The Ultimate Guide To College Roommate Life!

This post is all about the ultimate guide to college roommate life.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read the disclosure here.

A couple of weeks ago I sent out an email to all of my wonderful blog subscribers about my best college roommate advice for them. They loved it so I decided to write some more posts about college roommate life.

I decided to combine all of these posts into one massive guide on college roommate life full of my BEST tips and tricks!

This post is inspired by my “Complete Guide To College Roommate Life” free printables which you can find in my free resource library here.

I split this guide up into 4 parts: General Tips About Roommate Life, Items To Share (to save money!), Essentials Questions To Ask Your Roommates, and Roommate Contract Topics To Discuss.

I lived in a quad my freshman year (4 girls in 1 room) which I wasn’t expecting at all. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun! Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get the housing your expecting. Everything happens for a reason! 😉 

I hope this guide makes you feel a lot better!

General Tips About Roommate Life:

1. Get to know and try to bond with your roommates from the beginning: 

You definitely don’t have to become best friends and spend every second together but it can be helpful to try to get to know each other better. Maybe go to dinner, explore your new town, or go out together.

The list of questions later in this post will also help you get to know each other better.

2. Speak up when something your roommate does is bothering you: 

This is definitely one of the hardest things to do because you don’t want to hurt your roommate’s feelings. I totally get that but I found that it’s better to talk about it kindly than ignore it altogether. 

It’s also important to respond well if your roommate ever brings up anything you do that is bothering them. If you respond in a positive way, it will encourage them to do the same down the road. 

3. Keep your room clean: 

I know that keeping your room clean doesn’t really seem like it would help you get along/live better with your roommates but it does, haha! Having a clean and organized room will make both of you feel more put together and on top of things which is great!

I know that it can be really hard to keep your room clean in college (mine was definitely not always clean, but I tried haha) especially since most students are super busy. 

My roommates and I learned the best way to keep our room relatively clean was to make our beds and tidy up our desks in the morning.

These simple chores will only take you about 5 minutes in the morning and will help make your room look so much better! Having a clean room will also make you feel a lot better.

Want your dorm room to stay clean without spending a lot of time cleaning? Read this post about 5 super easy things that you can do every day to keep your dorm room clean!

Share Items To Save Money:

This is my all-time favorite college roommate life hack! It’s no secret that college is insanely expensive. Because of this, I’m always looking for new ways to save money (who isn’t right!?)

One of the best ways to save money in college is to share some common college items (that you really don’t need doubles of) with your roommates.

Check out this post to see the 30 items that are best (and easy!) to share with your roommates. I promise this will save you soooo much money!

The top 5 items to share are below:

1. Microwave

I promise that every dorm room needs a good microwave and that you’ll get a lot of use out of one!

Obviously you won’t need multiple microwaves in your room so make sure to coordinate with your roommates before buying one.

Check what size your school allows before buying one too. 🙂

2. Mini Fridge

You really don’t need more than one fridge in your dorm which is why it’s a great item to share! Make sure to check what size fridge your school allows.

3. Water Filter (Brita)

A Brita makes sure that your water is always filtered. My roommates and I shared one last year, during our freshman year, and it was the best!

It works really well and is always nice to know that the water you’re drinking is extra clean.

4. Small Vacuum

My roommate brought a small vacuum for our room and it was really nice to have!

5. Broom & Dustpan

A broom and dustpan are super helpful college essentials! My roommates and I used ours almost every day.

Don’t forget to check out this post to see the other 25 items that are best (and so easy!) to share with your roommates. This is just such an easy and smart way to save money.

Essentials Questions To Ask Your Roommates:

Whether you’re trying to find the perfect roommate or if you already have one, these 150 best questions will help you get to know each other!

I know that it can be scary to think about living with someone that you don’t know very well, which is why I think these questions will help.

Here are the 10 most important questions to ask.

1. Are you a morning or night person?

2. How is your class schedule? Lots of early classes? (this is also a good time to compare your schedules!)

3. When is your birthday? (write this down so that you don’t forget your roomies bday.)

4. If Greek Life is big at your school you can ask are you rushing?

5. Do you plan to go home on the weekends a lot?

6. Are you okay with having guests over?

7. What are your study habits? More likely to study in our room or somewhere else like the library?

8. What time do you want our lights off?

9. What are your thoughts on alcohol and drugs? (Obviously, drugs and alcohol are not something you should participate in at college but it’s important to know where you both stand on the matter.)

10. What are your going out habits? Are you planning to drink/party? I know that this question may be a little awkward to ask but it’s important to know. Being open and honest with your roommates is always the best policy.

Roommate Contract Topics To Discuss:

Roommate contracts are a great way to set specific rules and responsibilities for you and your roommate/s to follow. You may be required to make a roommate contract with your RA just like I was.

RA stands for a resident assistant or resident advisor. At most colleges, you will have an RA living on your floor. They are older students who are leaders and in charge of coordinating activities in resident halls.

You can put anything in your contract that you think will make living together easier. For example, you can set rules about visitors, study habits, a standard lights out time, etc.

When you’re creating a roommate contract be clear and honest about the rules and expectations you want to set. That way, you and your roommate are on the same page from the beginning. 

The page below is all about important things to talk to your roommates about when creating a contract.

It is a page in my “Complete Guide To College Roommate Life” free printables that are in my free resource library.

Don’t forget to grab all of the free college printables in my free resource library!

Click here to enter the free resource library here.

Thank you for reading this post! As always, let me know if you have any questions and I would be happy to answer them. Feel free to email me at emily@positivityispretty.com