Tufts Blogs

From my own experience, I know the first thing everyone wants to know about as soon as they’ve made their college choice is how to pick a roommate. And the Internet gives you plenty of opportunities to meet people, whether through the Facebook group or an outside site. But, in my experience, these sites and surveys aren’t necessarily designed to match you based on how well you’ll actually live together. They seem to focus more on matching you based on shared interests.

This doesn’t always work so well. Keep in mind that the number one, most important thing you can consider when picking a roommate is how effectively you will live together. While shared interests are great, you’ll meet people with shared interests in your classes, in your extracurricular activities, and at events. Your roommate needs to be someone you can live with. Remember that the friendly folks over at ResLife have been dealing with roommate conflicts every day for years, and the survey they give you is specifically designed to avoid those conflicts. Use that survey as an opportunity to meet people you wouldn’t normally meet, but who you can easily live effectively with.

Here is some general advice about the most important considerations to make when picking a roommate:

• Make sure your roommate and you have compatible sleep schedules. It’s no fun to be trying to head to sleep around 11 when your roommate is a night owl who wants to study in the room until 3 AM. Most of my friends who have changed their living situation mid-year have done so because of sleeping issues.
• Cleanliness is key. I’m a bit of a slob, especially at the end of the semester when I run out of time to even pretend I’m keeping myself organized, and I know I could never live with a neat freak (no matter how much I might like that person). Know yourself well enough to know whether messiness (or cleanliness) stresses you out, and find a roommate that works with you.
• Communication is the most important part of the roommate relationship. This may sound weird, but it can be hard to tell your roommate what you want if the two of you are best friends. I know plenty of people who have roomed with their best friend and ended up ruining the friendship because they weren’t compatible as roommates.
• Finally, if you’re coming from a high school where lots of people are coming to Tufts, it’s generally better not to room with one of them. You’ll be friends with them anyways, so why not expand your social circle and meet someone new?