As the spring semester ramps up, seniors are faced with many important decisions, one of which being who they are going to live with for their first year of college. As the years have gone by, there have been increasingly more platforms for students to look for potential roommates on, including Instagram, Bunky, and Meet Your Class, just to name a few.
As a result, rising freshmen aren’t having to wait for randomized roommates as much because of platforms designed to help with this search.
“I’m very active on Bunky,” said Sophie Price (‘26). “You make your profile, add your interests and preferences, and people can pass or like your account. [The app] prompts a conversation and you go from there.”
Being able to look at someone’s profile can aid in starting a conversation.
“I like to go through their profile and see what they have in common with me. I typically end up leading a lot of the conversations, which can get hard; I definitely would prefer to have more of a mutual conversation rather than a one-sided one,” said Price.
Caleb Gurbaxani (‘26), who is considering attending the University of Georgia, commented on the use of social media to find a roommate.
“I didn’t even realize that you could go onto the freshman [Instagram] page and message people [to find a roommate]. That seems like a pretty good idea, but at the same time, it would be kind of intimidating to see everyone’s bio and reach out to ask if they want to spend an entire year living [with you],” said Gurbaxani.
On the other hand, some people know exactly where to start.
“I personally got really lucky with my roommate. [For the two people that I reached out to,] I sent the same thing saying, ‘Hi, I’m Noa, and I’m from Brookhaven. You look really cool,’” said Noa Robertson (‘26). “It worked because I found my roommate on the second try.”
As students begin to look for their roommate, there are certain qualities they keep in mind. Ava Redick (‘26) was thinking that she wanted someone who compliments her personality and values.
“[I want to live with someone] who is funny, likes to go out, and wants to try new things or do different clubs and activities,” said Redick.
Naa Besa Annan (‘26) was aware that as more acceptance letters come out, more seniors will commit to a college and begin their roommate search on various online platforms.
“I do not [think it will be harder to find a roommate the later I commit] because there will be more people that know they are going there for sure, and more people will have their [photos and bio] posted. It’s good if you [lock in a roommate] early, but it’s not going to be a bad thing if I wait until later [in the semester],” said Annan.
Some students have compared the roommate apps to other apps with a similar layout.
“[Finding a roommate is] like a dating app, [especially in regards to how you match with] people,” said Price. “I am very excited to find my roommate for Emory.”
