Are you wondering what questions to ask a college roommate? You’ve just received your acceptance letter.
Now, you’re on the hunt for a college roommate. The key to finding a good roommate is asking the right questions. We’ve discussed what these should be below.
What Will You Be Studying?
Ask your potential roommate what they’ll be majoring in. You’ll get a good idea about their interests and the type of person that they are. Knowing what they’re going to major in would give you an idea of their study habits and how much work they’ll be doing too.
Hopefully, you have similar classes or majors. You’ll be able to have study sessions together which is great.
Where Are You from?
When you’re getting to know someone, the best place to start is to ask where they’re from. After all, the background or culture you have been raised in affects who you are. Who knows? Maybe your potential roommate is from the same area or culture as you. The two of you could bond over this.
What Classes Are You Going to Take?
Asking what classes they will be taking can give you an insight into their schedule. They may have classes early in the morning, so you shouldn’t disturb them late at night.
Have You Ever Lived with Someone Before?
Sharing a space is all about compromise and understanding. If your future roomie has shared a room before, they would understand this. The two of you would be able to ease into the new living situation.
How Do You Feel About Guests?
Make sure you are on the same page about having guests over. It would be unfortunate living with someone that won’t like having your friends around.
Will You Be Bringing Your Car?
Finding on-campus parking is a daunting task. You may be thinking about bringing your car to college. If your potential roommate is bringing their car too, finding on-campus parking would be easier.
What Can You Pitch in For?
The university would provide essentials, like desks, beds, and a closet. However, big ticket items like televisions, mini-fridges and futons would have to be bought. Spending a lot, yourself would be tough, as they will be shared. Ask your potential roommate how they feel about splitting the bill.
Will You Be Bringing a Pet?
Unlike most schools, the one you’re attending may let you bring pets. If you’re not a dog person, sharing a dorm with someone who is bringing a furry friend won’t be ideal. On the other hand, you may want to bring your dog, and your roomie might not like this.
Do You Want to Work on Campus?
You may be looking for a job on campus. Hopefully, your potential roomie is going to as well. You would have a buddy to help with the job hunt.
Let’s say they don’t want to work on campus but already have a job elsewhere. Get more information on their employment. This would let you know how busy they are.
How Clean do you like your room?
It’s better to find out now if the person you’ll be rooming with it is messy. You’ll be able to come up with organizational tips to help them handle their bad habit.
Do You Smoke or Drink?
Smoking may not be for you. Be upfront and ask whether they smoke or not. You probably won’t enjoy living with someone whose space smells like a chimney.
Let’s say they don’t smoke but you do. This would let you take precautions not to smoke indoors.
Also, find out whether they drink. Sharing a dorm with someone that gets drunk frequently won’t be fun.
What Are You Allergic to?
No one wants to stay up all night sneezing. Find out everything your potential roommate is allergic to. You wouldn’t want to bring anything that would set their allergies off.
Find out if they have any dietary restrictions as well. They may only eat kosher or vegan food.
How Hot or Cold Do You Need Rooms to Be?
For general housekeeping purposes, this is a good question to ask. You may be someone that needs the room to be cold. This won’t work well if the person you’ll rooming with can’t stand cold temperatures.
What Sports Do You Play?
Asking your potential roommate if they play any sports would let you know how active they are, and whether they want to hit the gym with you. Who knows? Maybe you played the same sport in high school.
What are your thoughts on chores?
It might feel uncomfortable asking a future roommate how you will be dividing chores. But it’s something that needs to be discussed. Dividing chores well would make it easier to share a dorm.
How Do You Study?
Hopefully, the two of you have compatible study habits. It’s going to be difficult if you like hitting the books in peace and quiet, while they like studying with music in the background.
Do You Know Anyone On Campus?
This might seem like an odd question to ask. However, figuring out whether they’re going to be heading to college with a friend from high school or not has its perks. You’ll be able to hang out with your new roommate and their friend for the first few days until you get to know others.
Will You Be Going Home Often?
Some students go to a college in their town. Your potential roommate’s home may be in the area, so they may be planning to go back every weekend. Knowing how often they’ll be away would let you plan your week and weekends.
Your home may be in the area instead of theirs. Letting them know that you’re going to be away every Saturday and Sunday will be a nice thing to do.
What Time Do You Sleep?
Finding out what time they go to bed may seem like a minor detail. But the two of you may have very different sleep schedules. You may go to bed early, while they go to bed late.
Do You Have Any Pet Peeves?
Establish your pet peeves with your potential roommate. They would know to avoid these habits around you. Find out what ticks them off too. The two of you would deal with less issues, as you wouldn’t be getting on each other’s nerves.
What Type of Music Do You Listen To?
Getting to know their taste in music would help you bond better. Moreover, knowing how often they listen to music, and the type that they enjoy would let you figure out if they’re going to be a nuisance or not. The person you’re going to be living with may be a fan of heavy metal. If you’re someone who likes to spend your time in peace and quiet, this won’t be ideal.
Ask them if they regularly listen to music without headphones on. Whatever the type of music they listen to, if they listen to it without headphones, you will be disturbed.
Should You Room with a Friend From High School?
When filling out the housing application form, you can either include the name of a person you want to room with, or let the college choose someone for you. If you have a friend that is going to attend the school, you might be thinking about putting their name down as your roommate. This is not a good idea.
You will go to college already having friend, so you may not try to socialize as much. College is all about getting out there and meeting new people which you would miss out on.
Although the two of you might be friends, you may have never lived together before. You might soon realize that they are the worst person to share a dorm with. Your friendship could end, as you are constantly fighting with each other.
Discussing living arrangements and chores is less awkward with a stranger than with someone you know. You might end up letting your buddy from high school be lazy and not do their chores.
As they are your friend, it might also be harder for you to say no to whatever they want.
On the flip side, sharing a dorm with someone you know would help you whenever you feel home sick. You would have someone that you can travel back home with.
There are a lot of questions to ask someone before you choose them to share a room with as your college roommate. Hopefully, you will be able to find a person that who meets all your requirements. Sharing a dorm with someone is all about compromise.
A person who has already shared a room before would understand this well. Make sure that the person you’ll be living with doesn’t have any bad habits that you find annoying. Ensure that they are fine with you bringing friends around. It would be uncomfortable to live with someone who make your friends feel unwelcome.
