Homie roomie

Finding out who you’re rooming with may be the most nerve-wracking yet thrilling aspect of coming to a boarding school. You fill out a long survey, try to be honest, and then cross your fingers, hoping the school matches you up with someone you can get along with. It's like opening a mystery box that holds the fate of who you'll be rooming with for possibly the next four years, but certainly at least one.

I won’t lie. The roommate survey is useful. The questions are detailed and diverse, ranging from "What atmosphere do you prefer in your room?" to "Do you make noise in your sleep?" These questions exist to prevent the small inconveniences that can turn into serious arguments. Knowing whether someone's a night owl or an early riser, for example, definitely makes residential life easier. 

However, despite the effort, the roommate pairing system is not perfect. The biggest issue is that people don't always answer truthfully. As students fill the survey out, they subconsciously fill in choices that they think make them the ideal roommate, rather than who they truly are.  Perhaps you say you are tidy because you would like to be tidy, or you say you prefer to learn quietly when you actually prefer music in the background to focus. 

Another factor is that the surveys are not necessarily meant to glean an understanding of your personality. You may know a person's sleeping habits, but not whether they like to gossip or if they would rather keep to themselves. Two individuals can share commonalities in residential lifestyle but vary in personality and ways of communication. The survey ought to include such questions in order to more holistically gauge not only a person’s way of life but their personality as well.

If there were one thing I could change about the survey, I would include a short-answer section, such as "What kind of roommate are you seeking?" or "What usually annoys you?" These open-ended questions would tell us a lot more than a mere checkbox ever could.

In the end, I think Mercersburg Academy does its best to find every student their best match. I also acknowledge that it is not easy to pair up more than a hundred new students each year. Sometimes it works out perfectly, and you become best friends with your roommate. Other times, it just barely meets expectations. You and your roommate end up merely coexisting in the room but never forming a personal connection (which, in my opinion, is still okay). But even if the match is not ideal, learning to live with another person with whom you may not share much in common can teach you a lot about patience, respect, and flexibility—qualities that go beyond what you learn in the classroom.