It’s a little early to start stressing out about your freshman year college roommate, but we know there a few of you out there who have already started freaking out about it. Don’t worry - we are here to give you some advice and some perspective! Jaclynh, a junior at Boston College, gives us the inside scoop of what freshman dorms are like and how roommates are decided at BC!
Freshman year of college is a time of transitions: moving out of your parents’ house, managing all of your time, maintaining a budget, and, most importantly, sharing a room with someone else. As one of the most daunting aspects of starting college, finding (and liking!) a roommate certainly causes stress. Should you pick your roommate, or should you go with your luck and do a random draw? What happens if you don’t like your roommate? What if it doesn’t work out?
In order to relieve worrisome incoming students, many colleges provide matchmaking services that help students find a roommate. In particular, Boston College has a portal which has every freshman answer a survey, asking each and everyone of them what their sleeping, studying and socializing patterns are. The portal then find others who are most compatible based on the survey results and students can view their matches. You can send messages and start a conversation with prospective roommates through the portal. Since the popularity of Facebook has skyrocketed, most people typically do a thorough Facebook check before inboxing people to find a match!
This system is great because it starts introducing people to each other before school even starts! In fact, I lived in a quad my freshman year and used this portal to find all three of my roommates. Despite the fact that one transferred last year, the other two girls are still my two best friends! I definitely regard myself as one of the lucky few, because not that many work out that way! There are definitely an overwhelming amount of success stories, meaning roommates don’t ruin each other’s lives, but for many, their freshman roommate is just that - their freshman roommate. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing! There are some people who would be totally okay with their roommates being randomly chosen for them, but for those who prefer to have a bit more control, Boston College has great resources that allow freshman to find the perfect roommate.
Read on to find out what freshman dorms at Boston College are like!
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