For seniors, after deciding which college they will be attending, the main thing on their mind is their perfect match. Finding a roommate has changed with the growing prominence of technology. There are several ways to seek out your other half.

The first method is becoming more and more common. The Eharmony method using a third party website called room surf to input the qualities you are looking for in a friend. The website then pairs you with various matches who fit your description. As 35% percent of newlyweds found their match online this means of pairing is proven to work well.

The next way is the blind-date. So you have a friend who knows someone that is going to your same college and they swear ya’ll would get along great. So what do you do? You trust your friend, it’s move in day, you both look at each other say, “Are you Fred’s or Sally’s friend?” You both say yes and that’s that. It might be a little awkward at first but your mutual friend has not failed.

These days connecting with someone has taken a different route. Social media courtship is a new flirt tactic often used. It starts out innocent enough with a like here and a favorite there. Then it grows with more frequent interaction like a comment with a winky face. This occurs in the roommate search as well. You begin by liking your prospective roommate’s post on the class page. Then it escalates to clicking through every photo of them on their profile to see if you have similar interests. Eventually you build up the courage to shoot them a message and hope that it is well received.

The most traditional form of finding your significant other is the assigned roommate or arranged marriage. The college randomly assigns you a roommate. You cross your fingers and hope for the best. This could go one of two ways. You grow to love and appreciate the quirks, differences and benefits of the person you have been paired with. Or you are miserable, feel trapped, alone, and disconnected, wishing you could have made your own decision.

The next method is one of the most heartbreaking. You attend accepted students weekend with open arms and an open mind hoping to find a roommate. You sit next to the right person; it must be fate because you two end up having similar values, hobbies, and lifestyles. You get along great and plan to link up later in order to fill out the requested roommate forms. You message him and (s)he never responds. You guess he decided it was great while it lasted but you both would be better if it ended. You find yourself asking what you could have done wrong or what you could have done differently? Did you come on too strong? I guess you’ll never know.

Sometimes the solution to finding a roommate seems easy. Your best friend gets accepted to the college where you have enrolled so it seems logical to room with them. You both agree this will be great but as your year progresses you find your friend is fun to be around but not everyday. They have that one habit that annoys the life out of you and refuse to let you do homework. You guys decide that you were better off as friends. In the dating world this is better known as the “friend zone”.