Even before they get to campus, many college freshmen already know quite a bit about their new roommates. Although some schools still match students based on a short questionnaire about living habits (Do you smoke? Play loud music? Live like a slob?), the room assignment process is becoming increasingly sophisticated. It can involve detailed surveys of snacking practices and partying styles, online "courting" of prospective roomies, lots of time logged on Facebook and the ceaseless hovering of parents.

"The student population today is different than 10 years ago," says Bobbi Babitz, chief executive of Lifetopia, a company that provides higher-education-housing software to such schools as Harvard and Tulane. "They are active consumers and used to making their own choices."

Picky, picky, picky. Many students are concerned about whom they will share a glorified closet with. You could end up with a lifelong friend (Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones lived together at Harvard) or not. But many teens, after all, have never shared a bedroom.

"It's a big deal," said Rachel Walisko, an 18-year-old from Vienna, Va., a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Walisko said many of her college-bound friends spent hours connecting with roommates on Facebook.

"I'm glad they asked me a lot of questions on the online housing registration form. Especially the one about 'What is my favorite kind of music?' " Walisko said. "I feel like you can tell a lot about a person by the kind of music they listen to."

School strategies vary. "Some colleges feel it is important to make as good a match as possible. Other campuses feel college is a time to expand your horizons a little bit," said James Baumann, a spokesman for the Association of College and University Housing Officers. "Some campuses purposely don't match two people from the same high school together; others might put people like that together."

Five years ago, Georgetown University launched a roommate selection process called CHARMS (Campus Housing Roommate Matching System). Students are given the option of pairing themselves or being matched by university staff. After answering 20 living-preference questions, students can surf anonymous online profiles of other freshmen that match some of their criteria. Students exchange messages and decide whether this person is someone they can live with.

According to Jonalyn Ware Greene, executive director of student housing at Georgetown, 68 percent of this year's 1,580 freshmen have chosen to participate in CHARMS. Results from have been positive.

"One of the things we have found is that it has definitely made a difference in the number of people who are standing at our door the day after move-in," Greene said.

Freshmen at the University of Maryland at College Park fill out a list of questions about study and lifestyle habits. Unless they request a specific person, the housing staff pairs them up.

Students are encouraged to be open-minded.

"Philosophically, we believe that one of the goals of living in residence halls is to learn to live with others, many of whom are different from you," said Deb Grandner, director of resident life.

Experts say the best college living experience allows students to redefine themselves.

"It isn't about who you are; it's about who you can be," Babitz said.