Living With a Roommate

Sharing a bedroom may be a new experience for you, but if you invest some time in the relationship, set expectations and do your best to communicate openly, you will make it work.

Tips for Roommate Living

• Communicate From the Start

  Your relationship with your roommate starts when you first contact each other. You'll get your roommate's contact information when you get your room assignment (usually by mid-July for new students). To get things off on the right foot, start talking with your roommate before you come to campus. Talk on the phone, meet each other in person if you live close to each other, connect on social media to plan who will bring what for your room.

  After you move in, your RA will ask you and your roommate to fill out and sign a Roommate Agreement Form. This form is a great conversation starter for you and your roommate. You'll be talking about expectations and boundaries, including, when you'd like to turn the lights out, how often you'd like to have friends in the room, how to keep your room clean, and other issues that are important to your roommate relationship.

  As you settle in, work on keeping the lines of communication open. Eat with each other in the Community Commons, find your classes together, go to on-campus events together, visit other rooms on your floor to meet people. Hanging out with your roommate and talking is the best way to get to know one another and avoid conflict.

• Resolving Conflict

  If you have an issue, bring it up with your roommate. Saying, "Hey, is there a chance that we can clean the room together this weekend?" is a good way to nudge someone in the right direction, but complaining about your messy roommate to your friends won't help. If talking with your roommate doesn't work right away, your RA can help you brainstorm some other ways to work things out. RAs are also trained to facilitate conversations between roommates to resolved conflicts. Also know that the Resident Director of your residence hall is a great resource to helping work with conflict.

• Changing Rooms

  Most roommate situations end up working pretty well. In the case that yours does not, you will need to work with your RA and the professional hall staff for assistance in resolving your conflict or obtaining a room change. You also can access the Room Change request form during open room change periods through DU Housing Portal.