Fill In the Blanks

If you’re choosing to use the random pairing or are letting the college choose your roommate for you, you’ll probably have to fill out some kind of profile or questionnaire. These usually include things like: what time do you usually go to bed, where do you prefer to study, do you keep your space clean or are you more messy, etc. When you’re answering these questions, be as honest as possible. If there’s something you’re dead set against (e.g., a roommate who smokes) you can mark that and you will not be paired with someone who fits that criteria.

Choosing a roommate can be kind of stressful . In some cases, it can feel like as big of a decision as actually choosing which school to attend. But don’t worry, if you get to campus and live with your roommate for a few weeks and find out that your lifestyles are just too different, you can always move. I swapped roommates my first semester of college, and after I moved my college experience was much more positive. In fact, I lived with different people every year of college and it all worked out.

So have fun with it! Be open to meeting new people and trying new things. Sometimes the best roommates are the ones that are completely different than you because they cannot only introduce you to new cultural experiences, but they can also expand your ways of thinking–and isn’t that what college is all about?