How to Choose a Roommate

The task of choosing a roommate needs to be taken very seriously. The person or persons with whom you decide to live can affect the quality and productiveness of your undergraduate experience in many significant ways. When the moment comes for you to make your decision concerning roommates, remember these tips: don't panic, take your time, and don't compromise on important principles.

Food:
Do you and your roommates expect to share the costs of buying food and share in the preparation?
Do you have specific food needs (allergies, preparation needs)?

Cleaning:
Who will clean what? How often?
Decide exactly what "clean and tidy" means to you.
Will you hire a cleaning company to keep things under control?

Personal Habits & Individual Needs:
How much privacy do you need?
What hours do you usually sleep? Study? Relax? Socialize?

Smoking & Drugs:
Do you prefer to have a smoker or non-smoker as a roommate?
Clarify your stance on the use of alcohol and other illegal substances.

Music & Television:
What are you musical likes and dislikes?
Do you watch TV everyday or just once in a while?
Do you like to study with or without music/TV?

Personality Traits & Communication:
How do you perceive yourself?
How do others perceive you?
Do you enjoy being around alot of people? Or just a few friends?
Are you more comfortable by yourself?
What about overnight visitors?
When conflicts arise, how do you go about resolving them?
How do you behave when you're happy? Angry? What are the things that bother you most?

The roommate selection begins by filling out the Living Preference Questionnaire, which can be found on the housing website:

Living Preference Questionnaire

This questionnaire will assess your some of the preferences you may have that are listed above. The data collected in this form, will be used in CHARMS. CHARMS (Campus Housing AND Roommate Matching System) is an on line roommate matching system by which you will be able to select your own roommate. For more information on how CHARMS works, please visit the link above.

Please note that student residence and roommate assignments are done by the department of housing, not by Residence Life. However, your RA and Hall Director will be glad to mediate any conflict that may occur between you and your roommate.

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