<p>I did not like roommate finder. Clumsy interface and just not very effective imo. ■■■■■■■■ is a decent option but I do believe fb is the best option. Kids will be on fb a lot more than they are on roommate finder. You have access to a LOT more information about people and it’s very easy to interact with them on fb. Chat helps too.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a nice, quiet environment for your D, it’s not necessary to strictly go for NMFs. I am a NMF and I’m not exactly the quiet type… neither are some of the NMFs I know.</p>
<p>i think you are worrying about things way too much and way too early TxArchitect. </p>
<p>my daughter isn’t an NMF or CBHP or UFE. she is just a regular honors kid. she skips fun stuff and studies when she needs to. she studies a lot. she doesn’t like to study in the library. she either studies in her room, the living area of her suite or in the study room next door. she watches house.</p>
<p>her roommates vary from a high school valedictorian to a girl who is not even in honors (horrors!). her best friend has turned out to be a regular honors kid from smalltown alabama - a randomly assigned roomie that she didn’t think she would even like too much based on what she could see on facebook.</p>
<p>don’t over think it. it will likely turn out just fine. in fact, the roomie that turned out to be the worst fit was the one that was found through roomie finder or fb, but even then, it was still fine, just not a best friend situation.</p>
<p>The best advice about roommates I’ve seen and will often give is to not plan on being best friends with your roommates. It’s great if it turns out that way, but in many ways having a relationship with ones roommates that is more akin to ships passing in the night can be a preferred roommate situation. The one roommate I somewhat picked, while an honors student, caused me a lot of stress my freshman year. As for the other roommates, there are some I will see around every couple months and could spend a couple hours talking to and some I’ll just say hello to. The point is that everything worked out and we went our separate ways.</p>
<p>My criteria for roommates is that they are friendly, respectful, reasonably clean, quiet when needed, not the type to get myself or other roommates fined and/or arrested, and pay their bills on time. I figure that most students at UA, particularly in the more expensive residence halls, are this way. While one may get a roommate who does not meet these criteria, things will most likely work out. If they don’t, hopefully the room-switching process will get one better roommates.</p>
<p>While I know the ACT/SAT scores of many of my friends, it is not something I usually find out until later in the school year and is more an interesting fact than anything else. I know quite a few NMF who are more of the party type and many that are not. The same goes for other groups of students, including those in fraternities and sororities. Also, just because someone drinks, smokes, and/or gambles does not mean that they wouldn’t make a good roommate, potential health issues excepted.</p>
<p>^^^exactly my point, a lot of roommate situations are just that “passing in the night” kind and can be sometimes preferential, sometimes it is good not to be too closely tied to one person or one group early on. College is for exploration; of subjects, of interests, of clubs, of people, of oneself. It is even a time for some mistakes (hopefully minor ones) :)</p>
<p>Ok so I have to jump in here. DD is not Honors…she is not a test taker plain and simple. She was a high stat GPA girl from an excellent school district that is very highly rated…but I repeat…She is not a standardized test taker. She is an excellent student at Bama. After the learning curve of first semester (she had to decide…get VERY involved with her sorority and Greek Life (not partying) or go Pre-med…she choose the first) she has consistently made top grades and has been recognized by the University for this). She has done great things while at Bama, many of them not academically related but what I call character building experiences which will serve her in adult life. She is VERY involved on campus in many different activities that are all not Greek related. I like to think that she would make an excellent roommate, friend and mentor to any young woman at Alabama. I understand your concern about finding a roommate that is a “good fit”. We as parents all want our children to be happy and successful. I think you just need to be a little more open and trusting of the process and not quite so limiting of the potential roommate choices.
Secondly…I am currently helping a young woman who is going through recruitment at Bama. She is not NM, Honors…in fact she has a couple of learning obstacles that have caused her GPA to be a “challenge” but…she is one of the hardest working, studious, sweetest, kindest girls you would ever want to meet. I would have loved her to have roomed with my daughter! Again…don’t limit yourself.
Finally…my DD and her roommate Freshmen year ended up having the same major. They both pledged different sororities. They were great roommates and are still friends but did not really every do anything socially together. I know as parents we want to surround our kids with good people. I will tell you though, that the chances of your DD actually forming a very close bond with her roommates (especially if she pledges and they all are at different houses) might be slim. It happens but in these situations it can be a little more challenging.<br>
I will also warn you about pledging a sorority. It can be VERY time consuming depending upon how invovled your DD wants to be. As MikeW will tell you …her daughter studies a lot!! She has a really tough major. She has pledged a sorority and I know that at times she has had to give up some "sorority activities (not talking parties here) to study. Sorority life is not cheap. I think that your daughter might want to think about all the factors involved. I would hate to see her unhappy and stressed over having to make decisions between sorority and academics.
