June 6, 2024
By Lily Anderson
Copy Editor
This article is part of a four-part in-depth reporting project about college.
With college commitments complete, seniors must now take the step of finding a roommate.
College students spend a lot of time in their dorm room with their roommate, making it essential for students to find someone with whom they get along.
Senior Maya Wachlaczenko, who will be attending Emerson College in Boston, said she is using apps to find a roommate.
“I am following multiple Instagram accounts created by students at my future school and looking out for potential roommates there,” Wachlaczenko said. “I am also on an app called ZeeMee where you can take a short quiz that asks you multiple questions about your living style and helps match you with people with a similar schedule.”
While Wachlaczenko is using technology to identify potential roommates, she said she intends to speak to them before committing to sharing a room.
“I would like to start by direct messaging them on Instagram but hope to one day become close enough to talk about everything with them,” Wachlaczenko said.
“Every single person that’s going to college is as nervous as you are.”
She said she is looking for a roommate who respects her privacy but could also become a close friend.
“I want to dorm with someone who has similar interests to me, especially since I am moving to Boston and do not know anyone in the city yet,” Wachlaczeko said. “I look for someone who shares a common interest with me and who has a passion.”
Wachlaczenko said she is excited to become more independent in college while also sharing her space and life with someone.
“I’m hoping to learn independence but also acceptance, as I will have ample time to learn my roommate’s flaws and quirks while also opening myself up for them to see mine,” Wachlaczenko said.
Like Wachlazenko, Ospina, who will be attending the University of Connecticut in Storrs, said she found her roommate on ZeeMee.
“I still have to meet up with my roommate, but we text each other through iMessage,” Ospina said. “We are both from Jersey. She lives in Passaic County, and we both are in the marching, concert and jazz bands. We have a similar interest in biology and [have] the same type of music and movie interests.”
Ospina said she has mixed emotions when it comes to living in a dorm and having a roommate.
“It is a new experience that I have never experienced before, and I do not know what to expect,” Ospina said. “I feel worried but also excited. I am ready to enter this new chapter of my life and hopefully, we [will] continue to room for the next couple of years.”
Ospina said she hopes to cultivate a healthy relationship with her roommate by having good communication.
“I plan to establish a key set of boundaries within our room, decorate our room and hopefully become good friends with her, meet new people with [her] and have a good first year together.”
Like Ospina, history teacher Mr. Ricciardi, who graduated in 2022 from Stockton University in Galloway, said communication is important when it comes to having a roommate.
“[My roommate and I] communicated with each other. We were very civil with what we wanted,” Ricciardi said. “There are a lot of times where roommates don’t communicate with each other, and it doesn’t work.”
Ricciardi said developing a friendship with a roommate takes time.
“It’s going to happen organically. You cannot rush it,” Ricciardi said.
He said college-bound seniors should have faith that their living situation will work out in the end.
“It makes sense that you’re nervous, but don’t think that you’re out of place,” Ricciardi said. “Every single person that’s going to college is as nervous as you are.”
Ricciardi said if students are struggling with their roommate relationship, they should remind themselves that the living arrangement is not permanent.
“Your roommate is not your college experience,” Ricciardi said. “If you don’t have a magical, amazing roommate your first go around, you have four years.”
