<p>How good is Vanderbilt's roommate matching system? Are the pairings usually well matched or are there a lot of unhappy dorm mates? What are the types of questions they ask? Thanks for answering!</p>
<p>Well, I think most people get along with their roommates reasonably well. The matching system only asks a few basic questions, but they may use applications for pairings too. My roommate and I are really similar and spend quite a lot of time together, but I think that’s pretty rare. Most roommates get along reasonably well though.</p>
<p>Matching is only based on a small number of preferences. Most people who go random don’t have issues though, even if the roommates don’t end up being great friends.</p>
<p>I suspect the key questions they go by are whether you are a morning or a night person and if you mind if people play music, etc. when you study in the room (like do you need absolute quiet or are you OK with a reasonable amount of background sound?)</p>
<p>Okay! Thanks. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of info on this topic, and this definitely clears that up.</p>
<p>Honestly, Vanderbilt’s random roommate matching system is not in-depth at all. It asks three questions, and I think they all only have two extreme answers and no room to elaborate. I wouldn’t say there are a large amount of major roommate issues, but if you’re going random (the roommate matching system is pretty random), definitely don’t expect to be best friends with your roommate. </p>
<p>Perhaps this matters less for guys, but for girls, I would definitely definitely recommend finding a roommate and requesting each other. Most girls do choose their roommates in advance it seems, but whether you use ■■■■■■■■ or just Facebook is up to you. Of course, finding a roommate ahead of time doesn’t at all guarantee you’ll be best friends, in fact most people aren’t best friends with their freshman year roommate, but at least you’ll know the person in advance and you won’t end up with someone who has completely opposite lifestyle habits than yours.</p>
<p>my son accepted his random roommate…a perfectly great guy from SoCal. They do not see much of each other. best to keep your attitude positive and your expectations low…focusing on getting a decent amount of rest as a right in your own room and quiet when you need it. The freshman campus at Vandy is heads above other freshman housing experiences.<br>
Davidson actually does a personality inventory test and those students do tend to re-up for second years together but 98% of colleges match only based on study habits, music and lights out. Duke son’s frosh roommate went to bed nightly at 10 and up at 6 and was a disciplined mountain climber. My Furman roommate had to sleep to protect her voice…music major.<br>
There are RAs to help you deal with any outlandish issues in your room. But be positive. There is a huge screening process to get into Vandy in the first place.</p>
<p>Back in the dark ages when I was in college, I never knew anyone who changed roommates in the middle of the semester but as a freshman last year, my daughter knew at least a half dozen girls who requested and were granted roommate/room changes during first semester. A few of the girls then ended up with single rooms in a different dorm (sweet deal!). At least one of the girls who switched had found what she thought would be the perfect roomie using the Vanderbilt class facebook page but reality was different. </p>
<p>Dorm life in the Commons is pretty great compared to most colleges and Faline2 ^ has the best advice–keep a positive attitude and low expectations:-)</p>