<p>are the five questions on the form the only thing they use to match you up with a roommate?
i expected it to be a bit more specific since these questions are so general.
it would be nice if i could specify atleast a specific ethnicity i want my roommate to be.</p>
<p>so my question is: are the five questions on the application for housing the only thing umd uses to find you a roommate? or will there be something you fill out later on about what you look for in a roommate</p>
<p>Yes, that’s what they use. Most roommate situations work out fine for freshman year. You may not meet your BFF, but it usually works out. I am a bit concerned about your “specific ethnicity” comment, however…?</p>
<p>I could have roomed with people I knew and I chose to let the school choose for me. It worked out great. We are not BFFs, but we live in peace. Some friends that chose their BFFs lost the “forever” status, because they realized they wanted to meet other people and that was limiting them. So I certainly recommend ramdom assignment. By the way, UMD is diverse, open your mind, and you’l be ok</p>
<p>My son who is now a Soph did not know anyone attending UMD and was going to leave rooming to a random assignment Freshman year. However, during the two-day orientation in June was told that if he met someone with whom he’d like to room they could make the request. He did this and they kept in touch over the summer for example with who would bring what (i.e. mini fridge, TV). This turned out to be a good experience for him.</p>
<p>I’d also caution against picking a roommate based from the facebook groups that have (or will) emerge… It works sometimes, but there have been several people who have come back to say they wished they’d just picked a random person instead, because the person was not who they seemed online. Usually it all works out. It’s all about trying to be relaxed and make yourself easy to live with…and hopefully you won’t end up with the one or two weirdos that everyone tells stories about ! :D</p>
<p>I agree once again with you, AstroMom!
A friend of mine roomed with someone she FB with, and it was great at the beginning, but once they met in person, they couldn’t stand each other’s habits, so they mutually requested room change. I am glad I left it to chance.</p>
<p>The funny thing is they don’t even match you on the five questions! I said I wouldn’t stay up past 12, but got roomed with two night owls (who routinely stayed up past 4 ). Its all up to chance.</p>