It’s that time of year people. Most of you have narrowed your college choices down to about two or three, if not already committed yet. And because I am currently going through the awkward and grueling process of finding a compatible roommate online, I thought I’d share some tips that I am using or have heard from other people/websites.

1. Join your University chat and post about yourself

I just did this a couple days ago and it was actually so scary. My school’s official facebook chat for the class of 2024 had over 900 people, 95% of which I’ve never met before so I understand how it is uncomfortable to do this, but it is the first step to put yourself out there. I inserted a screenshot of my post to my college’s official chat and in it, I basically talked about where I’m from, what I’m majoring in, what dorm I want and a couple things about myself that are specific enough to attract someone similar to you. For example, instead of just writing that you like listening to music, include specific artists or songs that you enjoy so that if other people also like those artists, they will immediately feel like they can relate to you and will most likely message you.

2. Keep your options open

There is nothing wrong in taking initiative and messaging people first. If you stumble across a post from someone and you genuinely feel like you may have similar interests and personality, message them! Now is the time to take risks because you’re the one that is going to be stuck living with an awful roommate if you don’t. There is no such thing as monogamy when looking for roommates either. You should actually talk to multiple people and keep your options open rather than only carrying out a conversation with one person, because you never know when people might go back on their word.

3. Ask the necessary questions

God this is honestly so hard. I’m already an awkward person in general, but having to straight up ask someone that I don’t know about their cleaning habits and sleep schedule is frankly weird, but nevertheless, very necessary. PLEASE make sure you ask the important questions such as…

• What room/dorm are you going for?
• How clean are you?
• Are you an early bird or a night owl?
• What are your interests?
• How do you plan on getting involved on campus?
• Are you going to be having friends over often?
• What are your studying habits?
• Do you listen to music, if so what kind?
• Are you allergic to any foods?
• What are your pet peeves?

These are honestly the very basic questions that you should ask when getting to know a potential roommate. I know it’s super awkward bringing it up, but I can assure you that they want to know the same things about you so it’s kind of like a mutual awkwardness. Remember, it’s better to do all the awkward stuff now and live with a good roommate for months rather than hold back and end up living with someone who leaves their shit everywhere or turns out to be crazy.

4. Make sure you both are on the same page

Once you have asked a multitude of questions on both sides, make sure that you both agree to be roommates. Please make this part REALLY CLEAR. Don’t try to make it ambiguous because the other person might not understand what you’re saying; you need to straight up ask them if they are cool with being roommates with you. Now if you are looking for suitemates (more than 2 people), then you have to do the additional step of posting again on facebook on behalf of both you and your roommate and specify that you both are looking for X amount of people to share a suite with. After that, make sure to create a group chat with everyone in it and ask the same questions again to the new people so that you and your roommate can figure out if they are compatible with y’all or not.

5. Who’s bringing/doing what

Ahhh, you’ve finished the hard parts. But don’t slack off just yet, this step is just as important in securing a good relationship with your roommate. If your school allows you to bring items such as mini fridges, Keurigs etc, then check with your roommate to make sure who is bringing what. It would suck if you both brought  Keurigs and no one had a mini fridge. Also, be mindful as to how much stuff you are bringing and how much space it takes. Dorm rooms are already small enough as it is so try and minimize the amount of space you take up so that both you and your roommate can personalize the dorm. Finally, once you’re all moved in, create a schedule or a list that each roommate has to follow. Write out who is in charge of cleaning the bathroom this week and who needs to take out the trash. These are all things that you may not have had to think about at home, but now that you are living independently, these basic things may slip your mind so it always helps to create a schedule as a reminder.

I hope these 5 tips helped you out at least a little bit. Your roommate is honestly a big part of your college life. They can either be your best friends or turn out to be a psycho who you never want to see again. But I assure you, if you follow the tips above, the chances are that you will find an amazing roommate and start college off on the right foot!