Madeline Bryce/Daily Nexus

With the beginning of the 2025-26 school year approaching, freshmen at UC Santa Barbara may have physically survived the gauntlet of room selection, but some have found that their relationships with their roommates may not fare as well. 

Picking roommates is a notoriously stressful process, with your decision having the ability to shape the entire trajectory of your first year. While some people decide to let fate have its way and choose random, many other freshmen roll the dice and pick their own. Penelope Maradona, incoming first-year biology major, described her roommate picking process. 

“I connected with my roommates on Bunky because I really identified with their descriptions. They love to thrift, tan and they’re as down for a night out as a night in, which I think is just a super rare combination,” Maradona said. 

However, many freshmen soon realized that picking their roommates is just one bump in the road, and a much larger one loomed in the distance. The room selection process at UCSB has been described as “fighting for a spot in a Titanic lifeboat” by several students. Room selection is where you must reevaluate all your life priorities, and also when your roommates decide to show their true colors. Elodie Song, incoming first-year actuarial science major, explained her situation. 

“My roommate who described herself as ‘chill’ and just ‘here for vibes’ had a full-on meltdown when San Miguel was the last on-campus building with dorms available. Like screaming, crying, throwing stuff. And she literally missed her earlier time slot because she never checked her school email. I’m worried about what’s going to happen when she realizes she got the top bunk,” Song said. 

Some freshmen are still reeling from the realization that their roommates are actual idiots, and yet they are stuck together for the next three quarters. Soman Patil, incoming first-year chemistry and biology double major, had this unfortunate experience. 

“I had all of the building layouts and I had Reddit rankings pulled up on my phone. I was waiting for my roommate to FaceTime me and my other one so we could look at rooms together, but instead, we got a text saying he picked a room in Santa Catalina. The dumbass had one of the first time slots and picked Santa Catalina because he thought it was Santa Cruz,” Patil complained.

For other freshmen, room selection might’ve gone without a hitch, but they are now dealing with the delicate politics of selecting beds and organizing the room decoration. Tensions run high as the ruthlessness, and selfishness, of roommates becomes clear, oftentimes hidden behind misleading Bunky bios or Instagram captions. Lena Li, incoming first-year art history and film and media studies double major, is dreading the start of the year. 

“My roommate has claimed the bottom bunk for herself without any room for negotiation because she needs to put up a curtain so she ‘doesn’t have to interact with us all the time …’ Where were the red flags before I signed a contract with her?” Li asked. 

The stress of the months preceding the start of freshman year are enough to make anyone balk. Students worry about roommate dynamics and whether or not they’ll be able to survive the commute from San Cat to campus for an 8 a.m. But hey, it’s only a year!

 

Serrano Ham only cried twice in the bathroom while avoiding their roommates.

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