One of the main things every girl stresses over before leaving for college is finding the perfect roommate.  A lot of girls dream about their roommate being just like them – their other half, their best friend- but finding a perfect roommate is easier said then done. There are numerous steps one must take in order to find a roommate.

Step 1: Post in your college group on Facebook.

Every college has a group – “*Insert College Name here* Class of 2018.” You’ve finally decided on the college you want to attend for the next four years.  Now that you’ve decided on a college, it’s time to find a roommate. The first step in finding a roommate is to post something about yourself in the group on Facebook either starting or ending with “I’m looking for a roommate so feel free to add/message me!” Within the paragraph that you write about yourself, you and every other girl in that college group will state things like “I love to go out, but I can always stay in and watch Netflix,” or “I love staying in shape so I need a roommate that will work out with me.” Once you post the paragraph about yourself, its time to sit back, relax, and wait for the fish to bite.

Step 2: Wait for the likes

You’ve just posted the self-descriptive paragraph in your college group looking for a roommate, now what? Well now, you sit on Facebook for the next two hours constantly refreshing the page to see if you get any notifications of people liking your Facebook post. If someone likes your Facebook post, it means one of two things. For them, it means they could potentially be interested in being your roommate, but for you it means that you can stalk that part of their Facebook that isn’t private to see if you two could potentially become friends, or even maybe roommates.

Step 3: The Friend Request

The friend request is the first big step in finding a roommate. A friend request means that you or the person who requested you is very interested in learning more about you. By accepting a friend request it opens up all new things for both of you. Now you have unlimited access to their Facebook, and can stalk them furthermore to see if you two are compatible.

Step 4: The Inbox on Facebook

WOAH! The Facebook inbox. Now you are really making moves to getting the roommate of your dreams. When you send/receive a message to/from a potential roommate- it probably will start off with the sentence “Hi! This may be creepy but…” After the initial message, it gets less awkward. This is your time to get to know this complete stranger that is messaging you over the internet, and see if you could potentially room with them starting in the fall. Throughout the messages sent you two will probably ask each other questions like “Where are you from,” what do you do on the weekends,” “do you play any sports,” – basically anything to get to know them on the surface. If the inbox conversation goes well, and the two of you seem to get along, the next step is to exchange numbers.

Step 5: Exchange Numbers

Now that the two of you have exchanged numbers, it’s time to further your relationship with each other. Now you can text, call, FaceTime, or even share social media with each other. Now that you have each other’s numbers it is easier for the two of you to talk more, and to see if you are compatible or not. If you take the risk of sharing social media like Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram, with each other,  you are allowing your potential roommate to stalk you even more than just on Facebook. Now they have access to every tweet you post and every picture you share. If you feel it is necessary to share your social media life with your potential roomie, proceed with caution. After all, you don’t want to post something that will scare them away, such as a horrifically embarrassing Snapchat selfie of yourself.

Step 6: Face to Face

If the two of you get to know each other well enough, and feel it is time to take the next step in your relationship, you should meet face to face. This situation could potentially be the most awkward situation you have ever experienced. It is the first time you aren’t going to be able to hide behind a computer or a cellphone. This meet up can go one of two ways – either amazing and you realize this is the person you want to room with, or it could be the worst experience ever, and you question why you even made it past the “Facebook inbox” without realizing how much of a freak this girl was.

Step 7: Success or Failure?

The final step is to decide if this is the person you want to room with. How did your face to face meeting go? If it went well, then you have just found your roommate, if it went horrible then you better go back to step 2 and find other potential roomies who liked your Facebook post.

If all else fails, request a single.