Girls socialize at the Canopy Apartments outdoor area.
Gainesville Apartment Roommate Matching
Once you find an apartment in Gainesville that is perfect for you, the next challenge is finding someone to live with. The University of Florida has a massive student body and plenty of potential roommates to choose from, but how do you pick the right one for you? Some students choose to live with their best friend in a 2 bedroom apartment, others hunt for a roommate on Facebook, but many rely on apartment complexes roommate matching services. This is an attempt by apartment complexes to make filling units a little less random by matching renters based on their lifestyle and preferences. This feature is sought after by many students without a set roommate, but the success varies with everything from horror stories to students finding their closest friends. So, before you fill out what time you go to bed and how clean you are, check out the good, the bad and the ugly with Gainesville apartment roommate matching.
The Bad
Let's start with the bad news. Apartment roommate matching is not a perfect science, and it can be difficult for apartment communities to match 4 strangers in 4 bedroom floor plans. Most often, students are asked to answer questions like how neat/messy they are, the approximate time they wake up and fall asleep and their likes and dislikes. While it is advised that students answer these questions truthfully, that is not always the case. Be aware that often people fill out questionnaires with the lifestyle they want to live, not the one they are actually living. This leads to false matches and eventual conflict. Some students go into roommate matching with high expectations of finding not only a roommate, but a best friend. Make sure that you are prepared for the possibility that, even if your relationship is not hostile, you may not be friends with your roommate. The other issue with apartment roommate matching is that once you're assigned to a person it is usually quite difficult to change roommates. You may have matched on preferences, but roommate matching cannot account for personality clashes.
The Ugly
The hard part of UF apartment roommate matching is this person is still a stranger. If the relationship turns toxic, it is up to you to mitigate the issue and find a way to still share a space. A lot of the times these services only provide a false sense of security for renters who have to live with a random student. There are no guarantees of who the person is and how you will get along with them. There is always going to be risk associated with living with someone who you don't know.
The Good
Fortunately, apartment roommate matching can be great experience. Students, if honest in their answers, can be paired with someone who accurately matches them. The student you are paired with could even be one of the best parts about your time at UF! At the least, apartments that offer roommate matching give students with busy schedules or particular lifestyles the chance to be paired with someone of like characteristics. Check out Gainesville apartments that offer roommate matching.
If you choose to use apartment roommate matching, just be sure to set your expectations accordingly.