The turn of summer to autumn brings not only falling leaves and “October Lovers” announcements, but also the challenge of choosing who to live with in the usually cramped, but nonetheless cozy apartments students will call home in the year to follow.

How to choose whose dirty socks you wouldn’t mind seeing on the floor, or who is to be trusted to spray Febreeze in the bathroom when necessary? It seems to be the popular opinion that freshmen should go random, while sophomores and upperclassmen should live with friends.

“I would just get a random one; you can always switch. It’s really easy,” said Martin Wozniewicz, a freshman in Business.

As an upperclassman, it can be tempting to ask old friends from home to sign a lease, but this decision may turn out to be more limiting than expected.

“I wouldn’t live with my friends from high school. I would live with people you meet here at U of I, rather than your friends from home because you want to meet new people,” said Brennan Keller, a senior in LAS.

It can be daunting to think about living with a new group of people, especially after coming from a dorm or a Greek house. Luckily, it seems that when students choose people that they feel comfortable around, it almost always results in a successful living situation.

“Don’t pick anyone with a crazy personality; they have to be relaxed,” Maeve Leurck, a junior in LAS, said.

“If I want to study it has to be quiet, but my roommate loves music. She’s always playing music and I just do not get anything done, so I usually have to go to the library,” Leurck explained.

If students’ friends are already set with roommates, or they simply jumped on the bandwagon a little late, posting a “roommate wanted” sign on the Quad or elsewhere is always an option, but going random is risky business.

While rooming with a stranger can be interesting, it is commonly felt that choosing roommates who are familiar is the best way to go.