My OOS son is starting in the fall. He doesn’t know anyone going. What’s the best way to find a roommate? Does anyone use the roommate finder on the website? Is it a bad idea to just get randomly assigned?
My kid got assigned randomly both freshman and sophomore year and he’s doing it again for junior year. Met really nice kids. Think he likes the surprise of it all.
If your son does not know anyone going in, he can either get randomly assigned a roommate, which could end up working out very well, or not. Another option that is popular among incoming students is choosing a roommate via Facebook. There is a U of M 2023 Facebook group, and students tend to post short profiles about their interests and living habits in order to search for a roommate. People message each other and decide whether or not they are interested in rooming together. This is how I found my roommate, and it worked out well. Prior to moving in, we knew that we had similar living habits and interests, which took away some of the element of surprise.
Keep in mind that Ann Arbor has a ton of housing options. Many within walking/bus distance of campus. My kiddo was matched with horribly incompatible roommates her freshman year in Mary Markley Hall dorm. They were nice enough girls, but they were into status, Greek life and partying… and my kiddo is more of a gamer science nerd. She survived them until Christmas break, when she found a girl at UMich’s North campus apartments whose roommate was graduating. It wasn’t too much hassle to change out her housing contract, and she was a lot happier. A lot of kids don’t like living on North, because there’s less of a party vibe there…but for kids like my daughter, it was perfect. Being an only child, I think she really liked having a bedroom door she could close for a little down time and privacy…and she likes cooking, so apartment life was a much better fit for her and cost exactly the same as the dorm. (less, actually, no expensive meal plan that she barely used). She liked having space to have friends sleep over, space to host gaming and the ability to cook for friends and pack her lunch. She stayed at the UMich apartments on North her sophomore and Junior year, too. Senior year, she got a private apartment that was closer to Central than Markley…for about $200/month LESS than she was paying for the dorm. Huge apartment, too, with parking. If you decide to live in private housing, and rent an apartment from one of the MANY private parties that have them for rent within walking/bus distance of Central…this doesn’t change your student aid at all. My kid relied heavily on scholarships and university aid and had no problem using aid money for her private apartment. Lots of choices! If one doesn’t work…pick something better:) Your son will find “his people” at UMich…everyone finds a great fit:)