“Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate—and us—know you better” [1].

By repackaging the classic “tell us about you” application essay prompt as a simulated letter exchange, Stanford University highlights the significance of roommates in college life. Most likely, a cramped dorm will be your first “home” away from home. Even better, it will be super cozy and comfortable since you will be able to share the quaint space with a companion – one that may share all of your favorite music, food, TV shows, and more.

How do you find this perfect roommate?

Best case scenario: you already know someone who will be attending the same college as you! You can apply for a room together and bypass the hurdles of finding a roommate from a group of strangers. A potential drawback could be that you may forgo opportunities to meet others since you have the obligation to stay close to your friend. That being said, venturing into strange territory will be less intimidating with someone familiar. However, while some are lucky enough to have a friend that will accompany them in college, it is more likely that you will have to roam outside the bubble of Basking Ridge.

But not to worry; with today’s social networks, in a few clicks, you can connect with thousands of your new classmates on college Facebook groups. Many before you have successfully befriended future classmates and found roommates from social media interactions. People have quickly bonded over shared interests like favorite binge-worthy shows and snacks.

Excitedly, you might request access for Facebook group “[insert college name] Class of 2020.” Ping! Pingpingping! Pingpingpingpingping!!! Your feed is bombarded with yet another “Hi!! My name is… I’m from… I love to play [insert 3 sports and 4 musical instruments]… I also do [regurgitate summary of college resume].” Sigh. You close the window, seeking refuge elsewhere. Beep. What’s this? 116 new messages and you instantly regret joining all the GroupMe chats to meet potential roommates. You’re moments away from blocking everything and everyone. Who knew joining a new community would be so overwhelming?

Bombarded with this influx of information, some have created spreadsheets to consolidate information about people pertinent to roommate seekers. After all, scrolling through paragraphs of “brief” biographies, sleep schedules, study habits, music level preferences, shoe sizes and spirit animals is much more manageable than sifting through all of the posts on the class group feed. When did the roommate search become as involved as (if not more involved than!) online dating?

Voicing her concerns, Kristie Hong ‘16 elaborates, “Finding a roommate is quite tricky, considering that you’re making a huge commitment to someone you’ve likely never met. Personally, I would love a roommate who can be both a workout and study buddy, and who shares at least some common interests with me. I’m not a picky person, but I am concerned about getting a distracting or disrespectful roommate.”

As Hong mentions, there are numerous considerations to keep in mind such as lifestyle preferences. What is your study to hang-out ratio? How often do you plan on working out? Are you an early bird or night owl? Do you share some interests that you can connect through? There are definitely more aspects to keep in mind, but just answering these questions may be quite time-consuming.

Of course, there’s always the feared “random” selection – which is not as random or scary as social stigma deems. You can still indicate your preferences and lifestyle habits, but the college will facilitate the sorting and matching process. Hong adds, “Honestly, since the process of finding a roommate is overwhelming, I may just take the easy route and go for a random roommate.”

If worst comes to worst and your roommate was not quite what you had envisioned, you are not forever bound to him or her.

“I think everyone hypes up trying to find a roommate when you go to college, but you’re not going to be spending too much time in your dorm anyway, and you’re going to be able to change roommates the next semester or year once you establish a friend group at the school,” explains Brian Weil ‘16.

You are not confined to your assigned dorm room for your entire college experience. Often, upperclassmen will move out of their freshmen dorms in favor of on-campus high rises, sorority or fraternity houses, or off-campus apartments with friends they met once classes had started. During free time, students hang out in more spacious areas such as libraries, student centers, cafeterias and even the great outdoors.

When applying for housing, keep an open mind. If the roommate life is too drastic of a change for you, investigate the options your college offers. Many institutions actually provide singles rooms, often grouped in suites, so you can maintain some peace and privacy while having the opportunity to share a living space with a few others. That being said, a random match could end up being one of your best lifelong friends. Transitioning from high school to college life as you depart for the unknown can be daunting, but embracing the change and being open to different choices will be a worthwhile experience.

[1] http://admission.stanford.edu/application/freshman/essays.html