At NDSU, first-year and transfer students can use an online platform to find a compatible roommate.
Students at NDSU are able to find and select a roommate with similar interests several months before arriving on campus to begin classes.
The NDSU department of residence life offers an online platform so incoming, first-year and transfer students can find the most compatible roommate. Students create a profile and complete a questionnaire to determine similar interests with other students who also have completed the process.
“It really made me evaluate what I deemed as something that was completely necessary for me to be comfortable and things that I could let slide,” said Tatum Limke, NDSU freshman from Hillsboro, North Dakota. “It helped me set some boundaries.”
The questionnaire includes questions like how outgoing are you, how do you view your level of neatness, how do you deal with conflict and how often will you be involved in campus activities. All responses include a Likert scale where respondents can decide where they fit best between the two extremes.
“The goal of providing this resource is to ease the process of making connections and building community, which is an important part of the college experience,” said Rian Nostrum, director of residence life at NDSU.
Students are able to look at other profiles and see their percentage of compatibility. Messages can be sent to other compatible student participants to further connect and determine if they would like to be roommates. Roommate requests are managed in the program.
Limke said her and her roommate were able to talk about plans for their room ahead of time, and set up a time to meet each other. They were even able to connect with their suite mates prior to move-in day.
“My roommate and I are very close! We were able to get to know each other very well before moving in, so it was a really natural process when it finally came to living together. We have very similar habits, so we’re able to hold each other accountable. I would consider my roommate and suitemates to be some of my best friends,” Limke said.
New incoming students can create their profile, complete the questionnaire and request a roommate beginning in December. Roommate assignments are made in March.
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