<p>So I have a friend who is also going to Wellesley from my high school, and I've been wondering if I should request being a room mate with her or not. </p>
<p>I was advised against it by students at Wellesley, because becoming room mates might lead to a broken friendship, and meeting other students will be easier if you share a room with somebody new. And also, my friend says she is a messy person, and I am messy, too, but I try to keep my stuff in order when I can and sometimes a mess can bother me. I would really like to keep my room clean during my time at Wellesley. (A clear room equals clear thoughts?) But on the other hand, I think we could make it work if we really wanted to, and I think it would be fun to agree on a decor for our room and go shopping for supplies together. And if I don't room with my friend, there is still the chance that I will end up rooming with somebody who is, so to speak, not my "room mate" type.</p>
<p>I understand that it's still too early for room mate decisions, but what do all of you think? What are you planning on doing about rooms? I heard that the survey for deciding room mates is really lame (about four questions long), so I'm not really counting on that to be of any help.</p>
<p>I requested to be roommates with someone at Wellesley my first year, and they honored my request. We wrote a nice letter, explaining why we thought we'd be great roommates.</p>
<p>And it worked out very well. Although, they might have put us in a smaller room cause we claimed we were going to be such great roommates. Although probably not--I think they do lottery numbers for first years too.</p>
<p>I don't recommend having your high school friend be your college roommate, because it will cripple your ability to make new friends. Two things happen: you don't communicate with your roommate much or your roommate becomes a social anchor. </p>
<p>Yes you will have nothing better over the summer to do than to try to plan a room at Wellesley, but honestly, you will get to go shopping with any roommate after you meet her. It might not be until the end of the first week, but you'll have a good idea of what you actually need for your room, and not waste your money on things you won't use over the summer when all you want to do is shop and daydream about college. If you want to coordinate beforehand, ask what color your roommate's comforter is and buy the same.</p>
<p>The roommate survey isn't perfect, but it covers most major areas of potential conflict (temperature, cleanliness, overnight guest preferences, bedtimes, nicotine addictions, music type). If you hate your roommate, you can switch after a couple of weeks. It happened in two separate rooms on my first year floor.</p>
<p>I got along extremely well with my first year roommate. The most disappointing thing about her was that she wasn't from some exotic place. To be honest, the biggest deal breaker that I know of is differing sexual inclination: eg one has a visiting significant other and does not take the other roommate into consideration at all (it happens with both gay and straight couples).</p>
<p>Wellesley is such a diverse school full of interesting people. Why deny yourself the opportunity to get to know and learn to live with someone not from your corner of the world?</p>
<p>If any incomings want to begin a "preferences" discussion it may provide early introductions and possible roomate matches. Thanks</p>
<p>Roommates are generally matched by Wellesley's housing. I've heard secondhand that they really really hate separate requests.</p>
<p>Thanks WendyMouse. I think I will either do the lottery--it could be fun, after all--or eventually figure out if somebody would like to specifically be my room mate. :P</p>
<p>Tennis08, when you mean a "preferences" discussion, do you mean post a list of your housing habits and sleeping habits or what not in order to compare?</p>
<p>On the same note, do you know if it's possible to request a certain dorm or area of dorms? I talked to one person at Wellesley who said she did, and her request was granted, but is this the norm?</p>
<p>As far as I know, barring any medical issues (and maybe even then), it is not possible to request any dorm or dorm complex as an incoming first-year. The housing form sent to us was very basic; it asked</p>
<p>1) Do you smoke? Do you mind living with a smoker?</p>
<p>2) Would you describe yourself as: very neat, somewhat neat, generally cluttered, very cluttered? [or something to that effect; don't remember verbatim]</p>
<p>3) What time do you go to bed? [provided time slots] Would you describe yourself as: morning person, night person, neither?</p>
<p>4)What type of music do you prefer?</p>
<p>And then it had a line to write in your roommate if you already had one. You would definitely be paired with this person.</p>
<p>Menagerie--</p>
<p>For first-years, I haven't heard of dorm requests, but I've heard of medical accommodations that influence dorm choices. For instance, plenty people who are allergic to peanuts generally get placed in Caz (I think that's the one...one of the dorms in the quad). There are other, more specific cases, though as an entering first-year, you indicate the accommodation needed, and that influences your dorm choice.</p>