How many clichés should I put in the post advertising myself? Do I message others first? Am I falsely advertising myself as someone who wants to work out? If I start talking to people, should I try to make small talk with them every day, or will that make me look clingy? Is it okay to double text? How long should I wait before I ask them the questions I really want to ask?

I’m not talking about scoring a Tinder date. I am talking about finding a college roommate.

After gaining admission into a college, new worries set in for a prospective student. Financial aid and merit scholarships will take a while longer to announce, so my brain has diverted its anxiety into another outlet: my future living arrangements.

Finding a roommate feels like scoring an online internet date, according to the University Primetime website. The website also recognizes the main method for today’s roommate advertisement, the cliché profile post on the college Facebook groups. Many colleges require freshmen to live on campus for at least the first year of enrollment, and most likely we all will have at least one roommate. Dorm life is a large part of the college experience, so we should not try to avoid it. Instead, students like me are concerned how to have the best possible dorm life.

According to the For Rent website, your choice of roommate should align with your own priorities as an individual. So, ask yourself: what do I want to take away from college? (Besides the monstrous, impending student debt. But I digress.)

In a lot of cliché posts in the Facebook groups, people identify their priorities at college. The people who heavily prioritize their education usually explicitly state such, as do the people who will attend college parties and social events at any given opportunity. University Primetime lists some typical questions: “Do you drink?” “Do you smoke?” “How close do you want to be?” and “Are guests okay?” Regardless of what you want to do with your college education and experience, I think it wise to look for roommates who possess the same priorities and motivations.

This brings up another issue: How similar or different should roommates be?

For Rent voices that being around different people improves one’s social skills. I do believe this, as you are exposed to new perspectives and ideologies when you room with people different from yourself. This can pose some problems, though. Let’s say that you are a very Type-A person, and you want to be less of a stress ball. You could look for a roommate who is much more laid back, and hope that his or her easygoing nature rubs off on you. I am pretty sure I have found my roommate (thankfully). We are both on the pre-medicine track, we both participate in school productions, we both identify as gay, we both voraciously consume tea, and we are conscious of our hair and fashion taste. The commonalities are quite scary; but are they too much?

In my opinion, they are not. Our similarities have created many pleasant conversations and have opened up further conversation, rather than fostering stereotypical dull drear between two people trying to force a friendship. The more similarities we discover, the more comfortable we get with one another. Finding a roommate is different from finding a friend, because one does not live with a friend day-in and day-out. I love some of my friends dearly, but I know for certain we would not fare well if we had to live together.

Some people dodge the whole roommate search dilemma altogether because they know they will room with friends from their high school careers. While this probably would not work for me, who am I to say that this would not work for anyone else? Not all students have this luxury if they are the only person from their high school attending a particular college, but it’s a possibility that should not be ruled out immediately.

If you are the brave soul who chooses to select roommates through the college’s random assignment option, I applaud your courage. Some people like this option because of lack of prior knowledge of one’s roommates: it is a refreshing and involved experience. I, however, am a creature who prefers to know things prior to any engagement. You will definitely not find me signing up for random roommate selection, which means you probably will not see me on the show “Married at First Sight” either.

If you have not made a solid college choice yet, please do not use this column as an excuse to put the cart in front of the horse. There is a specific way to go about the college process, and I feel it is irresponsible to promise someone to be his or her roommate when you still need to make decisions for yourself. Join the Facebook groups to get to know new people, though. This is the time to branch out and experience adulthood with thousands of peers who are your age.

The resolution of our senior year quickly approaches, and our dive into adulthood is imminent. Do not be afraid not only to discover newfound interest in others, but also an interest in yourself. As you survey others with your multitude of questions, make sure that you are answering the questions yourself.