<p>I see a UVA Class of 2017 Girl Roommate Search Facebook page, but does anybody know how boys are finding roommates? There doesn't seem to be a corresponding page for boys.</p>
<p>I’m going to put in a plug here for a ‘random’ roommate assignment. The only thing S2 was hoping for was someone not from his hs, even better if not from our area of Va. Meeting someone from a different state was a plus. Jackpot! Different region of the country, SEAS vs CLAS, extreme extrovert vs initially reserved, different ethnicity, another primary language spoken in the home, different religion…they got along beautifully! His rm has become a member of our family, staying shorter breaks with us. They developed different primary groups of friends, different activities on grounds, but they never considered not rooming together again! </p>
<p>Good roommates at the very least need to respectfully share the same space. Usually it works out much better then that. It’s often best if you’re not best friends running in the same crowd. It gives you each space, and interpersonal things that happen socially don’t effect your ‘home-life’, which remains a drama free zone. Every once in a while there’s just simply a poor match. Someone becomes very inconsiderate over any number of things and repeated attempts to address it personally, and then through your RA, don’t resolve issues. This can happen with people you have known for years from home, people you choose online based on perceived compatibility, and random selection.</p>
<p>My son’s experience has been great, and I know in speaking often to his roommates family we feel the boys lives have been greatly enriched by the things that are obviously different, and finding so many similarities that are not readily seen, that make them such great friends.</p>
<p>blueiguana makes several good points. I put forth one caveat to her post, though. Anecdotally, I have never heard of incoming student who applies for a double room with a particular roommate ending up in a single. There have been a number of posts here over the years where someone who applied for a double seeking a random roommate to be assigned ended up in a single.</p>
<p>When the University needed more housing many years ago and built Hereford, they misjudged the demand for single rooms . . . .</p>
<p>I turned to the MSA to find me my roommate- and I have. I suggest that if you want to live with someone really similar to you,try to contact the specific student union for the desired kind of person. If you want someone totally new and different, go with blueiguanas advice</p>
<p>AVA, Great point to add! Thank you.</p>
<p>My daughter is in the throes of the Facebook roommate search process and said it feels like an online dating exercise. Does UVA have its own roommate questionnaire or is this the only way to find a roommate?</p>
<p>UVa does have a housing questionnaire. It’s not extensive but hits the basics so they can try to match you with someone compatible.</p>
<p>My daughter also is having trouble finding a roommate through the Facebook group. She says it is hard to sort through all the posts. Does anyone have a way to make it easier to search the group? Is there a mechanism to show that the girl is no longer available? </p>
<p>Does anyone know what percentage of girls find their roommates through the group or choose to go random?</p>
<p>Check out some of the advice at the director of the housing office had about this process. The post on roommate choice (2nd link) is especially good. I think it can help students feel a little less anxiety about this.</p>
<p>[First</a> Year Roommate Matching | U.Va. Housing & Res. Life News](<a href=“http://uvahousing.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2010/06/02/first-year-roommate-matching/]First”>First Year Roommate Matching | U.Va. Housing & Res. Life News)
[Roommate</a> Choice | U.Va. Housing & Res. Life News](<a href=“http://uvahousing.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2011/04/06/roommate-choice/]Roommate”>Roommate Choice | U.Va. Housing & Res. Life News)</p>
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<p>Thanks Dean J. I will share the articles with my daughter.</p>
<p>Ava: Before the University built Hereford, they conducted a survey of current students. The number one request was for single rooms. However, they hired a futuristic architect who designed an isolated awkward environment with small windows. There are many things wrong with Hereford, but I don’t think the singles are the problem - if the singles had been arranged in a more sociable environment, things might have been different. In grad school, I lived in a very sociable situation with 10 single rooms around common facilities, as well as a nearby lounge that was open to everyone in the building. </p>
<p>I believe the singles though do attract a more introverted crowd, which becomes a self-perpetuating anti-social environment.</p>
<p>My daughter went with a random assignment, and it has worked out great. Most of the kids on her floor went with random, and she reports there have been no significant problems. The rooms are small, so respect is a big part of making the roommate situation work. At the beginning of the year, the RA on the floor meets with the residents and discusses potential issues that need to be discussed. Then, the RA meets individually with each roommate pair, and they discuss how to share the space. I say again- respect is key.</p>
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Can we keep to the helpful information and leave out the opinions that perpetuate stereotype? A student can request a single because they want their own room to study, don’t want to be sexiled, etc., but be a very normal social person. About 50% of second year students move off grounds, many to apartments where they no longer share a room. Are they suddenly anti-social? Of course not! Obviously from this forum we can’t control what students perceive, and experience, once they are on grounds, but I think it would be good if we don’t add to unnecessary stereotypes, and by extension new students anxieties that may be totally unfounded. They deserve to go with an open mind.</p>
<p>FWIW, my son (who lived in old dorms) became close friends with a suite of girls in the single suites through mutual friends. They are all very social, active on grounds, lovely young ladies. You would not know them from any other students at the university. The idea that the suites were any sort of anti-social environment is actually laughable to me…they have a/c, as well as suite common rooms where someone has usually put a big screen TV (a luxury when you are on a hall). Where do you think my son and several of his friends congregated for pro sports, etc.? If they brought food, the door was always open.</p>