Communicating with Your College Roommate

Answer 1

One of the biggest adjustments to college life is living with a roommate. In many cases, you won’t really know the person you’re living with until you show up on campus. Even if you do know your roommate, it can be difficult to live with someone in a confined space. That’s why establishing clear and respectful communication with your roommate from the beginning is extremely important. Here are some guidelines for communicating with your roommate.

• Contact him or her before you get to campus. If possible, email or talk to your roommate before you move in together. In your initial conversations you can get an idea of his or her personality and also plan what each person will bring to the room (furniture, appliances, etc.). Having a general idea of who your roommate is will also lesson your anxiety and make your first days together calmer and more pleasant.
• Talk about your schedule. As soon as you know what your class schedule will be for the semester, share it with your roommate. What time will you be getting up? What time will you be going to bed? Etc. If you share a bathroom, talk about when each person will shower. Getting all of the information out in the open will help you to avoid unpleasant surprises.
• Talk about your habits. It’s important to be honest about your habits. Do you listen to loud music? Do you prefer to study in the dorm room? Do you like to have a lot of people over or are you more of a lone wolf? After you share your habits with your roommate, talk about how you can each adapt and adjust to respect one another.
• Keep communicating. It’s important to talk about problems as they come up. Don’t hesitate to respectfully tell your roommate if he or she is doing something that bothers you. If you address issues as soon as they come up, you can avoid having a larger problem in the long run. As long as you do it in a polite and respectful manner, you’re roommate will appreciate your honesty.