Comments on How to Live With Your College Roommate

I told my roommate when I was a freshman in college that she wasn't allowed to touch my stuff, especially not my computer and clothes. First semester was alright, but then my clothes got dirty when I hadn't worn them, a lot of possessions went missing, she used my computer and got so many viruses on it that it became unusable. Worse though, was that the RA of the dorm we lived in was her best friend and sided with her in every argument that we had without hearing my side of the story! If this happens, definitely go to someone else with your concerns.

There is no way you can live with someone you don't trust. It doesn't matter if you're sharing a room or a house. If you don't trust your roommate (ie: you have to lock your door, hide money, etc) you shouldn't be living with them. Request a roommate change or move out. I lived in the res halls with the same roommate for two years and never had a major problem. I would leave money out on my desk and it never disappeared. Currently I live with 3 girls in a house and I never lock my door or am worried about things missing or them going through my stuff. As soon as trust is an issue, everything else will be too.

There is no way you can live with someone you don't trust. It doesn't matter if you're sharing a room or a house. If you don't trust your roommate (ie: you have to lock your door, hide money, etc) you shouldn't be living with them. Request a roommate change or move out. I lived in the res halls with the same roommate for two years and never had a major problem. I would leave money out on my desk and it never disappeared. Currently I live with 3 girls in a house and I never lock my door or am worried about things missing or them going through my stuff. As soon as trust is an issue, everything else will be too.

I told my roommate when I was a freshman in college that she wasn't allowed to touch my stuff, especially not my computer and clothes. First semester was alright, but then my clothes got dirty when I hadn't worn them, a lot of possessions went missing, she used my computer and got so many viruses on it that it became unusable. Worse though, was that the RA of the dorm we lived in was her best friend and sided with her in every argument that we had without hearing my side of the story! If this happens, definitely go to someone else with your concerns.

When I was a freshman I was told there was no more room in the dorms, so me and 4 other girls got a two-room suite with a bathroom. Sounds great- huh? not so much- they all like to talk tough and since I had purple hair I was labeled as a freak. After two weeks of coming home to my room with my food being eaten or my clothes worn, I requested a change and moved out. Luckily, we all knew we didn't want to be roommates, and I moved in with a girl across the hall. All those girls failed out, and I had a great roommate for the following 3 years. My tip is: it will get better, and stay calm, hide your valuables, stay friends with the RAs, or better yet, become one yourself...you get your own room! I became one, and ended up getting the Teamwork Award my last year!

When I was a freshman I was told there was no more room in the dorms, so me and 4 other girls got a two-room suite with a bathroom. Sounds great- huh? not so much- they all like to talk tough and since I had purple hair I was labeled as a freak. After two weeks of coming home to my room with my food being eaten or my clothes worn, I requested a change and moved out. Luckily, we all knew we didn't want to be roommates, and I moved in with a girl across the hall. All those girls failed out, and I had a great roommate for the following 3 years. My tip is: it will get better, and stay calm, hide your valuables, stay friends with the RAs, or better yet, become one yourself...you get your own room! I became one, and ended up getting the Teamwork Award my last year!

If you are not getting along with your roommate try to remember (in most cases) there are going to be far worse roommates out there. I had a roommate who would take my car keys and drive to who knows where every weekend. I told her to stop and it didn't until one time I reported the car stolen; that stopped that. But remember, it probably isn't as bad as it could be!

If you and your roommate are having issues, contact your resident adviser. They have lots of resources they can use to help you two work things out. And, if things cannot be resolved, they can speed you through the process of filing a room change request.

Make sure you have good hygiene. I had a roommate who smells really bad, and it was embarrassing - for both me and her. I didn't know how to tell her without offending her, so I just kept quiet. It was really hard living with her and it made me hate her.

If you are just not getting along with your roomie, get out before you get stuck in a rut & stay because you don't want to offend them. If you stay, things will get worse - I learned that from experience. It will stress you out and affect your schoolwork.

If your roommate begins to make you mad, talk to him/her about it. Don't let things go until they are so big you have a giant fight & hate each other. You'll want to have a friend at night.

I have gone through 6 roommates my 5 years of college. I already graduated. I've had them all the once that are drunks drink 24/7, the once that bring in friends all the time 24/7, the once that yell at you, the once that at like spoiled 2 year old brats, the ones that don't bath, the ones that have personality disorders. The main thing to keep in mind is to talk to them in a low and respectful voice on how you feel they should behave when they are around you. If they don't listen (which is 99.9% of the time), you should always just understand that your dealing with immature spoiled brats and that it's not worth your time to let people that get to you. Most people that are like that will 99.9% of the time have real world problems when they get into corporate America and because they are not flexible in getting along in a team they will most likely not be very successful.

Don't let your room mate tell you what to do. If you want to go to bed, tell them you ARE GOING TO BED and shut the lights...if she needs to study, she can go in the common room.

If you don't see you and your roomie getting along, get on the waiting list in Res Life for another room... act NOW you can always refuse any offers for a room change if things start to work out, believe me i wish i got my ass on the list sooner, my roomates disrespect caused my academics to slip.

If your roommate gets into a fight with his/her girlfriend/boyfriend, don't take sides. If they work things out, your roommate is going to remember anything you said and possibly resent you for it.

Make sure to bring up small annoying issues before they get too big, most likely they will not take it as rude but helpful.

Don't be a wuss about things. I made this mistake, and I'm still paying for it. Since I didn't stand up for myself and let my roomie know it bothered me, more nights than not I end up sleeping very little due to her drunken behavior.

If I have one tip for college, it's not to room with a high school friend. You might think that he/she is your friend, but after living with them, you will see that your friendship will fall apart. It happened to me and I really resent the fact!

I have gone through 6 roommates my 5 years of college. I already graduated. I've had them all the once that are drunks drink 24/7, the once that bring in friends all the time 24/7, the once that yell at you, the once that at like spoiled 2 year old brats, the ones that don't bath, the ones that have personality disorders. The main thing to keep in mind is to talk to them in a low and respectful voice on how you feel they should behave when they are around you. If they don't listen (which is 99.9% of the time), you should always just understand that your dealing with immature spoiled brats and that it's not worth your time to let people that get to you. Most people that are like that will 99.9% of the time have real world problems when they get into corporate America and because they are not flexible in getting along in a team they will most likely not be very successful.