Roommate Information

• Email, facebook, tweet, text, call, write, send a carrier pigeon, etc. It’ s really important to get in touch with your roommate and start talking about yourselves, as well as your room. If they take a little while to respond, don’t fret! They may be traveling or something, just be patient.
• Start thinking about the questions below so you can have fruitful conversations.
• Try to save money on the room —it’s not necessary to buy everything brand-new.
• Do your best to pack lightly-- don’t want to feel like you are living in a storage unit!
• Exchange contact info with your roommate’s parents, in case of an emergency.
• ​Be considerate — it’s important to compromise with each other.
• If you are having a problem with your roommate, talk to her about it before others.  Ask your RA for help in having tough conversations.​

Helpful conversation starters to become a great roommate:

Make sure you think about these and talk about them to your roommate at some point.  These questions will be the basis of your roommate agreement that you create with each other.

General:
-Where are you from?
-What was your high school like?
-What is your family like?
-What activities/interests do you have?
-What did you do this summer?
-Do you have any allergies/medical/ mental conditions to be aware of?
-What do you generally prefer the temperature to be? 

Personality:
-What is your mood most of the time?
-How would you describe yourself?
-What kinds of things annoy you?
-What is your idea of relaxing?
-What might cheer you up?
-When do you prefer to be left alone?
-How do you respond to stress?
-If upset, do you like to talk about it?
-How much private time do you need?

Room:
-Would you prefer to bunk/loft the beds, or leave them on the ground ?
-Do you want to try to coordinate colors for bedding and the room?
*Be sure to coordinate who is bringing/buying futon (if applicable), refrigerator, tv, rug etc. It may be easier to have each person own specific parts of the room rather than splitting costs.

Cleanliness
-What does "clean" mean to you?
-How often will you clean your individual areas? 
-How often will you clean the whole room? What chores are divided up?
-How often will you remove trash? Who will do it and on what rotation?

Communication
-How do you best communicate (in the moment, after cooling off...)
-How do I want my roommate to communicate to me if I am doing something she doesn’t like?
-What is the longest we wait before saying anything about what might be bothering us? (3 day max is recommended)

Sleep
-Light sleeper or a heavy sleeper?
-How much sleep do you need?
-Are you a morning or evening person? 
-How long does it take to fall asleep?
-Will you need an eyemask/earplugs?
​-Do you snore?

Study
-Where do you like to study: in a lounge? In the library? In the room?
-Do you need complete quiet?
-What time of day do you study best?
-Do you  study alone or in groups?

Noise
-What does "quiet" mean to you?
-What kinds of things can you sleep through, or what can you NOT sleep through (hairdryer, lights, talking)?
-Do you need complete quiet to study in the room? Would earbuds of your own music work?