When political science freshman Caty Moore came to LSU, she knew she wanted a random roommate. While deciding whether to room with a friend from high school or with someone completely random, she thought it better to go in blind.

Moore didn’t meet nursing freshman Deja Washington until move-in day. Unlike Moore, Washington originally didn’t want to go completely random, instead preferring to meet someone prior to move-in through LSU’s housing portal. 

The choice to either be assigned a roommate at random, via the housing portal or with someone from high school was not exclusive to Moore and Washington. 

The experience was shared by around 8,000 students who lived in residential halls as of 2021, roughly 2,000 students more than in 2020. 

StarRez is the housing portal that LSU Residential Life uses to match thousands of students to roommates in over 20 residential halls across campus. Through this portal, students are asked a series of questions about their preferences for a dorm, such as the temperature of the room and their typical bedtime, as well as the student’s personality, according to the LSU Residential Life website.

After this application is filled out, students are able to see how closely they matched with others and are given the option to message each student.

Catherine David, associate director for communication and development at LSU Residential Life, says students who use Roommate Finder often have a good experience viewing compatible roommates and connecting through the portal or on social media. 

“Roommate Finder inside the housing portal is like online dating for roommates,” David said.

Washington’s plans to use the portal and be assigned a roommate closely matching her own personality changed when she was too late to sign up for the portal. 

Prior to move-in, she was told she would be living in Miller Hall with three other random girls. Yet, when she got to campus, Washington ended up living in West Laville Hall with Moore. Despite the unexpected start to their rooming relationship, the pair ended up loving it, Washington said.

“The move-in went better than I expected,” she said.

Washington and Moore both stick to themselves throughout the day, not putting too much thought into ground rules for the dorm, the pair explained.

“The only rule we have in place is no yoga in the dorm,” Moore said. 

Having a random roommate, as opposed to a person with a prior relationship, can be a toss-up, Moore said. Although she would be living with someone random, she says that rooming with someone she had already known would be very tiring, explaining that she would likely get annoyed with that person more easily because she is already comfortable with them rather than starting from scratch with someone she just met. 

“You kind of have to learn the person first before the annoyance begins to happen, and it is less likely it will,” Washington said of Moore.

They both agree they have to learn to live with each other every day, a common theme in the relationships of matched roommates. 

Undecided freshman Olivia Vall knew her roommate before coming to college. Vall grew up with her roommate, knowing her for 12 years, during which they were close friends in middle school. Separated during high school, the pair were able to reconnect a week before the roommate deadline closed. 

“I messaged her on Instagram, asking if she wanted to get dinner, and we immediately clicked again,” she said.

Despite finding it comforting to room with a friend, Vall is worried she will become stuck in a bubble and not be able to meet any new friends.

Theater freshman Anna Kathryn Slaton was on the opposite end of the comfort spectrum. 

She was terrified of having a roommate because she knew it was essential for the two to have some kind of understanding in their shared living space. She wanted to know things like whether her future roommate would sleep through their alarm or how late they would be willing to shut off the lights at night, all things the StarRez questionnaire would help with.

Instead of using StarRez, Slaton met her roommate on Instagram in late March. The pair has been texting every day since. 

“Sometimes it’s about rooming related things,” she said. “And other times it’s about Taylor Swift.”

On their first day in the dorm, Slaton and her roommate laid some ground rules, ultimately deciding they were both super flexible with any changes that would arise. 

Communication, like for Washington, Moore and Vall, is their top priority, Slaton said. She feels that there’s an advantage to being comfortable with someone before living with them as it can be easier to speak up when you may feel upset. 

A tip that Residential Life often gives to students is signing a Roompact. This is a software used to make living on campus a better experience by connecting each student to community staff and events. Each student and their roommate can go through the contract and agree on certain ground rules for the dorm. This contract is also available to look back on throughout the year.

“It brings peace to know that everyday when you go home you always have a friend,” Slaton said.