12 Tips for Real Life Roommate Dilemmas

Whether you have siblings and are used to sharing space or not, having roommates will definitely have some ups and downs. Roommates can ultimately be friends for life, people you don’t want to be associated with anymore or anywhere in between. Some friendly tips for dealing with roommates are:

Although this may be obvious, if you are given a roommate questionnaire, fill it out honestly. You don’t want to end up living with people you dislike for an entire school year.
If you’re meeting for the first time, don’t be afraid to introduce yourself. First impressions are everything.
Be respectful of each other and their stuff. For instance, don’t be that person who blasts music at 1am when your other roommates are sleeping or studying.
If something is on your mind, talk about it. The least you can do is get it off your chest and feel relieved afterwards.
Create a roommate agreement. This agreement should detail the responsibilities of each roommate to avoid one person cleaning the entire suite, for example.
If you’re sharing a room, bathroom or both with you roommates, be aware of their schedule.
Sharing is caring! Don’t take up the entire fridge or entire section of a small bathroom Be conscious of the others and so your roommates have room to put their items somewhere too.
Choose the people you want to room with wisely. Sometimes it sounds fun to room with people who you knew in high school or early in college but think about the long run. If you get into a disagreement depending on the intensity, you may be risking a friendship.
Try to get out of your room, get involved, and make friends who aren’t your roommates. This will give you a nice outlet if you’re having a bad day or just having roommate issues. Also, you may discover new experiences.
Be adaptable! College is all about new experiences and getting out of your comfort zone.
Make sure you feel comfortable. Whether it’s in college in general or just in your room, if you don’t feel comfortable then it will frustrate you in other areas of your life.
Remember you don’t have to be friends while living together or even in the future; you just have to learn to cooperate with them.