority?

Yes. Pretty much. Colleges talk a big game about prioritizing mental health and being inclusive but then they farm out roommate selection to a toxic social media site.

There is a choice. Many kids go through the random process.

The process of finding someone who wasn't already rooming with someone was tough, but then a roommate who has committed backs out when a friend gets off the waitlist. I'm sure going random will be OK. Actually, I'm not sure. But, it's hard to go from feeling like you have some control to just throwing up your hands and letting the school pick. There are definitely some negative feelings that came out of this process that my kid didn't need to experience.

The process sucks all the way around, random or not, at the schools that let students choose. All random would be much better--less to stress about in such a big life transition.

if your child chooses to find their roommate themself, have them ask potential roommates the questions on the random form--sleeping hours, cleanliness, drinking, smoking, habits, etc. Discourage them from picking solely on vibe. Compatibility of living in such a small space is key.

Also depending on how sheltered your HSer is, have a conversation with your child about college habits are different from HS. Most students don't wake up as early, most stay out later, may not be as clean without parental pressure, etc. If your child goes random and puts down they wake from 6-8am, they will likely get a roomie who puts the same thing and may be woken up at 6am for an entire year...it's better to be the one doing the waking up than the one woken up.

Anonymous wrote:Reading this post is giving me anxiety and I do not even have a dog in the fight (have boys and their colleges did random assignments of roommates).

Here is my question: For sororities and finding a roommate, if you are judged based on your Instagram account, how can you start over if you had a rough HS existence? I mean, let's say you did not have tons of friends so your IG does not show tons of pretty friends pics. Are you doomed in finding a roommate and heaven-forbid rushing a sorority?

Yes. Pretty much. Colleges talk a big game about prioritizing mental health and being inclusive but then they farm out roommate selection to a toxic social media site.