Roommates play a somewhat important role in your college journey. Sometimes they become your best friend, sometimes a mutual, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. But this could be the case for anyone. Whether you decide to do random housing, room with a relative, room with a friend, or meet someone on social, they could turn out great, or the complete opposite. My freshman year I would say I had a pretty good experience. I chose my roommate and she was a relative of mine. The first semester went great and we were both doing well in our classes. I was also busy with basketball so that also took up a good majority of my time. The second semester came and there were some things I wasn’t completely ok with, but I also wasn’t letting her know. Eventually, we worked it out and the end of our second semester was great.
That being said, regardless of how you do your roommate selection, it is important to be able to speak out and share your opinions because they really matter. When you’re not a confrontational person, it can be really challenging but living in silence, and being uncomfortable is not ok especially when it’s your space where you’re supposed to feel most comfortable.
As a former RA, I got the privilege of seeing a lot of different roommate pairings. There were the teammates, the randos, the mutuals, the relatives, and the besties.
In terms of which I think is the best option, I would rank the different options as such:
- Reaching out on social media
- Random
- Someone you know
- Best friend/relative
Finding someone on social media to me is the best option. Social media allows you to reach out and meet a lot of different people. You can talk and see if you form a connection with anyone looking for a roommate. By talking and learning more about each other, you can learn about what they’re like as a person, if they share similar values, if they have a similar schedule (nothing is worse than rooming with someone up at the crack of dawn when you just went to sleep at 2 a.m.), or if you share the same interests outside of school.
Next, I would recommend random. I think randomness can be a little intimidating but it can also lead to potentially a really good friendship. If you do pick randomly, I do recommend messaging your roommate and getting to know each other better that way you don’t walk in during move-in week being complete strangers.
My last two recommendations sort of go hand in hand. I think if you’re going to room with someone that you know, it should be more of an acquaintance or mutual friend. That way you know a good amount about one another, you know what they like, and dislike. But you aren’t at the level of best friends or relatives where you guys are with each other 24/7. Also rooming with a bestie or relative can be hard because they sort of become your crutch. In my experience and what I’ve seen as an RA, it can be hard to reach out and meet new people because you tend to always hang out with that other person.
College is all about going out of your comfort zone and trying new things. Do I think finding a good roommate is important? Yes. But is it the end of the world if your roommate isn’t your best friend by the end of the semester? No.