<p>Just a point here: The divorce rate is NOT 50%, as is often misstated. What it is is that the number of divorces in a given year is roughly half the number of marriages in a given year, so the media took that, concluded the divorce rate was 50%, and ran with that. But that’s not the proper denominator. The denominator isn’t all marriages that happened within the same given year; it’s all marriages to date up to that year (whether they were a year old or 40 years old). Calculated the proper way, the divorce rate is more in the 14%-ish range. Sorry, this is just something I see over and over again and I know it’s not calculated properly.</p>
<p>PG- good post</p>
<p>Back to roommate issues. My D is going into her 4th year with the same 4 suite mates. I do not know how they do it but somehow they work out the “issues”</p>
<p>well roombug didnt work for my son. He was chosen by another student and his facebook page looked like he was real social and a happy go lucky type of person.</p>
<p>from the moment he arrived no eye contact, no converstation, only interested in being with his hs buds. My son was looking forward to meeting someone from another state and maybe making a new friend. Now they dont even talk.</p>
<p>I still dont know how his parents let him leave home and fly 1500 miles to a new school. I feel sorry for him. The only positive note is that he minds his own business and respects my sons time and property.</p>
<p>We shall see this is only our second week. If someone can change him? my son can.</p>
<p>So dont put too much weight on what someone writes on roombug or facebook. It is not all its cracked up to be.</p>
<p>PG, details, details ;)</p>
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<p>This is like comparing apples and avacadoes. One critical difference is that in all of your examples…those situations are not involving people who are living in your very personal living space…sometimes with little/no privacy. You don’t have to worry about co-workers waking you up at some odd hour because they come home drunk, “borrowing” intimate personal items you keep in your personal living space, or bringing guests home without prior consultation with other roommates. </p>
<p>The college random roommate situation is also not remotely realistic to life after graduation. When you’re seeking roommates, you can reject roommates who aren’t compatible and no one will stop you from rooming with close friends and those with whom you feel the most comparable. Moreover, with roommate contracts…roommates can and do boot out roommates who violate them…especially when it comes to noise/guests. </p>
<p>One set of roommates actually booted someone out after only a few months because he was too noisy and didn’t comply with the clause on guests(All roommates must be given at least 3 days notice before guests arrive and guests…even SOs cannot become effective roommates by inertia).</p>
<p>Random selection can lead to some interesting pairings. This is kind of fun: [Did</a> You Know? Famous College Roommates (PHOTOS)](<a href=“Did You Know? Famous College Roommates (PHOTOS) | HuffPost College”>Did You Know? Famous College Roommates (PHOTOS) | HuffPost College)</p>
<p>American U. studied this issue for years, and found that, on balance, students ended up slightly happier with random selection. (It may be because, however, that they were additionally disappointed that the matching didn’t work.)</p>
<p>My niece’s roommate at Kenyon was Neil Young’s daughter. They roomed together for 4 years. They are very good friends but my niece would never have picked her to room with. She (his daughter) is kind of off the wall. </p>
<p>My cousin’s husband was roommates with Al Gore at boarding school. They’ve remained very close and Al got him appointed Chairman of the FCC during Clinton’s first term.</p>
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<p>Sorry Pizzagirl, but when you divide the divorce rate by the marriage rate (i.e. comparing apples to apples), you get exactly 50%. The divorce rate is 3.4 per 1,000 and the marriage rate is 6.8 per 1,000 (source:CDC [FASTSTATS</a> - Marriage and Divorce](<a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm]FASTSTATS”>Referral Page - FASTSTATS - Marriage and Divorce)). Your method compares the incidence of divorce in a short time period with the prevalence of marriage over a long one, which isn’t good math.</p>
<p>On the original topic, I agree with those who say that random roommates are a good thing in that they force students to learn to adapt and live with people who are different to them. I think people who chose to live with a high school friend or something “familiar” are depriving themselves of this.</p>
<p>I just think that random roommat-ing is so weird, even though it’s the most common. It is just unbelievable to me that anyone could ask two (or more!) strangers to live together for a year. I don’t think it’s necessarily a life lesson, because when would anyone ever decide to do something so outlandish again? No wonder there are often difficulties. On the other hand, it’s amazing to me how well it often ends up working out. My daughter was paired with someone random her first year and though they did not become friends, they co-existed peacefully, of course, and they had a positive experience. I just think that it’s a totally bizarre part of the college experience.</p>