<p>if you’re an echols scholar, do you HAVE to room with another echols scholar?</p>
<p>no…</p>
<p>As jags said, no. But I recommend you go for a random echols roommate if you have the opportunity. I did worry I would be rooming with a bunch of geeks or worse, really stuck up preps, but I was embarrassed to find that far from the truth. Though I can only speak for the several suites I know, I have found Echols residents to be dynamic and friendly. </p>
<p>It may be the case that you really want to room with a friend. It has been puported that that is a bad idea. Also, though I have scant evidence that this is necessarily true, you’ll likely end up in Watson if you request a roommate; more of an annoyance than a problem but it is short hike added to your daily walks.</p>
<p>D was non-echols last year and was roomies with an echols gal. They were in Maupin. Initially, when they decided they wanted to room together (May), they called UVa and were told that they could opt out of echols housing if they wanted. That is what they chose to do. So, when they were later assigned to Maupin (echols housing), they called UVa housing to find out what happened. They were told that there must have been a misunderstanding–that the echols student was required to be in echols housing. D chose to stay with her instead of being reassigned. It was a total non-issue from then on–for both of them. Good luck!</p>