College Roommate Etiquette Tips
A Good Manners Guide to Keeping your Dorm Room Peaceful
Living in a small college dorm room with a roommate is not easy! To keep your living arrangements peaceful, here are some tips.
One of the most difficult relationships you'll ever have may be with your college roommate, especially the fellow student you share a room with freshman year. Think about it: you're sharing a tiny dorm room with someone who's probably a total stranger. On top of that, you're trying to adjust to college life, academics, and the new experience of living away from home. It's inevitable that you are going to get on each other's nerves!
So how can you be a good roommate? First and foremost, be polite. You don't have to be best friends, but things will be much easier if you mind your manners and treat each other with respect.
Here are some dormitory etiquette tips to keep the relationship with your roommate as smooth as possible!
- Clean up after yourself. Keeping your room neat can seem unimportant when you've got exams and a million things to do. However, this isn't your room alone, so being a slob is rude. Be sure to pick up your laundry, throw away your trash, and make your bed. After all, it's just a room. It doesn't take that much effort to clean it.
- When your roommate wants quiet, be quiet. Doing otherwise is very rude. When your roommate is studying, go chat with your friends somewhere else. If you want to listen to music and your roommate does not, get some headphones.
- Never wake a sleeping roommate. Sleep is a valuable resource for a college student, so don't be the reason your roommate doesn't get enough. Be quiet when you're coming in late at night, and respect the need to nap.
- Do not use your roommate's stuff without permission. This goes for everything, including food. Similarly, don't snoop through your roommate's things. It can be tempting, but resist the urge.
- Be reasonable about visits from friends. Of course you can have friends over, but make sure you are not monopolizing the room. If a friend is going to stay overnight, be sure to ask permission. It's also important that your visitors are polite to your roommate. By the same token, be polite to your roommate's visitors.
- Be reasonable about visits from "special" friends. Visits from boyfriends and girlfriends can cause serious roommate conflicts. Never invite your date to sleep over unless you are sure it's okay with your roommate, and be careful not to abuse that privilege. You and your roommate might want to devise a "necktie" system to keep roommates away at inopportune times. However, only do this if your roommate is comfortable with the idea, and be sure your "necktie" incidents don't keep your roommate out too often. Never get physical when your roommate is around, even if he or she is asleep! This brings up a related issue:
- Don't do anything that makes your roommate uncomfortable. It's always a bad idea to keep illicit drugs or alcohol in your room, but if your roommate objects, it's an even worse idea. This rule goes for more minor issues as well, including grooming. If your roommate is grossed out when your cut your toenails in the room, then don't.
- Never gossip about your roommate. It's tempting to vent about your roommate's annoying habits to your buddies down the hall, but don't. If your roommate finds out (and there's a very good chance this will happen), he or she will be hopping mad. If you have issues with your roommate, talk to your roommate about them. This isn't the easiest thing to do, but it's a heck of a lot more mature than gossiping with your friends.
- Never spread your roommate's secrets. Even if your roommate doesn't share his or her secrets with you, you're bound to stumble upon some private and juicy information. Spreading this kind of information isn't just rude: it's bad karma.
- Do not break your roommate's things. If you do break something, apologize profusely and pay for it immediately. It also goes without saying that you should not steal your roommate's things.
- Never make fun of or belittle your roommate. A little gentle teasing is okay, especially if you become friends. But keep your opinions to yourself about your roommate's funny little quirks.
Freshman year is stressful enough without having to worry about your roommate situation, so make an effort to be a good roommate. Common sense manners can go a long way to keep things harmonious in your little dorm room. Best of luck!
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