Researchers: Self-selecting college roommates can improve grades

Roommate-matching services have been criticized as tools that prevent students from meeting diverse people, but their supporters argue that students should be allowed to make their own choices.

Sifting through Facebook data for a roommate who likes the same music, espouses the same politics, and hails from a similar background isn’t just for picky incoming college freshmen: It also could make sense for students seeking an academic advantage weeks before the semester begins.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is among the 40 campuses that have turned to a web-based roommate matching system called RoomSync, which brings together potential roomies in an online repository where students are matched with like-minded peers.

Think of it as a dating site for incoming freshmen hoping to avoid the ever-present irritating roommate. The pen-and-paper questionnaire soon could be a campus artifact.…Read More

Oops! We could not locate your form.