How should I write my roommate essay to make sure I don't end up with someone I don't want to actually live with? I am well traveled, love studyging, but also like to party sometimes. I just worry that I won't have roommates who are fun as well as studious. Any suggestions on keywords to use?
Hi,
Just be super-honest. My roommate essay was not really as honest as it should have been.... I kind of wrote it like it was still part of the application and said that I wanted "diverse", "international" roommates, which is exactly what I got. In reality I would have been much happier with low-key, down-to-earth, social, roommates, interested in business and entrepreneurship, politics, joining a sorority. It would have been nice to have had some legacy roommates too, or roommates with siblings in the College, to get into some of the social clubs. It also might have been nice to have had roommates from some of the private prep schools like Exeter, because a lot of those folks come into the College with networks, and it can be easier to latch onto a social scene quickly. Also, my freshman year roommates were very religious and very neat, which posed some conflict, since I am neither religious nor neat. They weren't interested in dating out of their faiths, or dating at all, which made hitting the nightlife with the roomies impossible. It would have been nice if they had all been single/ interested in dating; one had a long-term boyfriend, and wasn't as interested in going out and meeting people. Also if you request "social", you might get a more social dorm like Thayer. I was put in Wigglesworth, which has all the rooms up and down a staircase instead of being on a big dorm floor. In Wigg, only two rooms are on a floor, and only 6 per entry way, so you meet far fewer people. Good if you're introverted and want a lot of quiet time; bad if you want to meet people.
Really think about your preferences -- this is one of the most important essays you will write in college!
Congrats on getting in and good luck!
