What is the etiquitte on college roommates?

Question

I am moving into my 1 bedroom college apartment on Wednesday, which I am sharing with a girl I have never met before. (Nor have I ever had a non-familial roommate.) What kinds of things do I need to discuss with her? (In the least awkward way possible!) What is the etiqutte for certain things such as food...should we keep all our own things seperate, or share? I hope its a good experience, but I'm pretty stressed about it!

Answer 1

NEVER share your things because one always ends up shortchanged. Keep everything on your side of the room and don't invade her privacy. Talk about quiet times, tv times, visitor times, coming back late times, days, study times. You basically need to coordinate and agree with everything you will be doing that could affect her. EVERYTHING!

Answer 2

My advise to you would would be...do not assume anything... don't assume you'll go to bed the same time, sleep the same amount, have the same ideas about hygiene, or have the same threshold for dirt.. Make sure you discuss things like personal space, whats okay and not okay to borrow. Remember, the things you do in the beginning might not be the same a few weeks later (when i got to college, my roomate and I decided that the lights out time would be between 11-12.oh man I agreed to it, thinking that i would do the same. but by the third week I actually had to leave to room past 12 to study...such a mistake) ...I'd say wait to share ownership of things...if you guys get along...great...but you don't want to split the cost of some expensive TV...then get into a fight and end up having to fight again over the TV too... I had friends who were roomates for 3 of 4 years of college...and when they did part ways...they knew whose stuff was whose...you can share usage, but prolly a bad idea to split costs of goods...
I guess ultimately, be upfront about who you are and what you expect, and hopefully your roomate will be too, because in the end if problems do arise, you can always tell your Resident Advisor (the RA) how you were upfront in the beginning and the terms were agreed upon. (you'll likely have to sign a roomates contract) and if both you and your roomates terms are on paper there isn't any room for argument.
upfront and honest is the best ...

Answer 3

You never know what kind of roommate you are going to get. You could end up best friends or worst enemies or something inbetween. Set ground rules. Come up with a system of if a boyfriend is over. My roommate and I used hair scrunches on the door knob when she didn't give me a heads up that he would be there and they wanted "private" time. Keep your things seperate. And keep your valuables like jewelry in a locked safe or locked trunk. That's from personal experience. If you share a fridge designate a shelf to her and yourself. Keep your things seperate and on your half of the room.
If you are a busy college girl you won't be spending much time in the room except for sleeping, studying ( I did mine at the library because there were too many distractions on the dorm floor), and bathing and getting dressed.
Don't worry too much it all falls into place.

Answer 4

What a good question!
You should discuss: sleeping habits, class schedules, who gets to use the bathroom first in the morning, food, overnight guests, television time, study time, cell phone use (would it be okay to talk on your cell phone at 3am while the other is asleep?), who cleans the bathroom, can you use each others computers?, borrowing each others stuff...ETC ETC
It is so important to establish rules and to practice common courtesy with your roomate. I've had 5 roomates in college, and I had 2 courteous ones! The best roomates I've ever had were courteous!! They also were my sorority sisters. Think about joining a club or organization and living with a friend from there so you don't have to live with a stranger next time. GOOD LUCK! Study hard!

Answer 5

OH BOY. What an interesting topic... from the woman who had 9, yes NINE roommates during her 4 years in college.

The most important thing is to communicate with each other. Do not let your "peeves" fester as this only adds to any complications. I would suggest discussing how each of you would like to handle things like food, bedtime, partying, and guys on the first day. That way you set the rules right there and then for each of you.

The MOST important thing with living with a roommate is to treat her in exactly the same way that you want to be treated. It sounds SOOOO basic but it is the best way to make sure that you two are on the same page.

You do not have to be best friends; you don't even have to like each other. You DO have to treat each other with respect. I urge you to take 20 minutes on the first day and set some ground rules for each other... be sure to spell out any personal peeves you have and make sure you let her do the same. And make sure you listen to her peeves... it will make life soooo much easier if you do!!

Good luck with co-habitating... it can be a wonderful experience if you both are willing and able to behave like humans!

Answer 6

all of my college roommates and i met this way - i never met them face to face until move in day. you need to get rules on living out there as soon as possible. it's not awkward - she's feeling the same stresses you are, and it'll be good for both of you to discuss. we always kept our food seperate, this causes much less headaches. it never hurts to ask if you want something of theirs, but don't buy things together. also, as far as computer useage & all that - if you can have seperate, that's always better. you don't want to come home one day to find your paper you've been working on gone.

Answer 7

Just be nice and polite.
There is no sharing of anything, but treats once in a while is fine.
Do your share of the cleaning of the bathroom and be clean in general.
Make sure your clock doesn't make loud ticking noise.

Answer 8

Good luck with your college experience.