Ah, accepted student pages. I’d be lying if I said the posts that my potential future classmates wrote on your walls had no affect on my decision whatsoever. You’ve really helped me to get a “vibe” off of the schools I considered-- and in addition, you’ve opened the floodgate that is searching for a roommate.
For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, an accepted students page is typically a Facebook group monitored by current students of a college. Newly accepted students will join these groups in an effort to connect with their future peers and, you guessed it, find a roommate. Possibly the most stressful part of the college process beyond, you know, getting accepted, is finding a roommate. It feels a whole lot like sifting through the depths of Tinder in hopes of connecting with that one, perfect match.
The first step in finding your soulmate roommate is to make a post in your school’s accepted students page. This step feels crucial, as you want to come off as the best version of yourself. Take a deep breath, and try your best to summarize every single important thing about yourself without writing a novel.
So, let’s say you find someone whose interests mirror yours. Congratulations! Just like online dating, the next step is to message them separately. This can be tricky--how strong do you want to come on? How do you open this conversation with the person who you may commit to living with? This is the danger zone in which so many conversations fall apart, eliminating the chance of being roommates.
If you’ve continued to have consistent conversation--things are looking up. The biggest concern you should have now is which one of you will pop THE question: Will you be my roommate? This doesn’t happen the same way for everyone. Some people just come out and ask it, some will beat around the bush, and some people will just assume it's happening without ever talking about it. Sometimes it feels like there are too many possible bad outcomes to make it worthwhile-- they could be talking to other people, making other plans, or not fully committed to the school yet. In any of these cases, it's important to pick your head up and realize that there are plenty of fish in the sea.
Just try to remember: as cliche as it sounds, if you’re true to yourself the roommate you are meant to be with will come along. At least it’s a more worthwhile pursuit than trying to find commitment on Tinder.
