@4kids4us my boys are extremely close. They will have one year of overlap. We had a discussion with both boys about how they would feel about attending the same school. They both agreed that it would be a great idea. DS19 has spent the night in the dorms with his brother. He has volunteered with the Catholic Student Association over that weekend and attended a basketball game with many of DS16’s friends. When he was accepted, DS16 was at a CSA event and shared the news. His friends were truly excited. It works for my family because we are very close. I would definitely have a discussion with everyone involved to get a better idea if it would work or not. I think a lot also depends on the size of the school. CofC has approx 11,000 students . We also had the discussion about DS19 needing to also find his own friend group and the importance of boundaries.
I’m glad DD had the experience of working away at camp last summer- it helped us know that we can go a few weeks at a time apart 
But I hope we don’t have to go through the initial homesickness she had there. I expect we’ll see her at least every month since she’ll be less than 2 hours away.
For us the siblings & driving thing worked out well- DD’17 did drive DD’19 around a lot but DD’19 got her license about 1 week after her sister left for college. I’m so happy that at almost 3 years apart they ended up 2 years apart in school due to where their birthdays fall. It could have easily ended up 4 years apart in school. It worked out well having DD’17 older for her grade and around for her sister longer. And they had a lot of the same friends and activities in high school so it was convenient and made them closer. My thoughts of having them at college together didn’t work out though, DD’17 is doing a 2 year CC program and so is all done next month. Works from a cost perspective though!
DD started the day yesterday winning a scholarship and ended it scoring her first 2 varsity soccer goals. The scholarship is from the state association for her major and comes with an invitation to their fall workshop which would expose her to various aspects of her potential career. And it may be renewable too.
My girls are so close- moving all the time, they’ve always been the best of friends when new friends were sometimes hard to find. It’s going to hit my younger D hard when her sister leaves. She’s the extreme introvert to my D19’s extreme extrovert, and she’s always allowed my D19’s frends to adopt her. She’s going to miss her sister fiercely. She does not want to go to school in the northeast though, so she knows following her sister isn’t an option. I’ve spent 15-30 hours a week in the car driving them to and fro their activities for the past four years- and much more of that was for D19- so my life is going to change quite drastically next year. I won’t miss it but I will, if that makes any sense at all?
The lasts were hitting me hard earlier in the spring, but I’ve been pretty calm recently. The pace of change is picking up and it’s hard to be maudlin over things when we’re so busy. Plus there’s a bit of fouling the nest beginning to go on so the irritation is a good counter balance.
I’m more in the existential crisis mode of trying to figure out who I am and what I will be doing with my time once the kiddo is gone. He just takes so much of my day to day energy. What will I do with myself once he isn’t there?
Roommate search is over - D asked someone last night and she said yes! It was funny to watch ti go down, both girls kept hinting at it but nobody would come out and ask.
Roommate: Do you know anyone going there?
D: Yes, my best friend is actually going and a guy I know.
Roommate: Oh, are you rooming with your friend or are you still looking?
D: No, we decided a long time ago if we ended up at the same school we would not room together. Are you still looking?
Roommate: Yes I’m looking.
Hah - so drawn out, I think they were both nervous to get to the point! Finally my D asked and as she sent the message she laughed saying she never thought she would be the one doing the asking (she can be shy at first.) They made plans to face time tonight or tomorrow, hopefully it goes well. D is being good about her expectations, she doesn’t feel like the girl has to be her best friend, just someone she can get along with well enough to share a tiny room or a year. They seem similar but not exactly the same which is nice.
Ugh - D is our oldest and I will still have two at home but I am still sad when I think about her leaving! I know she is ready and is going to have the best experience so that helps but it is hard. D19 and D21 are super close - I don’t know how D21 will take it. 
The good thing is D19 will only be about a 2 hour plane ride away and they have already talked about D21 going to visit. @milgymfam D21 does not want to go to school in the cold weather so I was secretly happy D19 ended up someplace warm. Who knows what will happen with D21 but at least I know there is a chance she could look at D19’s school.
S23 tries to act like he is too cool to care about his sister leaving but I know he will be sad too. They are not as close as the sisters but they have a cute relationship and you can tell he is one cloud 9 when D19 pays attention to him or thinks he is funny. I told him she was picking him up form school yesterday and he said, “Ugh, why does she have to pick me up, that’s so annoying!” Then he got home and he was super goofy and laughing and trying to make her laugh, I know he loved it. Later I saw they had taken a bunch of funny selfies in the car together while waiting to pick up D21.
