Roommates and Living At Barnard
As a first year, you could be placed in a double, triple, or quad-style room. Each situation has its perks, and all result in different experiences. While you can't indicate which room-style you prefer, there is an option to request a room with someone you know. While I had lived away from home before (I came to Barnard after 3 years of boarding school), I still had concerns about who I would be living with, and my feelings weren’t unique. Many of my peers admitted to feeling nervous about Barnard’s roommate matching system; however, the majority of this group could tell you they are highly content with the outcome of their living situation, specifically their roommate. Barnard matches first year students up by hand (not a machine!) to ensure students the most comfortable living space possible their first year. I was skeptical, because how could they figure out who my best match was with a few questions?
Roommates!
But, like many others, I found myself satisfied with the outcome. My roommate and I immediately hit it off and are best friends today. Now sophomores, we still dine, study, and live together in a suite. The thing that worked for us (and something I’ve found in many successful friend-roommate relationships) is that we were roommates first. Yes, our friendship began immediately after meeting, but while our friendship developed, we learned how to live together, one of the trickiest and most complicated settings to know someone. However, because of this understanding we developed through living together, our friendship was a lot more solid than most of my other friendships from my first year. Also considering how different she is socially (we don’t have any mutual friends), it is likely we never would’ve became friends had Residential Life not paired us. So, while you have the option of finding someone on your class Facebook group and hoping to avoid a weird roommate through “random selection,” remember that Barnard’s roommate matching system isn’t random, and would be in your favor to leave your match up to fate!
Best,
Amara
ab4208@barnard.edu
An example of a triple
An example of a double