Hello, I just got in to Cornell. I am gonna be in a double dorm, so I need to choose a roomie. Initially, I thought I would fill in my preferences on the housing application form and leave it to chance. But now that I see the form, it just asks sleep/wake time, music on/off and other trivia that can equally apply to anyone with any personality… Now I am worried that I may not have anything in common with my roomie. (the process seems truly random) How happy are/were you with your freshman roomie? What is the general vibe about this in the campus?
I have met some people with whom I share similar values,hobbies…(and are also super nice) on social media. But I’m wary about selecting them from there. Cuz, let’s face it, almost everyone only shows their “good-side” on social media, especially in such scenarios. Anyone selected their roomie from social media? How concurring were they with the vibe you got from their profile?
p.s. I really don’t care that much about being “symmetrical” with my roomie, I just don’t wanna room with s/o who is obnoxious.
You want to make sure that they are is in to academics as you are, are as social as you are, go to bed at similar times, like a similar amount of messiness etc. Having a friend is only a bonus.
Even if it seems like everything is a match and you have compared the different characteristics that you believe to be important, it is still difficult to be certain it will work out. For example, you really will not know the temperament of the potential roommate and that may be harder to discern by a few contacts on social media.
I remember when I met my roommate (back in the dark ages) before you even had the option to choose, it was a great experience primarily because she was (and still is) so different from me. This gave me the added bonus of learning about a new person from another background and we were able to work out the details and coexist happily. This was a very valuable experience and opened up new worlds to me as part of the college experience.
Keep in mind two things. 1) You don’t have to be best buddies with your roommate, and (2) you can be friends with people besides your roommate.
If you’re finding people on social media who you seem to have a lot in common with, you can certainly be friends with them without living with them. In fact, it may be easier to be friends with them if you don’t live with them because some people just shouldn’t be living together. You never really know what someone is going to be like to live with until you live with them.
Also, having a random roommate doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to be rooming with someone obnoxious. Sharing space with another person is a new experience for a lot of people and it takes time for everyone to adjust and learn to compromise. To be honest, the most important things will be sleeping habits, listening to music, overnight guests, messiness, etc. You can have everything in common with someone personality-wise and still not be able to live with each other because you’re polar opposite in when you like to sleep.
Basically, don’t worry about it so much. If you find someone that you want to live with, it’s fine. Go live with them. If you don’t find someone, then it’s fine. Go with a random roommate. Neither one is a guarantee that you’ll live with someone annoying or that you’ll live with someone that’s great. Don’t worry too much. And if you find people that you like through social media, there’s no reason you can’t just be friends with them without being roommates.
I currently attend Cornell. I ended up rooming with my best friend from high school, which everyone says not to do but it worked out fine. I would recommend using the Cornell Facebook page. We had one called Cornell Class of 2018 Find a Roommate; my guess is there is one for your class, too. I met some cool people on there whom I would have loved to room with were I not already rooming with my friend. My guess is you can find someone you click with, too!