With college around the corner, most Arrowhead seniors are hearing back from their colleges of choice. And now, the search is now on for roommates. However, finding someone to live in a dorm with has evolved from the random blind selection to a more complex and personal search, mostly due to social media.

Many colleges, such as the University of Northern Arizona, use apps where incoming students post a short summary about themselves and other users select who seems compatible to them.

My experience, however, with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, consisted of joining a Facebook page, made by students, of people looking for roommates. I posted a small passage about myself consisting of my interests, where I want to live, and what I’m looking for in a roommate.

At first, I was scared to post in a page of over 2,000 students about myself; however, once I did, I had tons of really good conversations with lots of potential roommates. Some I just couldn’t see myself rooming with because of different interests, such as not wanting to attend many sports games, or people who will be going home a lot, etc. However, others I have agreed to be friends and hang out with next fall.

However, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, aside from roommate search pages, still offers a simple roommate compatibility survey on the housing application including these questions: “Are you a smoker?” “Do you stay up late?” “Do you want to be best friends with your roommate?” They use the answers to these questions to match you with someone who has filled out the survey similarly, however you don’t know who the person is going to be.

Although the questions seemed effective, this idea scared me. I was nervous to go into move in day without knowing who I would be living with in a compact room for the rest of the year.

Even though these tools are now at seniors’ fingertips, the fear of not being compatible with a roommate is still lingering. Ellie Reinhart, an Arrowhead senior who will be attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in the fall, says, “I want a roommate that I can get along with and do social as well as academic activities with. I’m most fearful, however, that my roommate and I won’t get along well because I really want my dorm room to be a place I can relax in, and not feeling stressed out.”

I was lucky to find a roommate from Eden Prairie Minnesota that I clicked with, had a lot in common with, and had talked to over text for a little over a month. We both are initially going into the College of Liberal Arts, and have the same views about studying, going out, and attending school events. We also both have similar taste in things such as music and clothes. For me, finding a roommate felt a lot like online dating. It’s was awkward and I had to ask a lot of intrusive questions, but it was definitely worth it when I found someone I am  excited to live with.  

The University of Pittsburgh’s housing page at pitt.edu also offers helpful tips, such as figuring out your potential roommates smoking and drinking habits, music taste, and other lifestyle choices that could throw you off or bother you. They also offer the advice of scoping out the potential roommate’s relationship situation. If someone is in a committed relationship where their partner will always be around or spending the night, they say this often becomes an uncomfortable problem for many people, and it is important to figure out these details.

Amanda Catalano, a high school senior at Arrowhead who is attending the university of alabama says, “Right now I’m looking on a Facebook page an app called groupme for a roommate. So far all the posts sound the same to me consisting of the phrases ‘going on random adventures,’ ‘going out, but school is the priority,’ and ‘netflix,’ which makes it really hard to find someone. I’ve noticed that the people that change up their post from the norm catch my eye more, and it makes me want to room with them. I’m interested in rushing so I’m really looking forward to that and want a roommate who will do that too. I’m messaging some girls right now and so far there’s only been about two i’ve clicked with. I want to room with someone who has their priorities straight but also likes to have fun. A balance is very important. I [want to] get my most out of my college experience, so finding someone who can achieve this with me is what I’m looking for. The main struggle that I’m going through right now is trying to decipher is if their social media profile is actually how they are in real life because I am looking for a friend for the next four years, not just a roommate.”