Roommate: random or acquaintance/friend

<p>A girl some of my friends know, also the daughter of one of the teachers at my school, has asked me to be her roommate next year. We'd been talking on Facebook for about 2 weeks before she asked. We have a lot in common, thus far, but I'm still wary. She knows that I was leaning towards random and hasn't put pressure on me to answer quickly or in the affirmative...We'll still be friends even if I say no. But do I want to?</p>

<p>I've heard that a big plus of random is that you get to meet a larger scope of new people, people from the same place as the random roommate, same interest, and the like. How much of a hindrance will there be if I agree to room with the 'friend', especially since we're both from Williamsburg?</p>

<p>Also, what is the general opinion of random, as opposed to rooming with a friend? Horror stories and all, please! Thanks so much!</p>

<p>Some people might have ended up liking random, in my personal experience had a really bad time going the random route and then things were much better when I roomed with someone I knew. I’ve known people who became good friends after deciding to go random, but it really is the luck of the draw. If you already know an individual’s tendencies to a certain extent, it can be very beneficial going into the process. It’s really up to whether you are willing to risk it or not. They could either make you want to pull your hair out or get along well with you and respect you and your things. Hopefully no matter your decision, you end up with the latter type! Many people end up rooming with friends the second year that they made during the first year. Others get paired with a good roommate and stick with them. You might want to be safe and start out with this girl you know (that is if you think you would get along with her) and then decide if you want to room with someone else the second year. I wouldn’t look at it as a real hindrance, you will meet plenty of new people in your dorm and in many other places around school. Good luck!</p>

<p>I did random and ended up in a triple with the two largest *******s on campus. Another friend of mine did random and ended up with the best combination roommate ever and has absolutely loved his time in the dorm! It really is random…</p>

<p>Some good questions to ask before committing to a roommate are

  1. How neat are they?
  2. Do they consider the commonspace in the room public or private space? (for me, my roommates view the middle of the floor as their own personal storage area, especially for dirty clothes)
  3. What are their expected sleeping habits.
  4. Do you prefer a large or small dorm?
  5. Do you prefer music to be played over speakers or headphones when someone else is in the room?
  6. What are their sleeping habits? (i.e. do they roll around a lot or need some kind of light, etc…)
  7. Do they mind / will they have people hanging out in the room all the time?
  8. Do they expect to go out and get drunk / wasted every weekend?</p>

<p>Anyway, that’s just a few of the big ones that I’ve noticed from this year.</p>

<p>I did random… worked out fine for me. We generally hung out with different people.</p>

<p>I think it’s weird that people are posting like, essay length roommate profiles in the facebook groups at schools to find roommates.</p>

<p>Generally, when you room with someone you already know, you find out there are things that you didn’t actually know… which may or may not hurt the roommate situation.</p>