<p>To Mt. H students and parents:
How comprehensive is the roommate matching system? Is it better to try to meet someone through facebook, or is it ok to rely on the matching done by the college per your housing form?</p>
<p>This repeats what I said elsewhere. My D is now finishing her 1st year at MHC. She went through the MHC housing system questionaire and had a good roomate, for a time.</p>
<p>“Be completely truthful in answering the roomate survey. If your roomate has a steady boyfriend who sleeps over, where will you sleep? My D had to find others who let her sleep on their floor, which was not too fun, and caused major friction among all concerned. Some like to party, some don’t. Make sure you’re correctly saying what you are. Will you be happy if your roommate(s) parties on a Thursday night in your room when you have an 8:30AM class or an exam the next day? Or will you join her partying? Some dorms have a partying rep, I think the 'Delles. Some are old dorms with high ceilings, some are newer with lower ceilings, and “new dorm” (Creighton) is, well, new. You will get a single if you ask, but then you will wake up (oh well). Juniors are lucky to get a single. I think Wilder is getting a renovation this summer. For dorms, consider where dinner is served. They all serve breakfast. The student center offers food all day till late, but lines are often long there as most food is made to order. Jocks like the dorms near the sports complex, duh, but those are a hike to many classes.”</p>
<p>Also, you will likely be no more successful finding a roomate through Facebook. There is partying in all dorms, alcohol, etc. etc. (it IS college), unless you are on a “dry” floor. My D was best buddies with her roommate (matched by MHC housing) until the boyfriend scenario got out of hand. Her matched roomate was pretty well matched in all sorts of ways. No matter how one gets a roommate, there’s a risk due to the unknown. It’s best to realize that the roommate will, at best be a, well, roommate; at best, BFFL; but more likely somewhere in between.</p>
<p>When I was at MHC, a room mate always trumped the boyfriend staying over too much. The res. life was able to handle this in effective ways with comprimise, instead of the student having to handle it on her own. It IS a WOMEN’S college, after all, and some seek that for the additional comfort of being able to not worry about who sees you in pajamas, bad hair days, in sickness, etc!</p>
<p>As far as dorm “choice” as a first year- ah, the choice is that you’re last in line. D got very lucky with her room-mate as a first year- they had things in common that weren’t on the housing survey- and they continued to be room-mates for their second year. If you have strong preferences, then by all means state them on your housing form. Don’t be shy or you’ll definitely end up mis-matched. Having said that, it’s unrealistic to expect an exacting match. Room-mate “situations” provide excellent opportunities to practice communication skills.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who responded!</p>
<p>I did see a post suggesting meeting someone through facebook in another thread. The author wrote she got a chance to live in Safford, the most popular hall, simply because she and her roommate chose each other in the form.</p>
<p>Do the boyfriends use the showers/bathrooms etc? I know that friends of mine at co-ed schools say they have separate facilities but how does it work at MHC? I don’t want to run into a boy in the shower room!</p>
<p>In the dorms, there are separate bathrooms for boys, but these bathrooms do not have showers, at least I have not seen any with showers. Most college boys rarely shower anyway – except with a friend. ;)</p>
<p>As I recall, some bathrooms are available for coed use. Each dorm has at least one all female bathroom. I would suggest contacting Res Life and ask how you would make a strong request that you be placed on a floor with a single sex bathroom. 413-538-2088 or use the e-mail link on their web page: [Residential</a> Life :: Residential Life :: Mount Holyoke College](<a href=“http://www.mtholyoke.edu/reslife/index.html]Residential”>http://www.mtholyoke.edu/reslife/index.html)</p>