Almost every senior going to college has gone through the grueling process of trying to find the best roommate for their taste. There’s a countless number of horror stories that stem from having a bad roommate, so it can seem like the end of the world for a senior if they’re out of the loop. With so many different personalities and ways of life, it is hard to find the perfect match.
Most colleges have their own Instagram pages where upcoming students post photos of themselves along with a description of their major, hobbies and interests. Many also mention to reach out if someone is interested in rooming with them or becoming friends. From there, seniors get a lot of messages from people who are still looking for a roommate and get to know many of their future peers.
There are also apps that are specifically geared toward finding a roommate. The most popular app, ZeeMee, is set up similarly to an Instagram or Facebook social media app where each senior creates a profile with an array of photos and a variety of different information about themselves. Students get to find people to connect with from the college they are committed to so they can not only find friends but also potential roommate options. ZeeMee also has a group chat feature so students can communicate with each other about their interests, as well as a feature where future students are able to reach out to student ambassadors and counselors from their school. The app is a safe option for people who may want privacy since there is an option to keep your account private as well.
Senior Cameron Johnson explains, “Most people use Instagram but I also was on the app ZeeMee. I found my roommate through a mutual connection, but before that I was posting on my school’s class Instagram pages and had a profile on ZeeMee.”
Once a student narrows down their potential roommates, many wonder what the most important questions are to ensure they are compatible for living together. It is imperative to ask questions about how they like to live, for example, asking if they like to sleep with the TV on, their room temperature to be hot or cold, or if they’re a homebody or extremely outgoing. Asking these questions helps to get a better grasp of who someone is as a person, and if two people don’t agree on a lot of living conditions, then it would be best to find another roommate.
Johnson says, “I think the most important things are your basic living questions like room temperature, are you a morning or night person, how do you like to study. My roommate and I also talked about what candle scents we each had, which was something I didn’t even think to ask about.”
There are an endless amount of questions that can be asked, but sometimes they are so basic that it doesn’t cross a student’s mind to even ask.
Students rooming together should try to meet somewhere public to get to know each other better in person. Sometimes, chemistry online isn’t the same as in person. It can be really beneficial to talk to someone face to face, especially if that someone is going to be living in the same dorm for a long time. It is better to be very comfortable with someone rather than going in with uncertainty.
It may seem hard to find a college roommate, but getting out there, attempting to meet new people and asking the right questions helps students see that it isn’t as hard as some may think.