I cried when all 3 of mine went to kindergarten, I can’t even imagine college.
I am so excited for this new phase of S19’s life. I absolutely loved college, so I am excited for him to get to experience it and all the opportunities to come. But it’s so hard to imagine him not living with us full time.
We have a D20 and a 10 year old boy also. So we will be busy even with him gone, but they are all close, so they will really miss him too. He plays with his 10 year old brother every day for at least a few minutes.
In the next 18 months both of my older two children will be gone to college. That is so hard for me to comprehend!
Congrats on the roommate @momtogkc
Students at my son’s school are not allowed to pre-select roommates, you get what you get. I sort of like that. I don’t think son19 is going to be too fond of sharing a room with someone, and anticipate that he will seek a single asap or ask to move off campus as soon as allowed.
@Lynnski - Celexa is how I’m dealing. I still have one kid at home, and I’m just trying to focus on enjoying the time we will have together.
@ninakatarina - same. Not to be negative, but S19 can be a real pain. I know I will miss him desperately,as I always do when he goes away, but at the moment, I’m sort of looking forward to being a little less shackled, and only having to tend to the needs of one kid. I’ve been separated/divorced for almost 14 years, and I’m emotionally and physically exhausted. Plus, I’m looking forward to the excitement of new things - going to visit him at school, stepping up my business and maybe being able to afford to go on a trip once in a while, seeing which direction he chooses to go in his life, etc.
@RightCoaster That’s how Furman does it as well. After Freshman year, you can select, but not as a Freshman.
When I went to college we had a 5 question survey mailed with the acceptance letter -
Do you smoke?
Do you like to stay up late?
Do you play records loudly?
Do you sleep with the windows open?
Do you snore?
People were randomly assigned based on those criteria. Some people ended up being best friends, a few transferred roommates after first semester. Sometimes mostly random chance does amazing things.
My daughter submitted her housing for OSU last night. She spoke with a few girls in her Scholars program (their dorm is predetermined and they have to room with another scholar) and really connected with one. They met in person and chatted non-stop for over 2 hours getting to know each other. So funny seeing her side of it - nerves, anticipation and, finally, excitement. I think she was too nervous to go random. Surprisingly, OSU only asks about 5 questions to consider compatibility. She didn’t want to risk it.
D17’s college had a simple survey like @ninakatarina’s, while D19’s pushes finding roommates in advance hard. Not sure either is better or worse, honestly.
my son’s list:
are you annoying? - yes
do you stay up late? yes
do you wake up early- yes
do you snore?- don’t know, I only sleep a few hours a day anyways
do you have smelly sports clothes scattered all over your room?- yes
do you like to party and get rowdy? yes
do you need quiet time?- yes I’ll have to study a lot so I don’t flunk out
do you listen to horrible music very loudly? yes!
do you leave plates of left over food in your room? Yes !
do you play online video games with any possible free time ? - Yes
favorite TV show-. none, see above, games only
Maybe somehow gets a single and some poor kid will be spared from having to live with him,
@RightCoaster From what I’ve seen while chaperoning HS boys teams at various away tournaments, your son will find many like-minded roommates.
We haven’t gotten to the roommate discussion yet. S19 still mulling his options. My D17 found her roommate through FB. They got along great for about a month, and to make a long story short, it did not work out. Roommate moved out and she got a random one for second semester, which was fine. I’m guessing my son will go random. It’s good to learn about living with different people (other than your family members that actually love you - but may hate some of your habits).
@liska21 and @RightCoaster - Yeah, I’m more concerned about my kid, whose answers to a lot of those questions would be “no” - though his sister would say he plays terrible music, especially when he plays Country.
@Lynnski, I hear you. Ours is an only child as well and the three of us are knit together pretty darn close. He’ll be fine the day we drop him off. I mean, he’ll likely tear up and sniffle for a moment, but I will be a bit of a mess on the ride home, I’m afraid. I’m an easy crier. My husband half seriously tells me we can get me a “college” puppy to help ease the empty nest transition. We’ve got plenty of critters - there’s no need for another - but I like how the man thinks.
I got a puppy to replace d16. I love the stupid dog, but it didn’t work. Its no replacement!