Roomate Notification...To Do or not To Do?

So I got an email today from casting/recruiting letting me know the opportunity to put myself in the roommate selection database was available to me. Basically what this is is a way for me to know the identity of one of my roommates way in advance so I can meet them, chat with them and get to know them before my program begins.

It seems like a good idea, they do the same thing in university. However my experience with that my freshman year wasn't the best - I tried contacting my roommate about 5 times, said he was from Las Vegas, on the 6th try his dad picked up and said he dropped out of school and to stop calling. Hence I didn't have a roommate for the first 2 days of freshman year, but that's besides the point...

It would be nice to know who I'm sharing a room with for the three months but the only problem I have with the system is that once you sign up, and if the person you're automatically matched with has signed in before you did and already preferences their housing option, you automatically get stuck with that housing.

Me myself, I would like to be put in Patterson Court. The chances of that happening? I'm not so sure, but it would be good to have the option. If I get matched up with someone who previously selected Chatham Square (where I stayed on my last program - really nice apartments) or even worse Vista Way (party central, really small apartments, yet equally friendly) I have no choice in the matter. Plus, they didn't have this option during my first program so I went in blind. I ended up being good friends with all 5 of my roomates and we all stay in contact today. In fact One of my roomates Jeff, currently is a castmember and I'll be seeing him in May, and my actual roomate Terrence lives in Tallahasse and said he'd come visit in the summer. So I don't have a problem with rooming blind.

Yet on the other hand, getting to know someone in advance leaves many opportunities open. We could figure out who brings what, what our interests are and help us to be better roommates before we even get down to Florida.

What do you guys think? Should I go into the roommate selection option and hope for the best? Should I put all my eggs in one basket on move-in day and hope I get the housing option I want and a good roommate? The answers aren't clear, and I have time to decide. It's not necessarily life or death right now but something to consider...