@SoftballFan - @IxnayBob is very right in his observations. I know from long standing experience that there are not too many volatile roommate issues at Yale. The residential college system is set up to prevent most of this. When the kids are randomly sorted into their colleges, the Master and Dean of the college read the student’s surveys (which they get after the commit) to see their personalities. Late sleepers, partiers, social butterflies, introverts, extroverts are usually sorted together. For example, they are not going to generally put a person who says they like to study in their room all time with suitemates that say they like to entertain until hours of the night.
Also, with the Freshman Counselor (FroCo) and their FroCo groups (those kids assigned to the Counselor), there are lots of avenues to mitigate problems. Most freshman, like IxnayBob stated, are so engrossed in trying to adjust to Yale and the rigor of their classes that many personality issues don’t become major issues. For most of the colleges, room assignments are done upfront so the students don’t have to fight for the singles in the suite.
There is one particular suitemate that my D likes less than the others, but they continue to room together because for the major things (doesn’t party, doesn’t drink, doesn’t bring random male students to the room to spend the night, etc), they are very similar.
If someone has mental health issues, the FroCo, Dean or Master will probably pick up on it and deal with it.
@shivaya - All I know, dear, is that if I am selected to room with you the first year, and you are planning to turn everything into a search / argument for light & truth, I can see a premature divorce in the horizon. Then, again, why attend Yale when you are in complete opposition to a motto that was created only 315 years ago? I suggest that you try a school without a motto so that you can avoid being a slave to a few words… and YOU SHALL THE TRUTH & TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.
@SoftballFan - “When that happens, do you feel compelled to include that obvious character flaw in your report?” Isn’t this one of the main objectives of the Interview? Ascertain whether the candidate on paper is the same as the one LIVE? And if we are in the presence of a potential troublemaker do away with it? In the end, it is very subjective. Who determines who is an “oddball?” Life in a dorm cannot be expected to be perfect. I can be so as long as one works towards it. There is always a solution and if not? As Tperry says the Dean can and will take care of it.
@SoftballFan It’s kinda unfair to say that you get to decide which roommate is annoying and which isn’t. What if he/she happens to find your child annoying? For many of us, college is the first time we are living away from home with a group of students our own age; personality flaws are bound to be exposed. I’ve seen my boarding classmates at my school become much more mature since we first met, and I’m sure they can attest to my growth as well. I doubt Yale would select many “annoying” students, but if your child does meet one, it could be a good opportunity for them to mutually mature together.
@IxnayBob & @Tperry1982 - Thank you guys for the info! Like I said, I trust the process and I’m hoping for the best. In my observation the kids at Yale (and we have met many) tend to be bright, reasonable and more importantly “likeable” kids and I have no doubt my daughter will fit right in. As a matter of fact, she’s already made lots of connections via social media with others in the class of 2020 and they can’t wait to meet each other in person! Boola Boola!!! :D/
@yalebound2020 - “In the end, it is very subjective”, I completely agree, this is why I asked that question. And just to clarify, I don’t expect life in the dorms or anywhere for that matter to be perfect. I was just curious as to how any potential issues are minimized during this particular process. And I agree that there is always a solution. Well said!
@kuriosmind - My question was for the interviewers and what the process is when they encounter individuals with obvious personality disorders. I was not referring to harmless annoying or immature teenagers that eventually become reasonable adults. And for the record, my child can be very annoying at times but she is smart enough to know when to mind her own business and keep her mouth shut. ;
@yalebound2020 - would love your company as roommate :)). I am definitely not in opposition to the motto, rather my attraction to Yale is because of the motto amongst several other factors.
BTW, do you also realize that Boola Boola was composed in 1900?
I have interviewed for over 20 years. Never found an applicant with obvious an obvious personality disorder and I am a psychologist by trade. Is the painfully shy applicant okay. How about the one that talks on incessantly? I have interviewed more than my share of obnoxious kids too - some I gave very good recs for. I have learned over the years that most of the time this is a very stressful process. Even the craziest person can look sane for 1 hour. I would hope that if a student had serious mental illness that the counselor would pick up on it. If not, there are many ways to address it once they get to college.
@Tperry1982 - Ted Kaczynski attended Harvard at 16… did the interviewer miss the boat? Can a counselor really pick up on it? He went on to Grad school, taught at Berkeley… he must have been sane for that one hour? Thoughts?
NOTE: In Ocean’s Eleven, Don Cheadle does a great job playing a cockey brit who is good at explosives and sounding like a brit. Have you ever wondered why in the hell he would use “Barney” to mean “Trouble”? He certainly explained it in the movie, but didn’t explain that the method for his madness is called “Cockney Rhyming Slang.” This form of slang originated in the East-End of London and was developed to obscure the meaning of sentences to those who didn’t know the slang. So Barney = Barney Rubble = Trouble or Merchant Banker = Wanker. Who knew? It’s apparently very common in Australia as well; although, they call it something else.
