How to be the Best College Roommate Ever

Dorothy Mitchell

Your college roommate is your new best friend. It doesn’t matter where you came from. This is the person who you’re going to be living with for at least the next semester. You owe it to them and yourself to create a harmonious relationship. There’s nothing worse than living in the same room as someone you hate

So how do you be the best college roommate in the history of ever?

Respect their Space

Want to have a smart home even in your dorm room? You can, and it all starts with deliberate organization. Don’t throw your clothes on their bed, lounge on it, or throw any of your nonsense over their space. It’s just basic manners. You don’t need to create solid boundaries in the room. Just show a little commonsense. If you do need to invade their space, you should ask them first.

This is the foundation of creating a harmonious relationship in college.

How Much Noise are You Making?

Noise levels are a frequent source of disagreement. This is where the importance of collaboration comes in. Compare your timetables and base ‘quiet time’ on that.

For example, if your classmate has an 8am class on a Friday morning you know that you shouldn’t stay up partying until 3am the night before. Arrange your schedules based on your class timetables and you won’t get in each other’s way. Try to agree a quiet time in advance so everyone knows where they stand.

Clean the Place

A cluttered room is a sign of a cluttered mind. Regardless of whether you agree with this, nobody likes to live in a room that smells of sweaty socks and plates encrusted with dried pasta sauce.

Keep the place clean. You could organize a schedule for who cleans up or simply pledge to keep your own areas clean. It really depends on the sort of people you and your roommate are.

Do Stuff Together

Life doesn’t just have to be about rules. Forge a better relationship with your roommate by doing some stuff like cooking together. Not only will this help you save money and time but you’ll make a better relationship at the same time.

Compare your schedules and your habits and figure out when you’re both available. Even if you only cook together once a week it’s a great opportunity to bond. You could even cook together with some of the other rooms in your dorm and make a communal atmosphere. This solid relationship will pay off immediately but can also pay off in the future. Say your roommate find a great opportunity provided by some continuing education providers years after you’ve left college, you’d be top on their mind and they’d let you know.

Ask Permission When You Bring Someone Home

The both of you are always going to want to bring people back. But ask permission first. It might feel like you’re back home again asking your parents whether you can bring your friends over after school, but its common decency. Unless your roommate is a terrible person, or their finals are just around the corner, they’re always going to welcome you bringing guests into the room.
And when you bring someone over introduce them to your roommate. Get them involved and let them make a new friend too.

Last Word

Basic consideration and manners are the foundations of being a great roommate. If you get that down and you reach out to your roommate you’re going to have a great time in college.

Do you have any roommate stories?

 

Dorothy Mitchell is a freelance business writer and social media marketing consultant. She has worked as a writer, researcher, social media manager and business consultant with several companies, including Fortune 500 companies like LinkedIn, Microsoft, Cisco and PepsiCo.