That being said there are MANY high stats girls in sororities who do juggle all the balls and make it work! Just depends on the girl. You have some time to mull all this over and make plans. I am so glad that y’all are so excited and want to start the process. Many of us on this board have been in your shoes. We are all here to help and offer advice based on experience.</p>
<p>Roommate Finder worked well for us (although there are many ways it can be improved.) Quite a few kids will fill out the roommate finder form with information about themselves (hobbies, study habits, partying habits, etc.) It’s not perfect but it’s a starting point. </p>
<p>Also ■■■■■■■■ is more specific with their matching but I don’t think it is heavily used.</p>
<p>You may also find potential roommates here on CC.</p>
<p>OK…Let’s try to get past the fact that the classification criteria is something that can be a little bit volatile and look at TX’s bottom line issue…</p>
<p>“She has executive function issues and really requires a quiet environment, and I thought that if she was with a bunch of studious girls, the quad would be more likely to be quiet.”</p>
<p>So bottom line she will, at times, need a quiet environment. Either to study or maybe just “get away” from the maddening crowd. Fair enough of a request from a perent that is trying to plan ahead for their child.</p>
<p>Since my son is an incoming Freshman my suggestions will be limited but I trust many of our more expereinced posters will have some good input:
Private bedroom (as mentioned before) should work for a good percentage of the time.
Library (was a safe haven for my daughter at her college)
Coffehouse (tends to be a good gathering place for relaxed conversation)
The park down by the river (maybe not the bast place at midnight but maybe in the afternoon)</p>
<p>Where else guys??? </p>
<p>With a reasonable list TX will be able to work to help compile a plan to help during the “tough times”.</p>
<p>There are five libraries on campus and there is also a common area between the towers at RCS. My D also requires a quiet study environment, but to my surprise found it was often too quiet in her dorm for her to concentrate. The level of quiet in Gorgas increases by floor, so that would be a great option. (The higher the floor the more restrictive the level of noise and acceptable activity becomes.) I know other libraries also have assigned quiet and silent areas like Rodgers.</p>
<p>Given that so many students at UA choose to join organizations before freshman year even starts, partially based on a GPA cutoff, resume & headshot, and with less than 5 hours spent at that particular organization to meet & greet for both sides, seems to me some of you are being a little harsh to TXArchitect because of a criteria that is important to she and her D. </p>
<p>I think it would be helpful for the school to facilitate NMF’s meeting one another if for only one reason: the housing scholarship. University Fellows all know one another; CBHP’s all know one another. The only time all the NMF’s are ever all together is when they have the ceremony to receive their technology (laptop/iPad.) The vast majority (95%+) of the NMF’s that D knows are STEM majors & male; that doesn’t help much when looking for roommates as an upperclassman I mean, is anybody here offended when a bunch of kids who just got into CBHB or UF decide to room together freshman year because they found out they have similar interests in common?</p>
<p>Choosing to live in the honors dorm with the private bedroom is a good start to finding a living arrangement that meets your D’s needs. Even if her roomies are louder than she’d like, there are study rooms she can retreat to (at least there were in Ridgecrest West; are they in all dorms?)</p>
<p>What would you think of a 4 person suite where two of them are friends from the same high school? Would it be best to avoid being one of the others?</p>
<p>There are also quiet areas in the Honors College where a student can study.</p>
<p>TXArchitect: I can understand your concerns about quiet. But sometimes, the best plans just do not work. </p>
<p>My son has a friend, who, during his freshman year, always studied in Gorgas. His mom told me that he would sometimes call her during a break. She asked him why he felt he had to go to the library, and he was quite honest. Despite the private bedroom thing, his roommates were not into studying as much as he was. He thought that since his roommates were excellent students while in HS, they would continue in college. That, unfortunately, is not always the case. Kids get their first taste of “freedom,” and they sometimes go a little wild. They pick the party over another night of studying. </p>
<p>And sometimes, there are kids who need to study very little to be successful academically. One hopes those students are busy with other activities so that they do not disturb roommates who need to study. </p>
<p>Hopefully your D will find roommates who takes things seriously but balance it with some fun.</p>
<p>I completely agree with this! Your student will meet many new people but not many stay on campus after freshman year so finding roommates will become difficult. My daughter did not want to have 3 freshman as roommates next year after her experience this past year.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think it would depend. One of my daughter’s roommates this past year was a high school friend, not a “best” friend but a member of the group she hung out with in hs. So they definitely didn’t exclude or gang up on the other two suitemates, which I guess could be a concern. Next year she is rooming with the same girl (non NMF) and another girl from their high school (NMF). I was starting to feel bad for the lone freshman girl that put herself into that suite until they found out she is from their high school! LOL!</p>
