They create a profile and post their pictures with hopes of finding a perfect match, but these UF students are not looking for love — they are looking for roommates.
Through URoomSurf, a roommate-matching Web site, current and incoming students search for compatible roommates by creating an account similar to one they would create on a dating service Web site.
They answer questions about topics including cleanliness, preferred room temperature and political and religious beliefs.
There are approximately 315 UF users, and most of them are incoming freshmen, said Dan Thibodeau, co-founder of URoomSurf.
“We’re kind of like Match.com for roommates,” Thibodeau said.
URoomSurf’s network, which has 24,300 users, features 28 schools in Florida and 650 schools nationwide, he said.
“Who you’re going to be living with in college is a big concern for students, and we’ve noticed that,” Thibodeau said.
Franklyn Francois, an incoming UF freshman from Naples, Fla., said he used URoomSurf because he wants a roommate who shares similar values.
Users fill out a survey, but Francois said URoomSurf gives students the chance to write more about themselves on site profiles.
Francois has found two potential roommates on URoomSurf, and he applied to live in the Lakeside Residence Hall.
To make a URoomSurf account, students upload photos, choose their college network and complete a profile. Then they take a roommate survey, review their matches and communicate with their top roommate picks.
Once they choose roommates, students fill out mutual request forms and submit them to their universities.
The site, which launched in February, has a Facebook-like chat application for direct communication, and users can make video profiles for more personal introduction, Thibodeau said.
