<p>It seems many colleges are shifting toward having students find their own roommate match - either via social media or through a service. What are your thoughts about this? Any tips for making successful matches? What are the most important things to consider? </p>
<p>The most obvious thing is schedule matching. If you are both getting up at the same time for a class there is a lot more opportunity for interaction, making lunch plans, dinner plans, etc. Roommates who sleep through each others comings and goings don’t seem to work out as well.</p>
<p>*Sleep schedule (as JustOnedad mentioned): This is one of the big ones. Make sure that you guys sleep at roughly the same hours. You wouldn’t want a roommate who wakes you up and vice versa</p>
<p>*Living habits: this is probably the most important. Do you drink or party? Or is that not your scene? Make sure you roommate has some of the same habits, because if you’re not into drinking (or whatever) and you roommate keeps bringing back stuff, it could be problematic for you. Make sure you spell out what partying/not-partying is for you. I know two girls who had stated that neither was into partying when they were roommate shopping, but now that they’re roommates, they’ve learned that ‘not-partying much’ meant different things to each. Also, if they have a gf/bf or are big into the hookup scene, make sure you can keep the sexiling to a minimum. Like wise, if you are that person, make sure your roommate knows. </p>
<p>The other stuff isn’t a super big deal, I know plenty of people that have a mutual relationship with their roommates. But if you want to be close to your roommate, try to see if you can find someone you connect. Bear in mind if you’re looking for someone off the internet, make sure you meet them or at least video chat with them before you agree to anything. Often, there are a bunch of whackjobs who can seem normal on Facebook and you don’t want to get the worst end of this deal. </p>