USF students began to move in on campus with their roommates on Aug. 17 in preparation for the upcoming fall semester, according to the USF housing website.

Dorm roommates can have a big impact on the college experience for students. A roommate can impact one’s sense of belonging, academic success and mental health, according to a 2022 research article in the Journal of Public Health Student Capstones.

USF doesn’t currently have a system for students to find compatible roommates, and should create a system that makes that process easier, similar to universities like UCF.

UCF uses a matching system in which students create a profile page that describes them and they have the opportunity to message other students when viewing their page, according to the UCF housing website. USF should use a system such as this to create a better community experience for everyone.

USF should create a system like this to make the process of finding good and compatible roommates easier for students.

Currently, USF provides roommates a short summary of yes or no questions such as “Are you a night person?” or “Do you smoke?” in order to see if there could be compatibility between roommates. 

The questions that USF provides for roommates do not thoroughly represent the personality of an individual. This makes it difficult to tell if you could have a good relationship with roommates until move-in day. Instead USF should allow students to create profiles where they can elaborate more on the type of person they are.

A national study done on over 30,000 college students showed that 47.9% of students had conflicts with their roommates, according to a 2022 research article by the Journal of Public Health Student Capstones.

Having conflicts with roommates could alter a student’s view on college life in a negative way, while a good roommate relationship can make the change of living at college easier, according to a 2022 article by Niche

Finance major Joseph Pennachio has lived on campus for three semesters and has felt the way that roommate experiences can impact the college experience.

“Having a good roommate experience is important because, for many, college is a stressful first encounter on being self-reliant. A student’s roommate could either help relieve that stress or greatly add to it, and I feel that’s something important everyone should keep in mind when sharing a space,” said finance major Joseph Pennachio in an Aug. 18 interview with The Oracle.

Joseph said he believes that for many students, college can be stressful at times and having a bad roommate experience can make this worse and even take away the sense of home and belonging.

Students that feel uncomfortable in their college housing due to roommate conflicts show higher levels of anxiety and stress, according to a 2022 research article in the Journal of Public Health Student Capstones. 

No matter how students may interpret their version of a college experience, it is a formative experience and cherished memory for many. The college experience also shows students new academic and social skills that will help with their career goals. Therefore, students shouldn’t have to worry about a bad roommate affecting this experience. 

USF should incorporate roommate matching to minimize roommate incompatibility which can result in a negative college experience for students. 

The college experience can be greatly shaped by roommates, so it is essential that USF facilitates the process of finding good roommates for students. This will allow students to feel more comfortable in their environment and find a sense of belonging during a big life change.