Finding Roommates: Searching for "The One"

Committing to college was the easy part. The challenge is finding a roommate.

It is similar to online dating.  Except rather than signing up for eHarmony, I am a member of both the “UVA Girl’s Roommate Search Class of 2015” group and Roomsurf.com.

The girls in the class of 2015 post a survey about themselves, answering questions such as “preferred temperature of dorm” or “hobbies.”

If I ever look at the group, which I have a few times, and I see someone who seems similar to me, I might shoot them the awkward “Hey! We seem really similar haha/lol” message. Whether or not my potential future roommate answers plays an unfortunate part in my feelings of self worth.

“Is something wrong with me??” I have thought to myself many times.

Sad, huh?

I am not the only one experiencing this.  Both girls and guys have removed tags of ugly pictures of them, set their profile pictures to ones where they look pretty, buff and fun.

It’s all about that first virtual impression.

On roomsurf.com, I filled out a survey that matched me up with other girls.  I can look at my matches and friend them on Facebook. 

eHarmony and Match.com should look into the roommate hunting field, because it has a large market of young people. 

Some of the girls on Roomsurf.com are not even using the free trial version.  They are paying to find that perfect fit.

Roommate hunting is different from online dating because in the latter, there is not a commitment to living together, in close quarters, for a year.

And the situation is high-pressure: a roommate can make or break a college experience.

Old people (high school graduates pre-2000, of course) had it easy.  There was no Facebook or Roomsurf.  Reading through countless surveys, looking for people who look semi normal, and then the awkward messaging was not necessary nor an option. 

So while in the search to find “the one,” I keep one had with fingers crossed and the other on the mouse, scanning Facebook surveys.