My son was accepted to UA and we will probably register and get our housing deposit in on October 1st. He asked me if he could then start looking for roommates. I have no idea how that works or how he’d go about it. I read a bit about Roommate Finder and it didn’t sound great. Ideas? He hopes to live in Honors housing, so I don’t know if there is separate page for that, but Idon’t think so.
I know he could probably get on a FB group and ask around (suggestions for what FB page?!), but I sure like the idea of some kind of matching website so he can room with someone with whom he’d be a good match. He won’t be going through rush, so I told him he’d be much better off to find roommates that aren’t either so he has someone to hang out with. He’s very social and will want to have friends around.
My daughter found her roommates using Roommate Finder. Coincidentally - or maybe it wasn’t a coincidence at all - her roommates were the daughters of moms I’d met here. This was a number of years ago when this group was much more active. The students fill out a questionnaire of sorts on Roommate Finder so you’ll know if a student is (or says he/she is) neat, a partier, planning to go through recruitment, etc. I’m not sure that students are totally honest on those questionnaires, though. A lot of students found roommates on FB pages as well.
My daughter liked and was friendly with her roommates, but she found many of her friends at Outdoor Action. I would recommend one of the Actions or Camp 1831 as excellent opportunities to meet people and become acclimated to campus before school starts.
@collegework I have found the boys are less inclined to do the roommate search as much as the girls. DS drove me nuts, as he was not concerned at all, at least not enough to do anything about it. I made him sign up for the roommate finder. One kid chose his profile (not sure if that’s what it is called?), and he never had any contact with him until they moved in together.
I don’t know if dorm selection has changed, but at the time, you were able to see the profiles of the students in the dorm you selected. When DS picked a dorm, the profiles showed the guys were going to join a frat. I made him move! Too many stories about those not doing so being left out in the early days, and those are when the kids are all new and adjusting; it is very alienating. The next room had 2 guys who were not rushing, also in honors, and they actually became very good friends and through them he met more, and as a junior he has a very large group of friends and many of them are in the same complex off campus as well.
Also, a few students who contacted DS through contacts “I” made, planned on partying a lot. Don’t know if the moms knew that, but DS never pursued them, and I was happy about that.
The two roommates he chose didn’t know each other either. I think the one mom told me her DS found someone from their state, read the profile, chose him, he accepted; all right before dorm selection. Guys!
DS didn’t do Early Action, but I have also heard that is a great way for kids to start building friendships early before all the thousands of students arrive on campus.
I’ll be attending in the fall and so far I’ve found two out of my three suitemates through the UA 2022 groupme. The groupme is mostly girls (as am I), but there are a few boys on there that your son could talk to and see if their interests and living habits would mesh well. best of luck to you and your son!
If it is the same as last year housing deposits open on Oct 1st …keep in mind that it is very, very early to be looking for a roommate. Many kids change their minds between now and spring.
@Maggie250 sorry this reply is so late - on facebook there is a group for the class of 2022 with 600+ members (i would recommend just searching it up when you’re on FB), and once you join that group, there is a link somewhere on the page to join a groupme for the class of 2022. there are also smaller groupme’s, such as one for girls who are planning on rushing. once you’re in the groupme and facebook group, you’ll see plenty of posts about students who are looking for roommates or would just like to introduce themselves. i hope that helps!
- her roommates were the daughters of moms I’d met here. This was a number of years ago when this group was much more active. The students fill out a questionnaire of sorts on Roommate Finder so you’ll know if a student is (or says he/she is) neat, a partier, planning to go through recruitment, etc. I’m not sure that students are totally honest on those questionnaires, though. A lot of students found roommates on FB pages as well.