The Hunt for College Roommates
Seniors Riley Hull and Jennifer Schmidt wearing all black at a Kennedy football game at Kingston Stadium.
For many high school seniors, deciding where to go to college can be a struggle in itself. Once a college is chosen, more stress can load onto students due to searching for a roommate and deciding where to live.
Some students may just choose to room with a friend, while others turn to Facebook and other apps for finding a roommate. Senior Riley Hull will be attending the University of Iowa next year and chose to room with one of her close friends from high school.
“I’ve been friends with Jen since middle school and we’ve gotten a lot closer because of soccer,” Hull said. “We decided, because we were both going to the University of Iowa, to room together.”
This was an easy choice for Hull, because she knew things would run smoothly when it came to coordinating things.
“It saved me so much more time,” Hull said. “Now that I have senioritis I feel like I wouldn’t want to spend the time to find a roommate.”
However, rooming with a close friend is a new experience that may cause disputes.
“I think because we’re living together there’s gonna be a bit more arguments,” Hull said.
Senior Emily Waterhouse took a different route to find a roommate. Waterhouse will be going to Iowa State University in the fall and wanted to have a roommate that would help her meet new people.
“I think it’s a good idea to room with someone that you don’t know a lot because you’re branching out from your high school and you get to meet a lot of people from that,” Waterhouse said.
Waterhouse is still searching for a roommate and has been using Facebook to see who else is searching too.
“There is a big group chat for people that are looking for roommates and it’s called ‘Iowa State Roommate Finder,'” Waterhouse said. “Everyone posts pictures of themselves and they post about what they are going into, what they are interested in and things like that.”
Choosing a person with similar hobbies and interests can be key to a successful roommate match.
“We both don’t want to go into the Greek life, so that helps because I know that is something that can cause factors of drama,” Hull said. “We also have played soccer together all through high school.”
Waterhouse’s ideal roommate is funny, neat and overall a nice person. Although she has not found her roommate yet, Waterhouse knows what things to discuss before deciding.
“I’ll want to know what they are interested in and just get to know them a little bit to see if we’d actually be good roommates together,” Waterhouse said.
While Hull and Waterhouse took different approaches when searching for a roommate, they both sought out roommates who have the same kind of lifestyle.
Hull wants younger students to know that living with someone random isn’t the only, or better, option.
“People shouldn’t afraid to not room with someone that you don’t know. I chose to room with someone I knew because it would make it easier to put things together and coordinate,” Hull said.
Waterhouse encourages those concerned about finding a roommate to be vulnerable and take risks.
“Don’t just go to your comfortable place,” Waterhouse said. “Branch out and look for new opportunities.”
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