What to Find Out When You Get Your Roommate Assignment

Finding out your roommate assignment can be exciting and a little stressful. There are going to be a lot of things going through your head when you find out your roommate assignment. You’re going to be living with someone other than your parents, and you’ve never met them before. This is a whole other person’s personality and schedule that you have to get used to. You don’t want to avoid talking with your assigned roommate until move-in day. Chances are, you’re going to find out your roommate’s name and contact information before then, so don’t just toss the information in the garbage or in a folder and wait to talk/see what happens on move-in day. You’re going to want and need to communicate with your roommate before you move in to find out certain things.

Your college may not just stick you with any old roommate. They may do a small survey and try to find out certain things to attempt to give you the best match. They may ask study habits, when you prefer to go to bed, and other basic study habits and personality traits. The thing is, you don’t want to just leave it up to the college and expect them to make the best match and assume that your roommate is exactly like you. Even though your college asked each of you those questions, you want to make sure you ask them yourself.

Once you know your course schedules, you’re going to want to share them with each other. Not so you can get together in between classes and hang out (although if you want to, that’s great!). You’re going to want to know if your roommate has an early class that requires them to get up at 6 in morning and you’re also going to want to know if they have really late night classes so you can schedule your study times accordingly.

Work out who is bring what large dorm items – who should bring the TV and who should bring the microwave, mini-fridge, and other large shareable items? You really need to work this out with your roommate – your Residence Hall room is going to be too small to have two of each of those large essentials. If you need to buy things, such as the microwave and the mini-fridge, you don’t want to split the cost of purchasing. Work out who will buy what. The reason for this is the end of the year – if you’re evenly splitting the cost of an item, then who gets to keep it at the end? 

One thing you may not have thought of talking with your roommate about are guests. Before college even starts, work something out in regards to having guests over, whether it’s your best friend since Kindergarten or someone you’re working on a project with for a class. Have a set system in place, even if it’s as simple as asking your roommate a couple days before if it’s okay if the guest comes over. Don’t just have them come over and have your roommate be surprised. You have to live with this person – don’t do anything sudden that could upset them. 

Talk about anything else you can think of – talk about what TV shows, movies, books, or music they like. Get to know your roommate beyond the basic things that you need to know in order to live with this person. If you don’t do these basic things, you’re doing yourself a disservice in the end, and could end up having roommate problems. Trust us, you don’t want roommate problems. You won’t be able to simply walk up the RA or Director of Residence Life and tell them you want a new roommate and/or new room. The Residence Hall may be full and they won’t be able to accommodate your request. Plus, they’ll immediately ask you if you talked things over with your roommate, anyway. Start college out right from the start and get to know your roommate without having to use your RA as a mediator later.