<p>Some schools do let you select “same floor of same dorm”. My son’s college lets a bunch of people say they want to be on the same floor, but not the same rooms necessarily.</p>
<p>I do not see a downside unless your schedules are totally different, but that’s the same thing as with a stranger.</p>
<p>So since you are planning to room with a friend, I would say go out to lunch and talk about whether you are early or late risers, and so on. The best option is when you’ve actually stayed over with the friend before, at their house or a camp.</p>
<p>Think of it as your grandmother expressing a preference. And take the advice that you aren’t going to lose out on the college experience if you know your freshman year roommate, from people who have gone to college.</p>
<p>Meeting new people is one thing, having to share a bedroom with a new person or people is another. I couldn’t stand to have a locker near some people in HS, I’d much rather not room with a stranger.</p>
<p>Then again, my son might have a friend who is going to his college, and that particular friend is not someone I’d want him to room with. But it sounds like your grandmother instead wants to have you room with a stranger for some reason, no matter who the friend is. She needs to calm down and perhaps you need to not discuss that particular subject with her. (methinks most grandmas who have not gone to college have no idea that housing is generally done online and no parent or guardian needs to sign off on housing choices)</p>