Some seniors decide to pick old friends as college roommates, while others opt to room with strangers

By Kelsey Binion
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Senior Grace Kelley, who is attending IU in the fall, said she is nervous but thrilled to move on from high school and into college.  After all, she, like most seniors, has had to make some of the hardest and toughest decisions of her life. However, one choice makes her especially anxious; she decided not to room with a high school friend.

“I decided to do pot luck to determine my roommate, which means that I took a survey like match.com and will learn who my roommate is in a couple weeks,” Kelley said. “I decided not to room with a high school friend, because I want to meet new people and avoid hanging out with the same high school group. I am not going to forget my old high school friends, but I don’t want it to be like high school in college.”Rooming with a friend has its pros and cons just like rooming with a stranger. Furthermore, sharing a room is an experience that majority of seniors have not experienced and don’t know what to expect. Some seniors that are attending the same college as their friend will decide to room together, while others, like Kelley, will take a risk and meet their roommate when college begins.Unlike Kelley, senior Caroline “Carrie” Barnthouse decided to room at IU with her high school friend. She said  she wants to have someone who she knows and was worried that she would end up with a roommate that she couldn’t relate with.

But according to justcolleges.com, getting along with college roommates has never been easy, friends or not. According to the study, 90 percent of freshmen arrive on campus having never shared a bedroom. Despite that, housing officers promote incoming freshmen not to room with someone they know, because it is an experience that everyone should take part in.

Sean Driscoll, former IU resident assistant, said, “Probably the majority of the roommates did not pick their roommates, but some did. When I was in charge of my kids, which was about 40, I told them to try rooming with a stranger. It is an experience that everyone should share. It isn’t like you have to stick with them forever. Just give it a fair shot.”

Kelley said she shares the same views as Driscoll but was hesitant at first because she was scared that it was not going to work out and her roommate would be weird. As she came around, she said that she saw that it is going to be a good life experience and wants to see if she can live with someone she doesn’t know.

The question arises, though, if best friends make the best roommates. According to collegemagazine.com, it depends on the individual and the relationship between the friends. Some college students said that the two have become closer, while others found that they fought periodically and eventually found a new roommate.

Driscoll said, “When a student rooms with a high school friend he or she knows, it can make for an easier transition. In spite of that, you don’t want to make college a 13th grade. I found that the students that decided to room with their friend hung out with the same people and never really got to experience the college atmosphere.”

Despite that sentiment, Barnthouse said, “I want to continue to hang out with high school friends but make new ones at the same time. I am ready to move on to college, but I won’t completely erase the high school memories. With someone that I know as a roommate will make for a simple transition compared to someone that doesn’t know their roommate until the day of school.”

As for Kelley, she said ultimately rooming with someone she doesn’t know will be a good experience. “I really believe that it will benefit me.” Kelley said, “Who knows, maybe we will turn up best friends.”