By Colin Byard, Staff Writer
How late do you stay up? What do you do in your free time? Do you like any sports? Are you planning on rushing? Are you going to work during college? How do you feel about guests?
These questions are all common things asked by upcoming college freshmen when looking for the perfect roommate. This spring, many high school seniors have taken to searching social media platforms for potential roommates and asking these questions in order to find someone that is compatible for them, something that seems crucial at this time.
Putting yourself out there is not necessarily the easiest thing to do, especially when it comes to looking for a new college roommate. Whether it be over social media, or even at an open house, the questions you have to ask the others must be in-depth to make sure you’re content with the person that you will be in close contact with for at least a year.
You want to have a lot in common with a roommate so you can have the best time possible. While asking these questions is definitely necessary, sometimes you might think you are coming o n too strong.
Creating a profile for yourself to find a roommate is comparable to creating a dating profile. You have to upload pictures of yourself, a short bio, write your interests and talk about where you’d like to live. You ask many personal questions to get to know a someone that you just met. Comparing roommate searching to online dating is an accurate representation as you are basically interviewing someone for information.
Over the different social media apps used, the most common are Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. Along with these, the colleges and universities have been developing their own apps to help oblige to the students. Zeemee and Patio are some that were made for the sole purpose of pairing roommates and meeting other admitted students to your chosen university.
One person I found had a lot in common with me, seemed like a very nice guy, and just looked like a good roommate. But he was famous on TikTok and he made thirst-trap videos for a lot of people to see. That almost immediately made it a no for me. This is just one of many examples of a faulty match after the questions are exchanged.
You basically have to make your own profile for these different apps just to find someone to room with. While it is weird, it works out. I’ve found multiple possible roommates just from social media. I’m glad that these apps and platforms exist to make the process accessible and easy.
These apps make a more confident choice for you to find a roommate by learning about them before meeting them. The most ‘normal’ way of finding a roommate is either letting the university choose, or attending an open house and actually talking to someone face-to-face.
It is essentially online dating, without the dating aspect to it. It’s not easy but everyone will eventually find someone, and there’s no guarantee that you will be as fond of them when you meet in-person.
Senior Colin Byard can be reached at 22byardco55@daretolearn.org.
