The process of matching first-year roommates takes experience and perceptiveness, said Dean of Students Debbie Nolan at Ursinus College, where the process is done "by hand." The Residence Life staff gets assistance from those who are closest to the process -- second-, third-, and fourth-year students. "They understand the issues," said Nolan.

Based on surveys they fill out, first-year students are generally paired according to their living preferences and needs. The priorities are smoking versus non-smoking or health issues. Also, "Neat versus sloppy has become really important to students," said Ursinus' Nolan, "and hours, such as whether you are a late night person." Another consideration is whether the student wants a single sex or coeducational living area. Most students today request coeducational.

Cindy Zomchek, associate director of residential life at Colorado College, said that each of her first-year students fills out a housing questionnaire, and a computer program then matches roommates based on their answers. Prior to running the computer program, Colorado College hand-assigns quite a few students -- those requiring "medical" singles, those requesting substance-free or quiet wings, those who already know who they want to room with, etc. Any student who is dissatisfied with their room or roommate can put their name on a wait list to change rooms on a first-come, first-served basis.

Officials at the University of Texas at Austin developed "The Profiler" to help students find the perfect roommate. The first step is responding to a survey originally created by the Student Government about study habits, college of study, on-campus and off-campus options, and lifestyle preferences. "The Profiler" does not select a roommate for students, but gives them a way to contact others with a certain set of answers. Once they have found a compatible roommate, students can indicate that choice on their on-campus housing application or coordinate finding off-campus accommodations together.

Students are also paired based on a specific first-year course requirement. At Macalester College, all students must take one first-year course, limited in size to 16 students. In some cases, these students are also required to live near each other in the same residence hall. Ursinus College is now starting to house students based on sections of their Common Intellectual Experience (CIE), an interdisciplinary seminar program required of all first-year students. College officials know that the debate spurred by the readings and discussions spills over beyond the classrooms into the residence halls. Faculty who teach each section can more comfortably drop by if students are living together.

Beyond dividing the smokers from the non-smokers, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology doesn't use surveys to match up roommates at this top engineering and science college. "There's no particular science to the process. Our students are mostly all engineering students. They get along very well with each other," says Vice President of Student Life Peter Gustafson. One notable exception: Students from the same high school or hometown who ask to room together for the first year. "We have more room change requests from those students that request a certain roommate. They learn that they don't have as much in common as they originally thought."

Gustafson offers the following suggestions for those preparing to move away to college this fall:

• First, be prepared to compromise. Students are going to be living with a roommate in a residence hall room that's small in nature, maybe 14 feet by 14 feet. "You're sharing living space, not owning living space. Students need to compromise about available space in the refrigerator, the type of music played on the stereo or CD player and study time. They have to learn to get along with another person, from another region or another country. It's a big adjustment for many students," he said.

• Second, communicate with your roommate before move-in day. A student should get to know his or her prospective college roommate before arriving on campus. "Students need to know what each one of them is bringing before they arrive. This keeps each student from bringing their own refrigerator, stereo/CD player and computer games, and then having their parents take the extra stuff back home," Gustafson says. Colleges provide the home telephone number of roommates after room assignments have been made. Most students begin corresponding by e-mail during the late summer. The parents of students get to know each other, too, before move-in day. "In some cases, students begin planning their lofts by e-mail and have definite ideas of how to make the best use of their residence hall room space," Gustafson said.

If a roommate conflict arises, students can talk to their dorm's Resident Assistants (RA), who are typically trained in conflict mediation. "Roommates are encouraged to stay together and learn negotiating skills," said Debbie Nolan. "These are amazing skills to have, skills that every CEO needs. But sometimes students are not capable of putting those skills to use, or if there is just too much distraction from academics, we will make a change."

Officials at Macalester College noted that living on campus with a roommate is a learning experience that leads to personal growth. They ask students to consider how open-minded they are to differences, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, and encourage them to listen, be open to compromise, and to learn how to express themselves.

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