Advice on Getting Along with Your Roommate or Suitemates

1. If you don't know him or her already, write to your future roommate over the summer. This will allow you to establish your relationship before you arrive in the fall, coordinate who will bring what for the room, and introduce you to the first of the many new people you will meet at Marshall. The Department of Residence Services will provide you with your roommate's name, Marshall email, and mailing address.
2. Look at sharing a room as a learning experience. You will learn how to communicate your needs, how to compromise, and possibly to appreciate a person very different from you. All these skills will benefit you throughout your personal and professional life.
3. Be assertive about your expectations. Don't assume your roommate knows how you feel or what you need to be comfortable in the room. If you want to be in bed with all lights out at 8:00 p.m. every night, you need to communicate this expectation clearly. If you don't like something your roommate does, you need to talk to him or her about it in a kind but clear way. Don't just drop hints or give the cold shoulder!
4. Just as you want your roommate to make accommodations to your needs, you need to be willing to offer up some compromises too. If you want to be in bed at 8:00 p.m. and your roommate wants to stay up all night, you will need to find a happy medium that both of you can live with.
5. Use your roommate contract. The Department of Residence Services supplies every pair of roommates (or group of suitemates) with this form to be used as a tool for discussing guidelines and expectations for the room. Sit down together the first night in the room and talk about the issues addressed in the contract. This will help you identify areas of potential conflict before they become a problem.
6. Your roommate does not have to be your best friend, or even a friend. Some of the best roommate relationships exist between two people who each have their own sets of friends, but who live compatibly together.
7. Even if you are living with someone who has been your best friend for years, your roommate relationship will require compromise, understanding, and work. You will see sides of someone, both good and bad, when you live with them that you would never see otherwise.
8. If you need help resolving a roommate conflict, talk to your RA or RD. They are trained in mediation skills and can provide an impartial perspective.