To Room or Not to Room

 Navigating Roommates

There are many options when it comes to finding a roommate. You can choose to room with someone you know from high school, you can join Facebook groups to find a roommate the summer before you move in, or you can go random. You can choose to live in a special living option (SLO). These are specific areas of residence halls that group people with the same interests together. One of them is Engineering House, which is a dorm in West campus for engineering students. My sophomore year, I chose to go random and I utilized the room exchange e-board on e-living because I wanted to live in a specific dorm in South. I ended up becoming best friends with my random roommate. It can be scary to think of living with a stranger, but it can also be an amazing experience. Also remember, you can still make friends outside of those living in your dorm.

-Kaitlyn Hartman, Team N Mentor, WEPO ‘21

Kaitlyn with her roommate

I was lucky to meet my roommate at SWE stayover. Connecting with another women in engineering is a great way to find a roommate who is just as driven as you are! There are many perks to living with people who have similar qualities in regards to scheduling, such as morning/bed times and being able to ask questions about homework. Although these perks are great, I also found it beneficial to live in East dorms where most freshmen live in order to have friends outside of my classes. This allowed me to take a break from a constant engineering mindset. Most of East halls are now newly renovated and super close to the football stadium, IM gym, and the creamery. So, if sports and sweets are your thing, it is a great location to make friends and stay active.

Regardless of what dorm you are in and how you found your roommate, COMMUNICATION IS KEY! Reach out to your roommate as early as possible to get to know them, share your move-in dates, your school schedule, and to plan logistical things. For example, decide who is going to bring the trashcan, the carpet, and the vacuum. Discuss your preferences such as when a good time to turn off the lights would be or your comfortability with having people in the room. Lastly, set up a weekly time, such as Friday at 3 PM to discuss problems like not cleaning dishes often enough. This way both parties can feel comfortable discussing what they can and cannot tolerate without overthinking how to bring up the issue. Never brush a problem under the rug for too long because small problems can build up creating a larger problem that could have been resolved earlier.

-Julia Szyszko, Team N Mentor, WEPO ‘21

Julia with her freshman year roommate

     While it would be amazing to be best friends with your roommate right off the bat, it’s ok if that doesn’t happen. If you don’t get along with your roommate, you can talk to your Resident Assistant (RA) about switching roommates or you can change rooms your second semester after you’ve met more people and know who you’re comfortable around. I moved from East renovated dorms in the first semester of freshman year to unrenovated E-house in my second semester. I didn’t even mind the lack of air conditioning in West because I loved my roommate and neighbors so much!

-Katie Maloney, Team N Envoy, WEPO ‘21

Katie with her roommate and neighbors in West quad.

Katie and her future roommates (2 she met at WEPO!)