Living With A Roommate

A Few Suggestions...

• Communicate with their roommates prior to coming to school. Coordinating the furnishings and arrangements for your room is a good opportunity to become better acquainted with your new roommate(s). It also helps to break the ice so that that first meeting on opening day can be more comfortable. Some things you may want to discuss are: 
• Sharing belongings
• Social and academic expectations and desires
• Study and sleep habits
• Who is bringing a TV, electronic equipment, etc.

• You and your roommate may share some commonalities; you will also learn that you are different from each other in many ways. All residents are required to complete the Roommate Agreement booklet during the first days just after move in. This is a great time to get to know your roommate and have a discussion about how you want to use your space.

• Although it may be challenging to have a roommate for the first time, we are confident it will be a learning experience.

What if I don't get along with my roommate?

Roommates don't always agree on everything. That's OK. But if you and your roommate are having difficulties living together, there are ways to work it out. Moving to a different room without first trying to work things out with your roommate is not an option! So, here's what you need to do to begin to work out those differences:

• First - talk with your roommate! Let them know what's on your mind. Roommates aren't mind readers. Maybe they have no idea that you would like something to change!

• Second - If you talk with your roommate and aren't able to work out the issues, talk with your resident assistant (RA). They are available to help you and they've been trained to help people work out conflicts.

• Third - So, you've tried talking with your roommate, AND you've received some help from your RA, but you still have some concerns ... now it's time to get the residence hall director (RHD) involved. In some cases, the RHD may coach you a little on how to approach your roommate differently; in other cases, however, they may meet with the two of you together to help you communicate with one another.

More often than not, roommate conflicts can be resolved by using one, two or all three of these approaches. If your situation isn't resolved by using these methods, your hall director can advise you regarding the next step(s) to take.