Tips for Finding your First College Roommate

One of the best parts of the whole “college experience” is moving out of your parents’ house and into a space of your own. Well, kind of your own. You may not have your parents to answer to, but there is one person (or a few) you do have responsibilities towards in your new place – a roommate (s). Whether you are a new incoming freshman or a transfer student, finding a roommate is a fun, but challenging part of the whole process.

First, where to start?

Some colleges offer a matching questionnaire where you fill out with details about yourself and your living habits. Questions might include:

Do you like to study in your room?
Can you study with the TV or music on?
How neat do you consider yourself?
How often will you have visitors?
Are you ok with visitor sleepovers?
Do you smoke? Drink?
What time do you sleep each night?

From these questions, the college’s residence hall administration will be able to pair you with other people who answer the questions along the same lines. Sometimes it can be freakishly on point, and other times it can be outrageously wrong.

If your school doesn’t offer this, or you’d like to venture out on your own and request your own roommate, you can go where all the answers are.

Go onto to your college’s FACEBOOK page/group. Yes Facebook. Most colleges have Facebook pages/group of the school and a separate page for their incoming freshman class.

Once you have found the page, create a Facebook post. The post will be a blurb about you.

State the following:

Your Name
Your Major
Your Hobbies/Likes
Anything you want to attract a roomie/friend

So you posted the blurb……. now what?

Well, other people most likely have already posted blurbs about themselves. Scroll through and read everyone’s blurb. Try to find people with common interests. After you have found some people, go on their personal Facebook page and message/friend them.

In the message, be really friendly and start with topics that will attract them.

Yes, it is pretty similar to dating, except people are a little more open since everyone needs a roommate. (There is no cat fishing.)

Once you found a couple of people you have been messaging for a while, ask for their number. (This process may take days or weeks depending on your personal comfort level. Also, you do not have to have each other’s numbers to be roommates. This step can also be accomplished in the fb messaging). This will get things a little more serious on a potential friendship level. It is like getting past the awkward “acquaintance” level – the “you are friends, but you are not friends” stage.

Then, ask if they already have a roommate or roommates, and if they don’t suggest maybe you two room together.

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So they said yes?

If they think it’s a good idea, you might want to get some information about their living habits to see if you would be good roommates. It’s one thing to get along with someone as a friend, but a whole other to live with them. You might want to study in your pjs on a Wednesday night, but they might want to take shots with half the floor. Or, you could be the party animal, and they are very into the books.

As more time passes and you get to know more about each other, you will be able to discuss and decide who’s going to bring all the things you need, such as, microwave, TV, cleaning supplies, refrigerator, etc.

Either way, no matter how you go about it, the whole roommate thing is a very exciting time! So embrace it. And remember, you don’t have to be BFFs with your roommate, just as long as you don’t want to punch them in the face whenever you walk into the room.

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