Picking a roommate for your first year of college can be tough, you want to make sure that you’re not rooming with someone that’s crazy or that you don’t like. It can also be hard to judge someone just through a Facebook post with some pictures from high school but there’s a few things that you have to consider before committing to rooming with someone for a whole school year.
If you do decide to use Facebook for picking a roommate you shouldn’t just drive right in and take the first person that you talk to unless you’re 100 percent sure that you could share a room with them. Get to know some other people and be open minded to people that are different from you. College isn’t like high school, everyone is here for all kinds of different reasons and even if they aren’t the same reasons as yours you guys could still become best friends. Another quick tip, don’t just ghost people because they’re “weird”, maybe you don’t want to share a room with them but you can still offer a friendship and stay close that way there’s no bad blood once you get here with anyone. Remember, everyone is in the same boat as you and wants to find someone that’s going to become their best friend and someone that they click with and can go through college together.
During this whole nerve wracking process don’t portray yourself as someone that you’re not. Don’t try and make yourself look “cool” just to find someone to room with because you might end up with someone that is the complete opposite as you and someone that takes you away from your studies. College is a big and scary time for a lot of us but don’t forget where you came from and who you were before you got to college, you don’t have to change all of that just for a roommate.
After you find a roommate I suggest meeting up before the school year starts and getting to know them a little more. The more you get to know them before move in the easier the transition from home to college will be. Have fun and get excited to come to college, live on your own, make new friends, and get to make new experiences. Remember that it’s okay if you guys don’t end up being the best of friends in the world, as long as you make it comfortable for the both of you to live you still have all four years here to room with other people.
If you decide to go for a random roommate don’t freak out that you’re going to get an awful, crazy roommate. Maybe figure out who they are and reach out and text a little before school. You may not have picked them as your roommate but it’s going to be 100 times worse if you guys don’t at least try to make an effort to get to know each other. For the sake of sharing a small room, trust me it seems even smaller if you guys don’t like each other. And if you end up not liking your roommate at all, make the most of it and don’t let it affect your studies. Do everything that you can to make the situation better without being totally blind to your own feelings.
Rachel Laher is an undecided freshman studying at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Rachel? Email her rl218617@ohio.edu.
