Tips On How To Make Sure You Get Along With Your Roommates
Living with a roommate can make your college experience more fun and less challenging. Having a peer share the room with you also means that you’ll have someone with whom you can split the bills, as well as a supporter whenever you face difficulties with your requirements.
Having roommates can come with different perks, but, on the other side of the coin, it also has several drawbacks. You and your roommates have different personalities and behaviors, and these differences can trigger conflicts when not managed properly. When this happens, your roommates will become a stressor, which can possibly affect your performance in college.
Make sure that you get along with your roommates by following these tips:
1. Get To Know Your Roommates
Once you’ve settled in your student housing, spend some time getting to know your roommates. If possible, invite them to a nearby café and learn more about each other’s friends, families, hometowns, and degrees. During this time, you don’t have to immediately become best friends; you just have to share information about each other to create mutual respect.
It’ll be easier for you to set rules and understand your roommates’ behaviors if you know more about them. This information can also help you start off on the right foot once the school year starts.
2. Establish Clear Boundaries
2. Establish Clear Boundaries
Unclear boundaries or not having boundaries at all are two of the most common reasons why roommates have sour relationships with each other. Make sure that you and your roommates don’t reach this state by establishing clear boundaries as early as possible.
Depending on the number of roommates you'll have and your class schedules, you and your roommates can set boundaries on quiet or study time, having guests in the room, borrowing items, and chores. When setting boundaries, it’s important that all parties involved are amenable to the rules set, and issues are raised and addressed beforehand.
If you feel like the rules set by your roommates seem unfair or unclear to you, make sure to reach out and have the information clarified. When living with roommates, avoid “going with the flow” as this can only end up crossing the line, which can eventually trigger hurt and resentment
3. Respect The Schedules
3. Respect The Schedules
Before the school year starts, share your schedules with each other to help both of you come up with an essential daily or weekly schedule. If your roommates would usually study during Fridays to score higher in their tests, it might not be best to throw a party in your student housing that exact same day. Your roommates will most likely need quiet time to study and get some shuteye.
In the same way, let your roommates know your class schedules so they will also know how and when to adjust. Respecting each other’s schedules is a simple way of creating a healthy friendship with your roommates while making sure that none of your academic responsibilities are compromised.
4. Practice Communication
4. Practice Communication
Communication is key in every relationship, and the same also remains true with the relationship you’ll have with your roommate. Since you’ll be spending a lot of time together, it’s important that the two of you know how to communicate clearly and listen well. There should be two-way communication between you and your roommates to ensure a healthy and harmonious relationship throughout the school year.
Be open about the things you would want to happen when you start to live in the same room, and, in return, listen to what your roommates have to say. If possible, decide how you are going to resolve conflicts (if there are any) and encourage open communication all the time.
If you have problems with your roommates, make sure to talk directly to them about it and avoid talking behind their backs. Encourage your roommates to do the same, as well.
5. Respect Other People’s Stuff
5. Respect Other People’s Stuff
Regardless of how close your relationship with your roommate gets, never assume that it’s okay to use their stuff without their permission. Even if you and your roommates have already become best friends, it’s always best to ask them first before using any of their valuables.
Put yourself in their shoes and assess how you would feel if the shoes you were expecting to use were suddenly gone from your closet because someone used it without your consent. You would likely feel frustrated and angry when this happens.
Always ask permission from your roommates before using or borrowing any of their valuables. You don’t want to strain or break a bond just because over one item, right?
It’ll Be Worth It
Getting along with your roommates will require hard work, as you’ll have to adjust and extend your patience. And, while this living arrangement might demand your time and effort, all of these will surely be worth it in the end because getting along with your roommates ensures that you’ll always have friends throughout the entire semester!
