[MRM]

One of my undergrad degrees is in HR. They taught interviewing skills and had a section on questions people thought were good indicators of success for the candidate. It turns out the data shows there are no specific questions that have any validity in predicting success of a candidate. The data shows the whole interview process itself is pretty hit or miss as far as selecting successful candidates, but there are NO set questions that can be asked cold that have any value in predicting success. The key to candidates being successful is a commitment by both the employer and employee to make the relationship work.

I would think the same thing would hold true for roommate searching. Rather than trying to figure out good personality fit by asking strange probing questions, you would be better off focusing on concrete personal habits and goals. Do you drink? Use drugs? Cool with MJ? How seriously do you plan to take school? What activities are you interested in getting involved in at school? What clubs/sports did you participate in during high school? How clean are you? Are you planning to cook or use the school's meal plan? What is your major and career plan? You still won't know whether the kid is a good kid who can make a roommate situation work, but you'll be able to weed out those with automatic disqualifiers.

My older son went to a well regarded local liberal arts school where he was matched up with a kid who looked great on paper. The school was a little expensive and had a big alumni network, so it drew from a demographic that was predisposed toward having highly motivated kids. The roommate had been recruited to be on the basketball team, mother was an HR consultant, dad owned a landscaping business, and he was a business major. Nice looking kid, polite and quiet but seemed well spoken. He turned out to be a major pot head and turned their room into the burner lounge for the dorm. The first time I visited there were clothes and debris on the floor ankle deep. I started yelling at my kid, only to realize belatedly, that the mess really was all the roommate's fault. He made freshman year miserable for my son. He didn't tell me until the year was over or I would have done something.

Sophomore year my son roomed with three friends in an on-campus apartment. They spent the rest of their time in the upper class apartments together and he ended up having a good college experience. The four of them still get together. The ex-roommate lasted half way through first semester of sophomore year and dropped out. He kind of disappeared but may have gone to work as a laborer for his dad.

I would think your son will have a good roommate experience with anyone who isn't into drugs, plans to be reasonably diligent in his studies, and is planning to get involved in some sort of school activities. If you get a positive response to those three questions, the rest is just details.