What to Consider When Choosing a Roommate

Living on a campus is a unique experience. It’s a great way to meet new people and immerse yourself in student life. If you’re choosing to live on campus, you will likely live with a roommate. In today’s blog, we discuss what to consider when you’re choosing a roommate.

At Meredith, you are not expected to find your own roommate. Once you officially reserve your spot at Meredith, you can fill out the housing request form. Our experienced staff will pair you up with a compatible roommate. The matches made by the staff are just as successful, sometimes even more successful, than self-selected roommates.

If you do find your own roommate through other means, make sure you and your potential roommate have in-depth discussions about what it will be like to live together, not just be friends. Those are two different discussion points. Here are some things to consider.

Communication

When living with a roommate, you might find yourself in situations where the two of you disagree. This is normal. What is important is how the two of you communicate with each other to come to a resolution. Before you choose your roommate, be sure you both agree on how and when you will communicate and address issues.

Study Habits

Do you study with noise in the background? Or do you prefer a quieter setting? Since you’ll be sharing the same space, you should consider choosing a roommate with compatible study habits or discuss ways to suit both your needs. For example, if one roommate prefers to study with music on and the other prefers silence, you can agree that the former roommate should use headphones when both roommates are in the room.

Cleanliness

Similar to study habits, individuals have different ideas about cleanliness and you should discuss this with your potential roommate. Some people are fine with a bit of clutter while others prefer for everything to be in its place. Be sure to discuss how you’ll divide housekeeping tasks and expectations for the level of cleanliness.