RoomBug helps students find ideal roommate

A new Facebook application created by U-Match, LLC, a roommate matching service, now makes it easier for students to find their perfect roommate.

RoomBug, created by U-Match CEO Michael Hacker in August 2007, prompts students to fill out a personality profile to indicate lifestyle preferences and allows them to browse compatible students.

“He thought that since students were going to Facebook anyway to look up their assigned roommates, oftentimes to see if they’re a good match, why not bring them directly there to choose them in the first place?” said Peter Zdebski, marketing associate at RoomBug.

Students can access RoomBug via http://apps.facebook.com/roombug. From there, they can join a network, select their dorm and browse other students living in that community. Students can then fill out a profile consisting of six lifestyle        preferences on a scale from one to 10, including smoking preferences, bedtime, neatness level, frequency of visitors, activity level and academic versus social focus.

“It is different from incoming freshmen or other college groups in that it provides a matching utility,” Zdebski said.

RoomBug has been used at several other colleges, including the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Central Florida.

“We have had approximately 200 users in each network,” Zdebski said.

Students can also select preferences for their ideal roommate, automatically filtering potential roommates.

Search-and-browse features make it easier for students to find compatible living partners, according to U-Match’s Web site, www.umatchonline.com. Students can type in interests, activities, or favorite movies, music and books into the search box and see other students who match their criteria.

Once a student finds a possible roommate, they have the   opportunity to message him or her and begin a conversation, and when a mutual agreement has been made between the students, they can request to live together.

Freshman Aubrey Little said RoomBug seems like a good way for students to connect before coming to college.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Little said. “I know a lot of other colleges have compatibility tests, and I was a little disappointed that IU didn’t.”

However, Little said she would be a bit hesitant about the security of the application and who has access to it, adding that RoomBug should include a feature where students could post their daily schedules.

Although U-Match is still working out a few kinks in the application, Zdebski is optimistic about RoomBug’s future.

“We hope to increase this number (of students in each network) as well as expand to other schools,” he said.