<p>I’m sure her comments were not meant to be offensive, but they did come across as exclusionary at best. I’m sure it wouldn’t offend anyone to discover UFE or CBH or NMF who decide to room together, but what came across was the implication of exclusivity in being a serious student or a disciplined one. I don’t necessarily agree that being a part of UFE or CBH or NMF includes or excludes a student as being academically elite or provides testimony of study habits. This may be totally politically incorrect of me to say, but I’m going to say it. There are MANY academically talented and dedicated students at the UA. Not all of them are even in Honors. Some choose not to be in Honors and some do not qualify. Mine is in Honors, but she has very studious friends who are not and some who are. Although the poster may not have meant it this way, if I were to be honest I would have to say it did rub me the wrong way…not that matters to anyone and you may tar and feather me if you like. I know she apologized, but this poster was pretty hard on another poster a while back for using a screen name she found offensive and was quickly forgiven. In this case, I think she made an implication that was offensive to others and the responses were fair. There are no hard feelings here, I’m just being honest.</p>
<p>chardo - my D ended up with that situation last year. it worked out fine. i might not want to join a room where three people already knew each other, though.</p>
<p>^^^FWIW, my son ended up with 3 sophomores his first year, all of whom were friends with one another, two of whom, I believe, went to the same high school. All three were from Alabama.</p>
<p>It sounded like a dreadful situation to walk into, but it turned out fine. They certainly didn’t end up being bff’s but my son was treated civilly. The sanctuary of a private room and the proximity of good friends within the dorm complex helped make this arrangement work. He spent plenty of time hanging out in the living rooms of his friends’ suites.</p>
<p>Soooo, the thing that made me laugh about this is that my son left the house the other day to go and study at the local library because my 94 year old father in law is too loud and was distracting him! I am sure that he will be one of those that finds a quiet corner of the school to study in. He also like to get away from the distractions of his own room, computer games, TV, music…the different surroundings seem to help him to focus better.</p>
<p>I have to agree with bamagirls, I am sure that the OP was not trying to be offensive. I guess it was just the exclusionary aspect that bothered some (to be honest, myself included). </p>
<p>I do understand the concerns about finding roommates and that the task seems overwhelming. However, I think that what is happening here is that some of us are giving advice based on past experiences. </p>
<p>The information on alternate study places is invaluable, since there will be times when the student finds they need to be somewhere other than their own suite. If all the roommates have the same habits, that would be a bonus, “just don’t count on it” is what people here are saying.</p>
<p>If I came off as critical, I apologize. My intent was to inform the OP, so she could prepare her daughter for all the possibilities.</p>
<p>While I can understand that the wording of the OP’s request might have seemed “exclusionary” to some, I am far more upset about another thread where a young woman is concerned about not getting a bid because of her weight. One set of people choosing potential friends/roommates partially by BMI vs. someone else partially by NMF status? I know which one sounds more exclusionary to me. We all have ways of choosing like minded people to hang with and coming into an institution of 30,000 from OOS can be daunting. I don’t know why we’re all jumping over TXArchitect, when it seems ok to tell a 17 year old girl to “work on losing some weight this summer and toning up.” I don’t have a problem with telling a 17 year old girl to do that because of health reasons. To have a better chance of joining an organization, not so much. </p>
<p>College is supposed to be about “life of the mind” as well as growing as a person. If UA wants to keep recruiting high stat OOS kids and having them stay, there should be mechanisms in place for them to “find their tribe.” There’s a symbiotic relationship between UA and NMF students: each gets a benefit from the other. As much as I am grateful for the NMF package at UA and D1 still feels it is the right choice for her, most of the NMF’s have higher ranked choices in April of their senior year. There is a difference between the type of student who would consider attending a Top 20 school and has the stats to be accepted vs. a typical state college student. I’m not saying that one is better than the other; it’s not about being exclusionary or elitist. </p>
<p>I don’t want this to seem like a shot at other groups at UA. It’s a big school and there’s room for everyone.</p>
and look at TX’s bottom line issue…</p>
I mean, is anybody here offended when a bunch of kids who just got into CBHB or UF decide to room together freshman year because they found out they have similar interests in common?</p>