What’s Next After Acceptance?
As the Class of 2019 finally make their college decisions following another crazy admissions season, they start to prepare for the next obstacles that come with being a college freshman, tackling the world on their own for the very first time.
The roommate hunt particularly jumps out at incoming freshmen, as they are tasked with finding an ideal partner to navigate this newfound independence with them.
Seniors widely consider this one of the most nerve-wracking parts of registering for college.
Although it is one’s academic success that has brought them to college in the first place, students are now put in the position to describe their personality on social media platforms in hopes to find someone similar to room with.
Typically, students begin the roommate search by entering their university’s incoming class Facebook page, where all admitted students post photos and a short feature on themselves. From there, they like, comment, and direct message a variety of people in an effort to find “the one” that they can somehow manage living in a tiny dorm and sharing everything with.
“Picking what to say and what to post was complicated because you want to show every aspect of your personality just through a couple words and photos. And after posting the real hard part comes, because it’s time to reach out to people,” said senior Kyle McCann.
After the initial outreach out to possible roommates, it is now a game of twenty questions in an effort to make a match. Incoming students not only try to find someone interested in the same housing and living habits, but they also attempt to match majors, sports, or interests in clubs and rushing, all in a limited amount of time before a housing contract is due. And sometimes that frantic process, just like applying to college, can be met with some rejection.
“At first, finding a roommate was very difficult for me. A couple girls even ghosted me, and I even thought that maybe I should be considering different universities. But I kept putting myself out there till I found the roommates that I have now,” said senior Sammy Spivey.
Eventually, some will test their luck with a random roommate draw, while the majority of people will find a person they can see themselves maneuvering the college experience with.
“I finally found someone who is not only the perfect roommate for me, but a friend that I can myself go through all of college with,” said senior Giuliana Morger.