Tonight, all students of my campus received an email saying it's time to fill out housing preferences for second semester. For what I'd assume is about three quarters of the students on campus, they're just staying in the same room with the same roommate(s). However, you have some cases of students transferring in, transferring out, getting married, dropping out, or, most often, freshmen hitting a point where they want to live with someone of their choice instead of a stranger. Whatever the case may be, choosing a roommate is a very big decision to make, and it's important to consider a couple things while doing so.
1. Being best friends does not mean you'll be good roommates.
I was fortunate in this regard. In the first week of school my freshmen year, I met my best friend. We were both music majors and found out our favorite show was "Bob's Burgers". It was meant to be. I was roomed randomly with three other men first semester, and while we are all now on nice terms, I did not mix well with the dynamic of the room, and it wasn't pretty. Going into second semester I hastily switched to a room with a new guy. The extent of what I knew about him was that we were both tenors in choir, and both looking for a new room. While we got along great and became fairly good friends, we didn't mix great as roommates. It's not that we were fighting or anything, but we ran on complete opposite schedules and had little to no organization in the room. Today, fall semester of my sophomore year, I'm rooming with the best friend I mentioned prior, and we are each other's ideal roommates. We fit everything I'm going to mention in following points, and have had a great semester together. But we're lucky. This does not work for everybody, and can often damage a friendship and cause a bad living situation. Consider your best friend's and your own qualities before deciding whether or not you can live together healthily.
2. Cleanliness levels are important.
Notice, I did not say they need to match. Nothing in this will say something needs to match your roommate. Diversity can be good and sometimes better because it creates a balance. But think about how tidy you and the potential roommate are. For example, I'm fairly moderate in my tidiness. Not a slob, but not super neat. I can lean either way, but can't really handle an extreme. When living with a person, I tend to match what they do. If they're clean, I'll lean clean, and if not, I'll lean slobby. My roommate is just a step under neat freak. He likes things in order and cleans regularly, but doesn't panic when things aren't that way. I keep up with him and he keeps me organized. Two total neat freaks would both get frustrated at a lack of control. Two slobs would lose motivation. Two sponges would reach all extremes and live in chaos. The balance is essential.
3. How's the music?
Being music majors, me and my roommate may appreciate this more, but it could definitely at least be a point for a potential roommate. Naturally, opposite music tastes would get annoying. If you're a punk rock guy, and your roommate's a country boy, not only would he maybe be a bad roommate, but he's probably a bad person. I'm like 83% kidding. But it would get annoying. At the same time, don't find a roommate with the exact same taste, because that gets tedious, would cause too many songs to be overplayed, and leads to what this article's final point is. In an ideal situation, your taste in music is similar, and leave room for the two of you to discover music you enjoy based on what the other one showed you. One of my roommate's most played driving CDs is a band he heard a song from while I was listening to them to accompany homework.
4. Sleep is a thing.
Once again, it doesn't have to be parallel, but shouldn't be too extreme. That was my spring semester freshmen year, and it leads to lots of woken up naps and slightly earlier alarms. If the schedules are the same, make sure you have a plan for getting ready in the morning at the same time without getting in each other's way. If they differ, come up with some sort of plan. Sometimes my roommate or I will have a late night out while the other has to get up early, or just need a nap, so we always send a text to the other saying when we're going to bed so the other can sneak in quietly. It's a small thing, but it could play a big impact, especially if you're like me and any sleep you can get is precious.
5. Don't find a roommate who is another you.
You will go insane. If you room with someone who is similar to you in several ways, it will wear you down. It's like living alone while having another person in the way. Diversity is very important, and for a good roommate situation, different strengths and personality traits are needed to play off each other in the best fashion.
And there you have it. Anything else that you think is a deal breaker should certainly be addressed, but these are good things to keep in mind. It's a big decision, and while normally just a semester commitment, it's a decision to be made intelligently.
