@STEM2017 That’s unfortunate. Do you think there was some fine print they missed that told them they needed to both do that? If not, might be worth forwarding a suggestion that they simplify the process or make it clearer. Hope it works out that he gets the roommate he wanted.
Good luck with the move in and hope your son has a great freshman year!
@sevmom I’m sure it was in the fine print somewhere. We can only blame ourselves, but annoying nevertheless. They’re going to need to do some fancy simultaneous room selecting - they’re future engineers - they’ll figure it out. Anyway, he’s very excited and I’m sure it will work out.
@STEM2017 at this point he may be lucky to have a bed! Email out that those kids who don’t have a time slot yet for dorm room selection are candidates for “temporary on campus housing”. I.E. in with an RA, in a converted lounge, or 3rd person in a double room. IF you have to stay in this situation all situation, you’ll get a ~20% reduction in room charge.
^wow
I’m watching this thread as a parent of a junior who will probably apply to VA Tech next fall - is the housing selection slot based on when the student paid his/her enrollment deposit, or did they have some other method for assigning preference?
The housing website says room assignments are made by date of housing contract receipt. So, you are encouraged to submit the contract as soon as possible. To get a preferred roommate, both parties have to mutually request each other. @STEM2017, Good luck to your son. I’m sure he’ll be fine! My other kid ended up being tripled at another college years ago, having been accepted ED . They went by random lottery! He got one of the last lottery numbers despite being one of the first to commit to the school. That was certainly annoying! Schools will usually offer incentives,discounts, ask for volunteers to move , etc. It should all work out in the end, although I know firsthand it can cause a little stress at the beginning. I think it happens more than we realize since predicting yield is not an exact science.
@STEM2017 if it helps, my son went random roommate selection and it worked out fine. They weren’t best friends but got along well and are still in touch.
Same here . Both my kids went random and it was fine. Also didn’t become best friends but got along well enough. My VT kid met most of his good friends from other guys on his hall (some of them did some intermural athletic stuff together), other kids he met in engineering, kids from his club athletic team. Lots of opportunities to meet people.
My S would do fine with any roommate. He’s very likeable and easy going. It’s just a bummer because they found each other several months ago and have been developing their friendship since. Also working out “roommate” details.
Again, whatever it is, it will be fine.
I’ll update tomorrow evening.
Hope it works out and they get to be roommates! If not, nice that they seem to already be friends and will have somebody to connect with on campus right away.
@eh1234 " I’m watching this thread as a parent of a junior who will probably apply to VA Tech next fall - is the housing selection slot based on when the student paid his/her enrollment deposit, or did they have some other method for assigning preference?"
This system of choosing rooms is new and chaotic this year. I asked on the VA Tech parent fbook page and it appears that the earlier the student sent in his housing contract, the sooner the pick will be. My son is a rising sophomore and he picked Sunday. He’s in the RLC so he was guaranteed a room this year. He and his roommate got a giant room and I’m worried another student will be “forced” into it. Last year he lived in a tiny room comparable to a walk in closet, but loved it. Tech has taken one huge dorm off line this year to renovate it. That was a loss of a lot of rooms.
S and his potential roommate are now official roommates. They were able to room together in Lee Hall, which is good. But they are not on the floor or in the section of the building that they wanted. They wanted the lower level (less hot) co-ed floor. I suppose they should be thankful that they got a room together. I’ll buy him an extra fan. 
All in all, sounds like a very good outcome. Got the roommate he wanted, the living-learning housing he wanted in Lee. I don’t think any of the rooms have AC. Congratulations! Have fun in Blacksburg!
^thanks!!!
@STEM2017 Since my son is a Sr -looking at engineering i see your avatar alot and love all your input-- but how do I change my avatar ??