My question is about the rooming assignments. I know October is the first pick for the dorms. I want to pick my roommates and I was wondering do I get my roommates before I pick housing or after? That part kind of confused me, thanks for your help!
Yes, UA has a neat function within their housing system where you fill out your preferences, etc. Then other people post theirs. You can communicate with prospective roommates through that system. Then you make a request, or somebody else makes a request, and you’re linked together. When room pick time rolls around (later) it’s a good idea for the roommates to have communicated where they were hoping to live.
You can certainly use the Bama housing site to contact other kids for roommates. Also, there is usually a Facebook group for incoming freshman. BUT, should that not happen, when it’s time to pick your room assignment, you can just go in and pick any room that is open at that time. Advice DS was given was to pick a dorm w/ 2 open spots, so as not to face a 3 against 1 scenario.
Also, I know the Greek parents get mad, but I advised DS not to room with anyone who planned on pledging. From the FB groups, a lot of parents were remarking how the Greek kids were so busy, their non Greek kids felt left out and lonely. Those first weeks can be hard enough without adding that into the mix.
DS had one guy respond to his profile and never heard from him again. Day it came to pick his dorm room, told DS just to pull the guy in if he could. ?? First time he spoke to him was after he moved in. Same with his other 2 roommates. They became great friends, hung out a lot, and I felt very relieved as we are 15 hours away, so he really needed to build a life there. I was more concerned than DS, who is just too laid back for me, but seems a lot of guys are like that!
@SouthFloridaMom9 that’s good to know thank you!
@laralei I’m about 10 hours away from home as well so that is good to know thanks! (:
@laralei Also, how does he feel about having a suite style dorm? I’m not sure which one I want to have!
My son was (essentially) an only child (he has a much younger half brother, but they never lived in the same home). So the suite style dorm was great for him. He was always used to having his own space to retreat to.
Others say the traditional dorms are more social and I’m sure that’s true. I know when I was a student many years ago in a traditional dorm we’d often leave the door to the room open to interact with people going through the hallway. But I had several issues with roommates during my college years and know what that’s like too, so I also appreciated that my son also was able to keep personal things locked in his room.
My son may have met more people in a traditional style dorm, but he was still able to meet others living in a suite. He became close friends with the group that lived in the suite just across the hall from his and moved off campus with 3 of them the following year.
You just have to decide what you think will work best for you.
I guess I can see how you are confused @Boodles, but not really, so don’t overthink it! You can either pick your roommates first, before you pick housing, OR you can pick your housing first, and then (by default) you will not have picked roommates. If you pick housing first (before you pick roommates), you’ll have to go random with roommates, because otherwise you would have already picked them(!). This was asked by you, and answered by @“beth’s mom” in another thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1917891-ua-dorms.html#latest
She said it best: “As for the roommate, you can go either way. You can choose a room during room selection and get a random roommate, or you can find a roommate prior to room selection, through Roommate Finder or FB or other means, and choose a room together.” 
I strongly suggested to DS to consider the traditional dorms, as they are supposedly more social, and they were cheaper. He took out the full federal loans so he could do the suites, wouldn’t consider anything else.
My son was nominated for class comedian in high school, so he likes to joke around and have a good time, so he wasn’t concerned about the social aspect so much. Being so far from home and only coming home for major holidays he wanted to be able to retreat to his “own” private space, which is not something available in the traditional dorms.
He and his dorm mates got along so well, they spent most of their time together, and through them he met other people so he now has a decent amount of friends. Yes, the halls of the suite style dorms are often very quiet, but that doesn’t mean everyone is sitting alone behind the closed doors.
Costs are a factor, but think about what you “need” from your living situation. DS needed a space to get away and be alone. Other kids felt they needed the social aspect of the more traditional dorms, or that’s all they could afford.
It will all work out. If you are willing to put yourself out there and don’t expect tons of friends in the first week of school, you’ll be OK.
One of the big draws, for us, with UA was the suite style dorms. We really thought our son would need the space having grown up a homeschooler for the most part and always with his own room.
Well, in a last minute turn of events, DS ended up at UF in a traditional style dorm with a roommate, communal bath, et al. Guess what, he loves it!
I do think it’s a good idea to try and match up at least a little with prospective roommates. That being said, my son went totally random at Preview (orientation overnight) and got along great with his roommate. He gets along great with his current roommate too. They are enough alike to be compatible, but they each have their own interests too.
You will be fine. Trust the process and your own ability to be adaptable and resilient.