I was just thinking back to the hundreds of accepted students that came to Penn for ConnectED day a few weeks ago, a day that feels startlingly recent for something that took place a year ago for me. I remember taking the train up from school and meeting another girl from Delaware, who I’m now good friends with, for the first time. That day, as we met other students, we nervously travelled in herds through the various events, to dinner at Houston Hall, and eventually to the basketball game together that night. I didn’t know it then, but many of the future Quakers I connected with are still some of my good friends today. After trading numbers that day, it was helpful to talk to people throughout the rest of the school year and over the summer and share excitement, nervousness, and our future thoughts and hopes for our time at Penn.
A few months later, when people started the whole roommate search, posting bios about themselves on the Facebook page, I wasn’t sure how to feel. I’d heard a wide variety of mixed opinions about the roommate finding process, from people who swore that “going random” was the quintessential college experience, to others who cautioned me away from possibly living with someone I wouldn’t be compatible with. My older sister had met her freshman roommate through a mutual friend and had lived with her ever since, and I was hesitant about living with someone I’d never met before. As I looked more into housing options, I learned about residential programs, specific halls designated for people with a common interest in a theme, and after reading the descriptions, I decided I wanted to apply for the Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship program in the quad.
One of the girls I’d met on ConnectED day, Laura, reached out to me, asking about my plans for rooming, and I mentioned the residential program. She told me she was also interested in it, and after a few more nervous texting encounters that we laugh about now, Laura popped the question, and I accepted, and the rest is history!
Even though I met my roommate in person and it has worked out wonderfully, most people I know at Penn are very happy with their rooming situation. A lot of people meet each other through the Facebook page and decide to live together if they have similar interests and seem compatible, but I know a lot of friends who went random and room with people they get along with really well. A surprising amount of my friends also live in singles and absolutely love it because it provides them a good balance between living in a hall with their friends and having some privacy and time to themselves.
Above all, I’d advise you to keep an open mind and to be flexible about what you’re looking for in a roommate. More often than not, a roommate may not necessarily be your best friend, but as long as you respect each other’s boundaries and are understanding of each other’s schedules, it will turn into a great relationship. Living with someone not in your family for the first time in college is definitely a memorable, unique experience, and I know that Laura and I will always have a special relationship that can only be formed through experiencing the ups and downs of our first year of college together.
