Justin Gaither is the founder of Roomsurf and Textsurf, which connects college students with roommates and textbooks. Also, he is the co-founder of eCampus Ventures.

Gaither went to high school in Long Island, New York. But he decided to go to college at the University of Miami. That is when his entrepreneurial mindset was sparked. As a student, he started a couple ventures.

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Maximize space in dorm rooms by building loft beds to elevate the bed for space to add other items (sofa, TV, etc.).

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Roomsurf.com: Incoming college freshmen were trying to find compatible roommates via Facebook messages. So Justin created a much easier system for students to find roommates.

Roomsurf

Roomsurf uses questions to help find and match compatible roommates. Questions include:

* How outgoing are you?

* What’s your policy on guests and visitors?

* What time do you go to bed?

* Are you a smoker or non-smoker?

These things matter when living with another person in small quarters. The questions relate to the student as well as who they would consider to be their ideal roommate.

Questions are weighed based on importance. That way, deal breakers can be established.

Matches

Once incoming students complete the questionnaire, their answers are processed and they receive a list of matches based on those who participate in the Roomsurf program.

The matches are ranked from best to worst and include compatibility percentages. The students can filter matches based on:

* Preferred housing preferences

* Area of Study

* Planned campus activities

“They can then browse profiles and communicate directly with potential matches and kind of figure out who they would like to live with,” said Gaither.

Students submit mutual requests to live together.

Once a student has found someone and they decide to become roommates, they submit a mutual request on their housing application to live together. Depending on the school, this request can be processed via:

* Email

* Application

* Online system

* Roomsurf website

The Good ‘Ol Days vs. Today

Before there was the Internet, college roommates did not know or meet their roommates until they arrived at school.

Now, for those who do not use the Roomsurf program or have mutual agreements, schools typical send out a brief questionnaire (not nearly as detailed as Roomsurf’s version). Then the schools’ housing department matches roommates by hand based on preferences.

“Now, there’s a social network where people can look each other up. So students were kind of checking out their roommate assignments and finding things they didn’t like about them,” said Gaither.

The students then contact their school and ask to be reassigned. Fortunately, Gaither’s Roomsurf allows students to self-select and avoid these issues.

Timeline for Roommate Selection Process

As early as November the year before a student goes to college, they could receive acceptance letters. As soon as a student gets their acceptance letter, they should try to identify a way to connect with potential roommates:

Class Facebook groups

Roomsurf

Roommate-type research

Roommate Assignments

Schools typically send out roommate assignments during the summer before college starts. Therefore, students often start looking for their own roommate beforehand, sometimes even before they are accepted to a school.

Accommodations

Roomsurf typically helps with roommate assignments for just two people for on-campus housing. However, Gaither plans to expand Roomsurf’s services to match three or more students for larger accommodations on and off campus.

Paying the price for the perfect roommate!