My S17 just committed to USC and as such feels he’s a little late to the roommate situation. I guess he occasionally visits an FB accepted students group but I don’t think he’s been actively looking for someone to live with. Is it in fact too late at this point; how important is it to take control of the situation; how bad would it be to be randomly paired with someone?
I found that USC was amazing at matching room mates. None of mine went in with a chosen room mate (full disclosure, my current freshman is in a single 
). But when my others did use the questionnaire that USC sent, it was magical. While the questions seem sorta light, if you answer it totally honestly it is very reliable, and from our experience they take it to the next level on their own, and match by majors and study habits/grades. My S was placed with other various STEM majors and all were over achievers like him. That group and another big group that lived near each other on the freshman quad merged and spent the next three years together in off campus housing. They are now in little subsets sharing apartments in major metros where they landed jobs throughout the US. Not sure it can always be that fab, but I wouldn’t sweat it. There are still many students that don’t match up on facebook or whatever the social networking site of the day is, and rely on USC to match them.
@CADREAMIN as alway, many thanks. D thinks he should go for New North, which i think i read elsewhere is quite social…thoughts?
New North is a traditional dorm style residence hall and very social (think “Greek”). It is an older building and lacks A/C though. My older daughter located a roommate via CC for her freshman year, but then simply let USC Housing assign her roommates for years 2 & 3. It tends to work out well either way. The real breakdown seems to be deciding between a traditional dorm vs suites/apts. Both of my daughters preferred having more room, a private bath and A/C, but many prefer the perceived heightened social settings… i.e. dorms. USC thankfully provides its incoming students with options.
Fantastic feedback, thanks. Very glad to have an easy-going kid who’ll likely be happy wherever he is!
You’re welcome. My girls were far from that lol. But we are from FL, where the idea of no A/C is intolerable. The reality of L.A. weather, with less humidity, likely makes it less of a concern to most.