Stressing about who your future roomie may be as we approach the impending date of May 1st? Finding a college roommate may not be nearly as hard as you think.
The most important thing you should do before anything else is actually do some research on the possible dorms you are interested in living in.
Once you’ve gotten some background knowledge on what the best options for housing are, you should apply as soon as you can. On nearly every university’s website, they advise students to register for housing as soon as you’re admitted, due to limited space.
If you don’t care where you end up, be my guest and let the fates decide—but when you end up in a cramped dorm with a roommate who doesn’t speak English on the opposite side of the campus in a building with no air conditioning let me just say: I told you so.
What most people are doing now is joining the school’s incoming freshman Facebook group. This is a great way to begin meeting new people, and to get a sense of the kinds of students also planning on attending the school.
In these Facebook groups, many people searching for a roommate have posted personality-résumés, listing their likes and dislikes, and what they’re looking for in a roommate.
It’s almost like campaigning for yourself, hoping that you find someone who has the same attitude and beliefs that you do. Picture online dating, but slightly more stressful and with a different end goal.
When you’ve officially chosen a school to attend, and you’re ready to begin the search for a roommate, there are some important things you should keep in mind when talking to potential roomies. From a USA Today article, Megan Landau offers five excellent topics to discuss when speaking with a possible roommate for the first time.
The first thing Landau mentions is your study habits. Would they rather study in the room or library? Think of possible conflicts that could be caused by regular late night studying. Or perhaps you enjoy blasting music and have no intention of being quiet while home.
Visitors is another important topic to talk over. Will they have a problem if your best friend comes to stay in the room for the weekend, or vice versa? Or maybe you like to hang with your friends in your room, and you want to avoid being disrespectful towards your roommate.
Don’t forget to ask about Greek life. This is an important thing to discuss that tends to get overlooked when searching for a roommate. Landau says it would probably be reassuring to room with someone who’s going through the same process as you, especially with something as time consuming as joining a sorority or fraternity.
Something that may seem slightly weird to bring up at first, but is definitely a valid question, is to ask about sleeping habits. You don’t want to be that person who’s always up past midnight, moving around and making noise while your roommate has been trying to fall asleep for the past two hours.
The final point Landau makes is to make sure you have common interests. While this is self-explanatory, it’s always good to make sure you will enjoy the same things, because it will be immensely helpful to have someone by your side the first couple of weeks—even more important: you actually like each other.
Long story short, don’t feel uncomfortable asking the important questions, because you’re going to be living with that person in just a few short months. Remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry