I was accepted into Northeastern under ED I back in December, and I’ve always planned on doing a random roommate. However, as the date gets closer, I’m getting more and more anxious about it. I feel like almost everyone I’ve connected with over social media who are going to Northeastern with me next year picked their roommate. I’ve read on college confidential that random roommates usually do well at Northeastern, but it still doesn’t make me any less nervous.
Are random roommates a good idea at Northeastern? Do they usually work out? And how does Northeastern pair people up? Because the housing app only has like, nine questions.
This whole roommate situation is really stressing me out, and I would just like some insight into how well roommates work at Northeastern as a freshman.
There’s nothing really that specific to Northeastern here - random roommates have pros and cons, just like not going random. I don’t think there’s anything to stress over either way. Your roommate is not going to make or break your college experience.
This sounds like selection bias to me 
FWIW - the best roommate I ever had was a randomly selected based on a postcard that contained 3-4 questions. The worst roommate was someone chosen because we had so much in common. People’s day to day habits and communication styles can be a key factor and those are really tough to discern via social media and even in person.
It’s completely normal to be getting anxious about the whole process. There’s nothing really special about how Northeastern matches up roommates the first year and every school goes through the same process, so you aren’t the only one waiting for an email on who their roommate(s) will be.
I went random for my roommates when I went to Northeastern. I ended up getting placed in one of the few quads on campus and I loved it. My roommates and I unfortunately did not end up being the best of buds for all of college simply because I was not on campus with them my second semester. We still say hi when we see each other on campus and if we had the same friend circle we would be really good friends. I have friends who ended up being best friends with their freshman roommate and ended up choosing to room with them again or simply remain friends and I have others who did not get along very well.
While I agree the survey you fill out is kind of bland, it works if everyone is completely honest. So don’t say you are a neat freak if you prefer your room to be messy as that will cause some issues if your roommate is a neat freak.
Just remember that your roommate(s) is in the same boat as you. You are both going to be nervous and things might be a bit odd at first but it’ll all work out.
Congrats on the acceptance and let me know if you have any other Northeastern questions!
At Northeastern, the majority of students do random roommates, so don’t feel pressure to find one! Northeastern groups students together in housing through living-learning communities (LLCs) and then the short roommate checklist. Most of my friends had random roommates and it worked out great!