Most high school seniors are eager to leave high school and start the next chapter of their life. College is often the most popular path, especially at PV, but before seniors can leave there are still many important decisions to make.
Finding a roommate, either for the dorms or an apartment, is a challenging task. Thankfully social media has given rise to a new method.
Through popular platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, people are able to connect with their friends and even meet new people. As these platforms have grown astronomically in popularity, people have found creative ways to use them to overcome obstacles like finding a roommate. Students have used them to create groups or pages with the purpose of meeting new people who are planning to attend the same university.
These groups and pages are commonly created by either the university themselves or future students with the desire to connect themselves with other students. A new one for each class is usually created at the beginning of that class’s senior year, giving future students plenty of time to meet new people.
Since these pages are still relatively new, not everyone knows that they are there. Senior Gabby Mowbray found out about these pages through her older siblings. “My two older siblings went to Iowa State so they told me about the Facebook page that they used as well to find their roommates,” Mowbray said.
On these pages, students will post a short biography of themselves that may include what they want to major in or even what type of music they like. Additionally, they will post pictures that show their personalities, interests and their social media handles where people may contact them.
Mowbray used the “Iowa State Class of 2025” Facebook group to find her roommate, and she was glad that these pages gave her the ability to find someone to room with. “I think finding a roommate through a social media page is more beneficial (than other methods) because it allows you to branch out and meet new people,” Mowbray explained.
Some, however, think finding someone to comfortably room with is hard over social media and would prefer to room with someone they know. Senior Maddie Smithers was active on these pages but decided not to use them to find a roommate. “I do think I could have found someone very similar to me but I feel like that would’ve been super difficult through social media,” Smithers noted.
While these pages might not work for everyone, the rise of social media has provided new opportunities for students to expand their horizons and find people at their college of choice.
