Your bags are packed and you're off to college. A new environment, away from home (perhaps for the first time) and you're moving in with a stranger! Thrilling changes, right? But what if you and your roommate don't mesh? She's a night owl, you're an early bird? A neatnik and a not-so-tidy person? Will you make it through all the changes? With some planning and compromise, yes you can.
1. The refrigerator - will you share one or have your own? Your own makes divvying up space and making certain neither of you scarfs down the others' leftovers a non issue. If you have to share, consider having designated shelf space. Your shelf is your food, the roomies shelf contains stuff you don't touch.
2. You call that clean? When you're done cooking and eating, when will clean-up take place and who's going to do it? A good rule: You dirty it, you clean it. You may have to come to an agreement on how long after the cooking and eating before the kitchen needs to be picked up. An hour? Two? Three days? Discuss it before hand and problems hopefully won't surface.
3. Overnight guests or visitors who stay until the sun comes up? Set ground rules on how long visitors are welcomed and how many visitors you want crowding the room at once. If you have a big exam and need some extra zzzz's, ask the roommate for extra consideration for an early lights out. Rules for overnight guests should be hashed out from the get-go.
4. Nothing says a good night's sleep like dead silence, right? Maybe not. If you need noise and your roommate needs silence, you may need to sleep with earphones in. Can you only fall asleep with the white noise of the television? Discuss it up front to avoid problems later.
5. What's mine is mine. How do you feel about your roommate rummaging through your drawers, perhaps wearing your clothes? How about borrowing paper or ink because their printer ran out? May sound far fetched, but probably isn't. Talk about ownership and boundary issues off the bat.
With all the changes you're going through in adjusting to your first year in college, making your dorm room your haven can be done. It might just take some compromise and conversation before issues arise.
1. The refrigerator - will you share one or have your own? Your own makes divvying up space and making certain neither of you scarfs down the others' leftovers a non issue. If you have to share, consider having designated shelf space. Your shelf is your food, the roomies shelf contains stuff you don't touch.
2. You call that clean? When you're done cooking and eating, when will clean-up take place and who's going to do it? A good rule: You dirty it, you clean it. You may have to come to an agreement on how long after the cooking and eating before the kitchen needs to be picked up. An hour? Two? Three days? Discuss it before hand and problems hopefully won't surface.
3. Overnight guests or visitors who stay until the sun comes up? Set ground rules on how long visitors are welcomed and how many visitors you want crowding the room at once. If you have a big exam and need some extra zzzz's, ask the roommate for extra consideration for an early lights out. Rules for overnight guests should be hashed out from the get-go.
4. Nothing says a good night's sleep like dead silence, right? Maybe not. If you need noise and your roommate needs silence, you may need to sleep with earphones in. Can you only fall asleep with the white noise of the television? Discuss it up front to avoid problems later.
5. What's mine is mine. How do you feel about your roommate rummaging through your drawers, perhaps wearing your clothes? How about borrowing paper or ink because their printer ran out? May sound far fetched, but probably isn't. Talk about ownership and boundary issues off the bat.
With all the changes you're going through in adjusting to your first year in college, making your dorm room your haven can be done. It might just take some compromise and conversation before issues arise.
About the Author:
Robbi Hess is a staff writer for the American Educational Guidance Center. She writes on higher education and continuing education topics which include online degree programs, adults returning to college, financial aid, and time management for students.
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