Find a New College Roommate ASAP with These 6 Pointers

By Amelia Woolard

Congratulations! You’ve just landed an amazing off-campus crib that fulfills every one of your expectations. Not only is it spacious enough to house your belongings, but it also boasts a perfect location just minutes from your university and your favorite coffee shop. Even your parents agree that your new pad is an ideal place to sleep, study, and take a breather from the stress of college life – and you know how hard they are to please!

There’s only one thing missing from this picture-perfect scene: a roommate to share the experience with. Aside from helping with the rent and monthly bills, a great roomie will keep you entertained during the monotonous days of studying and be your culinary partner in crime when it comes to cooking nutritious dinners and meal prepping for the week ahead. Most importantly, they’ll leave the drama at the door and add a certain sense of camaraderie to those days when you feel like the world has turned against you – hey, it happens!

But, as the first of the month draws closer, you might be stressing out about finding a roommate on such a short time frame. Luckily, your pals at uCribs have been there before, and we know the secret to finding a roomie you’ll love lies in widening your so-called “net” as much as possible. So, in the spirit of making new connections or reviving old ones to benefit of your roommate search, uCribs wants to share our top 6 pointers with you, which will aid you in the search for a college roomie.

Turn to friends-of-friends.

If you’re reading this blog, then you’ve probably already exhausted your inner circle when it comes to roommate-hunting. Or, maybe you’ve heard that oft-quoted warning about shacking up with your bestie or another close friend leading to disaster. Although there are exceptions to the rule, you might feel a bit nervous about placing strain on an already-fulfilling friendship without any issues to speak of – and we certainly can’t blame you there. No matter your situation, there is a second-best alternative to rooming with friends: scouting out friends-of-friends.

When it comes to finding someone, who has great roommate and friend potential, it’s hard to beat friends-of-friends. This possible roomie (and friend) will already come with great references – from a current friend, of course!  Plus, it will give you a leg-up when it comes to being invited to social events within their mutual friend group, meaning you have the potential of expanding your social circle even further. You’ll most likely find friends-of-friends in the least likely of places, like a lab partner with a younger sibling in need of semester digs, or a neighbor of yours during your high school years, who now attends your university. Trust us, the world is much smaller than you might think—six degrees of separation, anyone?

Try Facebook groups dedicated to your student body.

You already turn to the Internet for just about everything under the sun. For this semester alone, you’ve probably purchased secondhand textbooks online, paid tuition and fees through an online portal your university provides, and even located the very apartment you’re looking to share. But, did you know that you can also use social media – and, more specifically, Facebook groups – to find a potential roommate? Yep, these university-based groups on the world’s most popular social media platform can be useful for many aspects of college life, aside from crowdsourcing the best time to hit the cafeteria!

Why not allow this incredible social media tool to aid your roommate hunt? All you have to do is post a short description about the type of person you’re looking to bunk with, a photo of your new space, and a flattering selfie – all the better to make a good first impression with! Then, let the Facebook group do the rest of the work for you. Even if you don’t immediately find a match, at least you will have used this medium to further publicize your hunt. That way, group members can circle back to your post, if and when they meet someone you could potentially hit it off with.

Sign up for an online roomie-finding service.

Speaking of online resources, Facebook isn’t the only medium you can use to find a roommate without having to leave your apartment. Nowadays, there are a number of roommate-finding services that extend well beyond Craigslist – which, let’s face it, can now be dicey. Unlike this old standby for classified listings, today’s roommate-matching services are more high-tech than ever before, making them a premier option when you’re in the throes of roommate hunting.

Instead of posting an ad and hoping for the best, sites like RoomieMatch.com and Roommates.com add an unprecedented layer of protection against those not-so-awesome roommate contenders out there. These platonic matchmaking services make it easy to filter the type of roommate you want, using criteria set by you personally. From there, the services email you potential matches – which means that you can spend less time scrolling through user profiles and more time decorating your new pad. Both websites use fraud detection software and secure messages to ensure that the person you’re talking to is legitimate, and all sensitive messaging is stored securely. Additionally, both resources employ human help, whose team members moderate the roommate database and remain on-hand to assist with any customer service needs, just in case you have any questions about the process.

Attend a college event of any kind.

Searching for a roommate can feel like an impossible task at times – that is, until you remember that just about everyone you go to school with is, most likely, also looking for a roommate. The most opportune time to find one, however, is before the semester actually starts. This won’t be always be the way events unfold, depending on your situation, but it’s best to get out there and start schmoozing with your peers as soon as possible. There’s no telling when your future roomie will be looking for a new lease on college life – get it?!

It’s never a bad idea to approach meeting a potential roommate like you would meeting a new friend, so take your roommate hunt to the very places you would go to scout out new college pals. Sporting events, extracurricular activities, off-campus socials, and volunteer trips are all fair game when it comes to connecting with people, who might make an awesome roommate. Strike up a conversation with someone who piques your interest, and you might just find that your approach results in a genuine connection. While there’s no guarantee that this person is also in the market for someone to live with, as the old saying goes, you’ll never know until you ask!

Post flyers on-campus near areas with heavy foot traffic.

This approach is definitely old-school – seriously, when’s the last time you actually printed something besides an assignment? But, bear with us for a moment. As unlikely as it may sound, there are young adults out there without a Facebook or Instagram profile, especially now that there’s a movement taking place to make time for more screen-free self-care. That’s exactly why you should add this tactic to your arsenal of roommate-finding tools, if you want to catch the attention of someone who may not be as active on social media as yourself.

Before you print out hundreds of costly copies, though, consider the locations where your ad will get the most foot traffic. This will maximize your exposure and increase the odds that the right person will reach out to you. The cafeteria, library, student organization center, coffee shop, fitness complex… heck, even the bathrooms can be ideal for drawing attention to your cause when you need it most. You’ll want to ensure that your flyers pass any university-mandated signage rules, but you should be home free, once administrators realize you’re simply in need of a responsible, friendly roommate. Just don’t forget to include all relevant info, like your contact information!

Post to your high school’s “class of” page.

We know – you’re so over high school and everything associated with it that it’s not even funny. But, when it comes to looking for a roommate, you should never skip over any place that might lead to finding that special someone. When you think about it, you have to admit that you’ll probably have a lot in common with friends (or friends-of-friends), who attended the same classes and suffered through four years of mystery meat lunches of high school along with you. See how much you have in common already? That’s why you should reactivate your notifications for your high school’s “class of” page, where old classmates – and, potentially new university peers – are still chatting, connecting, and reminiscing.

If you chose to enroll in a college or university hundreds of miles from your hometown, this avenue might not be as fruitful as you’d like. However, if you’re attending a popular state university or a smaller institution within driving distance of your hometown, you can bet that at least a few of your former high school classmates have now become your college peers. Some former classmates might have relocated, too, enrolling in a nearby community college, vocational program, or other post-high school opportunity. In this scenario, you might not realize that they’re searching for a new crib in your current city. So, reintroduce yourself to your “class of” Facebook page, and see which familiar faces might be in search of an awesome, fun roommate. (Hint: that’s you, BTW!)

When it seems like everyone’s already settled into their off-campus cribs, finding a suitable college roommate can feel like an insurmountable task.  You’ll never know who’s looking for a new place to hang their hat, though— unless you cast a wide “net” that extends all the way from your current college campus to your high school alma mater. Bust out that old printer, take some dreamy apartment shots, and open your mind to the possibility that your next roommate could be someone you already know through a friend, or is a future pal just waiting to be discovered. With these pointers at your disposal, you’ll place yourself in an optimal position to welcome home a new roomie faster than you might have initially expected!

Share this article: