To make your experience a great one, we have some tips that will help navigate you through your first year of housing.
Before selecting each other as roommates, think about what kind of environment you would like to live in. While talking to your potential roommate, it is important to share your interests, hobbies, and work. It is also important (perhaps the most important) to share living habits. Here are some topics students should talk to each other about before selecting each other as roommates and be honest:
- Cleanliness: How do you like your room to appear? Clean and tidy? Decent but not spotless?
- Study Environment: Do you need a quiet environment to study? When do you study?
- Use of your Possessions: Are you okay with someone borrowing your things? What things are you willing to share?
- Phone Use: Do you talk on the phone a lot? How long do you usually spend on a phone call? Will you want messages taken for you? Are you willing to do the same?
- TV/Music: When do you watch TV? Listen to the stereo? What type of music do you listen to? Are there any shows you watch regularly?
- Communication Style: When you are stressed how do you respond? What do you need when you are upset? Are you comfortable with approaching those with whom you disagree? How do you approach that person?
- Socializing: How often do you go out? Are you going to be around on the weekends? What do you like to do for fun?
- Guests and Visitors: Will you have overnight guests? How comfortable are you with your roommate having overnight guests? When? How often? What gender of overnight guests are you comfortable with?
- Sleeping: When do you go to sleep? When do you get up? Are you a light or heavy sleeper? What is OK for your roommate to do when you are sleeping in the room? What is not okay?
- Room Temperature: Do you like the room hot/cold? Do you like the window open?
- Safety & Security: What are some important considerations you have when thinking about the safety and security of yourself and your belongings (I.e. locking your door when you are not in your room, not having people in your room when you are not home, etc.)?