Thanks for the update. My S, (one of the spectrum-ish guys mentioned earlier in the thread) just got his suitemate assignment for next year. Suite of 3, but only one guy assigned so far. His younger brother!
S was snickering to himself when he checked his school account online last week. Months ago, when they were home for spring break, I jokingly suggested that since younger bro will be an upperclassman next year, they could be roommates. They both protested and didn’t seem to like the idea. I never mentioned it again. Apparently the older brother listed the younger one, but I think it was a case of “the devil you know vs. the devil you don’t know.” These two shared a room for years at home and didn’t like it. (Each has his own bedroom in the suite.) They coexist peacefully, but are not “friends.” Younger one is a slob, gamer, keeps odd hours. Older bro is more studious, neat/tidy. Younger brother hasn’t checked his assignment yet–we are waiting to see his reaction. LOL. Meanwhile, H and I are humming the theme from “The Odd Couple.”
Update: Yesterday, Oscar finally discovered that Felix is his suitemate. He was not amused–thought it was some sort of a prank at first. (He seemed disappointed, so I asked him if he wanted to try to change rooms, but he didn’t feel like it was worth the effort.)
@futuredoc96 Thanks for the update. BTW, what’s your major? pre-med? 
Not sure how you feel about having a foreign roommate, but I would advise you to take it as an opportunity. You don’t have to be best friends, but any help you provide this person in getting adjusted to a new country and environment could pay big dividends in the future… like perhaps if you travel to your roomie’s country. I transfered to my university as a junior in the latter part of the 20th century and was assigned a roommate from Iran who was attending classes solely to improve his English. We got along ok, and I even invited him to my home for Christmas… well, to be honest he invited himself, but I couldnt wait to get into a single the 2nd semester and I sure wish we had stayed in contact.
If I were the younger child, I wouldn’t find that remotely funny either. I would never have allowed my eldest to pull such a stunt on my younger child. If they didn’t like living together at home, why would you find it funny that your older son son went behind his brother’s back and requested him for a roommate? If I were you, I’d encourage the younger son to put in a request for a room change.
My son, who is also an entering freshman, has a very close friend who is not on social media at all. He’s just not that interested. He does things his own quirky way–turned down BU and Northeastern to go to Gordon College, for example–and has a lot of friends. RL friends, not FB “friends.” And yes, it is super frustrating for his friends to organize anything with him. They pretty much have to call him. But he’s a great guy. I’m sure he’s not alone in deciding not to have a web presence.
Don’t worry about your random roommate at all. If he turns out to be sketchy when you meet him, you can do what your parents’ generation did and request a transfer after the freeze period ends.
@saintsfan, for the roommate’s sake, let’s hope he left his Axe spray back in junior high, where it belongs!
Atomom - I thought colleges required both requestors to list the same name. If not, they should
86 yes, I thought they'd require a mutual request.
83 There was no "allowing" or "disallowing" older son. I had no idea that he listed his brother. Not at all a stunt. He told me (just recently) that he had listed his brother last year, too, not knowing that they didn't put freshman with upperclassmen. IMO, the younger son is the much less desirable roommate. (These two used to share a room when they were young--until around age 11-13. When their 5-years-older brother left for college, "Felix" was moving into his room before the car pulled out of the driveway. The younger one was always a slob.)
The only disadvantage to living with older son would be his lack of social connections. Younger son is fine with it. I told him it was OK to change, but he didn’t want to. The fact that he is on an upper floor and farther away from the dining hall was probably more of a disappointment than rooming with his brother. They have their own bedrooms in the suite, so it should be OK.
@NJres, funny you say that. My son became friends with students at his college who were doing a semester abroad. He traveled with them on a whirlwind trip of CA and some places near there (LV! Grand Canyon, etc.) over spring break. He will be heading back to visit their country for the second time soon. They are able to stay in touch due to all the modern communication apps out there.