Choosing who your college roommate should be might be one of the biggest decisions you make going into the new year. Not only will you have high-stress classes to worry about, but who you’ll be living with for the rest of the semester. College is a wild journey filled with many trials and tribulations. Don’t make living with your roommate one of them. Here are a few tips to understand the importance of finding your college roommate as soon as possible!
If you’re fortunate enough to go to a college that doesn’t assign roommates, you’ll need to take advantage of that. Think of it like speed dating with just a tad more pressure behind it. Remember, you’ll be living with this person for a semester, and even maybe beyond that if things go well.
You’ll want to find someone compatible with your needs, and who shares some of the name interests as you. You’ll have to find out if they’re neat and tidy if their values line up with yours, and what their schedule is going to be. If you’re the type of person that likes to have the house to yourself, try and find a roommate who’s schedule opposes yours. If you don’t particularly like being alone, find someone that has a similar schedule. Maybe they’ll even share a class with you! Or if you’re lucky, they may even have the same major. That would be a sure-fire way to find someone who has similar interests as you. But don’t get caught up with the idea that your roommate could become your new best friend. In most circumstances, that’s the last thing you’ll want. Living with your bestie is wildly different than being around them every second of the day.
Finding a roommate who’s compatible with you is essential to having a good school year. There’s nothing worse than having to go home to someone who leaves dirty dishes in the sink and leaves trash everywhere. But the only way to find someone compatible is to start searching for a roommate the moment you known you’ll be living on campus.
We’ve all heard those roommate horror stories. Like the ones where the roommate never fails to trash the place, blares music every second of every day, or displays psychopathic tendencies? Well, the last thing you need this semester is to star in a horror story of your own.
One of the things you’ll need to do to early on to avoid an anxiety-induced semester is do your research. Researching roommates will help avoid being stuck with a possible psycho. Just because you get along well with someone and have similar interests does not mean they’ll be the perfect roommate. Check out their social media! Make sure they don’t have any odd hobbies they failed to mention beforehand. Maybe do a little digging and ask their past roommates about how well they got along and if there’s anything you should be concerned about. Either way, don’t wait until the last minute to find a college roommate you know absolutely nothing about.
One of the many benefits of finding your college roommate early is getting to coordinate who is bringing what. Most dorms will provide you with at least a couch, but what about a TV? Coffee table? Shoe racks? Communicating on who’s bringing the microwave will make the move-in day that much easier.
Along with furniture, you’ll also be able to coordinate how you’re going to decorate your dorm. What aesthetic are you and your roommate looking for? While your personalities might match, your sense of style might greatly differ. Try and choose a color pallet beforehand, maybe even go to Hobby Lobby together to get some ideas on what both of you want for your own dorm. Remember, you’ll want to do as much bonding as possible with your roommate before the school year even starts. Deciding on decorations will be a great way to do that. Just like in any relationship, compromise is key.
An important question to ask your roommate ahead of time is who’s buying what? Along with having to pay that pesky college tuition, you are also going to have to decide who is buying the groceries for that week. If you are in a house instead of a dorm, you’ll also need to figure out who is paying for what bills or if you are going to end up splitting them. Finding out each other’s financial situations beforehand is an important part of ensuring you won’t be swimming in debt this semester. You’ll need to decide these things before the school year starts too if you don’t want another added stress to the first day of classes.
We all know the first day of college brings on an abundance of stress. It’s a new year filled with new classes, new classmates, and new teachers. But another perk of finding your college roommate early is already knowing who you’re coming home to at the end of the day. While your roommate may not be your new best friend, having someone you already have a bond with will make all the difference when you come after a long exhausting day of exams.
Another perk of already knowing your roommate is that they may indeed become one of your closest friends. Friends want each other to succeed, so there may be a good chance that you’ll have a live-in study buddy. Because let’s face it, one of the most stressful things about the school year is doing your best to keep your GPA up. Having a roommate who wants you to achieve will make the school year that much better, and far more eventful.
At the end of the day, the perfect college roommate doesn’t exist, but if you have the chance to start searching early, you’ll hopefully find someone who comes close.
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