Matching with the right college roommate can significantly improve your overall college experience. There are several different approaches to finding potential college roommates, but no matter what method you use, PLEASE put honesty above all else!

Before you begin with roommate matching, look into opportunities at your college for special interest housing. These opportunities will primarily be at large universities and may include Honors Dorms, Out Of State Dorms, Learning Community Dorms (Engineering, Nursing, etc). Applying to live in one of these dorms will start your experience in a dorm with residents with something in common.

While it’s not always possible to find a perfect match, the following are steps you can take to find your college roommate and suggestions to ensure a successful living arrangement.

How To Find A College Roommate

1) Use The College Housing Survey

Many colleges offer roommate matching surveys that help match roommates based many factors including lifestyle, interests, academic rigor (study habits), day vs night person, neat and tidy vs messy and less organized, interest in Greek life, feelings about visitors, social interests and more.

You will want to do a little soul searching and be honest in your responses. It is perfectly ok to be messy and not interested in partying, be yourself!

2) Find Roommate Matching Social Media Groups For Your School

If your school does not have a survey/matching process, you should be able to find an Instagram page for your school and year of graduation. Search for UNIVERSITY NAME CLASS OF 2029, and see what you can find. Typically, students post a photo and some basic information about themselves for other students to view and engage in conversation to see if they are a good match.

Keep in mind that this will be a far less scientific method than a survey that matches based on specific responses, so do what you can to ask similar questions, including:

Lifestyle & Daily Habits

• What’s your daily routine like? Are you an early bird or a night owl?
• Do you prefer to keep the room quiet or don’t mind background noise, like music or TV?
• How clean and organized do you like to keep your space?

Study Habits

• Do you study in the room, or do you prefer the library?
• Are you okay with guests in the room while you’re studying?
• Do you need complete silence when studying, or can you focus with noise?

Sleep Habits

• Do you like the room dark and quiet at night, or do you sleep with lights or sound?
• How do you feel about waking each other up accidentally (alarms, getting ready early, etc.)?

Personal & Social Preferences

• Do you have any allergies (like to perfumes or certain foods)?
• What’s your stance on borrowing or sharing items?
• Do you like to host people in the room, or do you prefer it to be just us?
• How often do you think you’ll go out, or do you prefer staying in?

Conflict Resolution

• How do you usually handle conflicts or disagreements?
• Are you comfortable discussing issues directly, or do you prefer to address things in a calmer moment later?

Lifestyle & Beliefs

• Do you have any dietary restrictions or habits (like vegan, vegetarian, etc.)?
• Are there any routines, like prayer or meditation, that you’d like me to know about?
• Do you drink, smoke, or use other substances?

Boundaries & Expectations

• How do you feel about having overnight guests (friends, partners, etc.)?
• Do you think we should have a roommate agreement to lay out boundaries?

Fun & Personality

• What do you like to do for fun? Any favorite shows, music, or hobbies?
• What’s something you’re looking forward to in college?
• How would you describe yourself in three words?

These questions can help you get a sense of whether you’ll mesh well and establish a respectful relationship early on.

3) Get To Know Your Roommate Before Move-In

After you’ve been matched, reach out to your new roommate(s) and attempt to start a connection. Ask questions and learn more about your roommate(s). If you didn’t cover all of the questions above, now is a good time to dive in. 

Try to imagine what will be important to you living in a small space, and bring up those topics. It may initially feel uncomfortable to discuss these personal details, but learning to live together will take time, patience, and mutual understanding.

Be honest and look for compromises.

4) Find What You Have In Common?

If you find that you and your roommate share common interests, hobbies, or even a college major, try to make some plans around these either before or once you’re moved into college.

As you’re looking through clubs or activities that interest you, share ideas with your roommate to see if they’d also be interested. Having someone to go to activities with, especially in the first weeks and months of school, can be helpful.

5) Meet In Person If Possible

If you live somewhat near each other, try to meet your potential roommate in person before move-in day.

Meet for lunch and do a little dorm shopping, watch a game on TV, or just go for a walk. Time together will help test compatibility and begin to form trust.

6) Talk About Money

Try to be equitable when purchasing shared items for your dorm. I recommend not splitting the cost, but rather splitting up a list. If you split the cost of 6 items (fridge, microwave, rug, storage, etc.), it will be difficult to figure out who takes what at the end of the school year.

You’ll also want to discuss how to purchase and share items such as cleaning supplies, snacks, drinks, new decor items, maybe gas money, especially if only one student has a car on campus. Talk in advance about how you want to handle any issues that may come up.

Unfortunately, some people will sit and stew about how they bought the last 2 boxes of light bulbs or bags of snacks. Come up with a game plan to keep track.

7) Sharing Is Caring, Until It’s Not

As you think about the things your housing survey and the discussions you’ve had since you’ve been matched with your roommate, try to think forward to everyday life in a dorm.

I see issues with roommates borrowing clothes, food, drinks, makeup, jewelry, jackets, slippers, and more. If you’re ok with that, great. If that will bother you, say it in advance. In fact, put that in your roommate agreement (see below).

8) Complete A Roommate Agreement

Many colleges have roommate agreements to document specific expectations, behaviors and responsibilities.

In addition to the topics above, be sure to include your agreed plan for how to approach each other if something isn’t working.

If you need a template, you can find one online. An agreement is a great way to get started. Have a plan for what is expected AND how to address any issues.

Resources After Move-in

There will be issues. Every relationship has them. Patience is important (a virtue!) as is honest communication. Immediate discussions are important too so as not to let concerns fester and build, but also consider if there was just a one-time problem, maybe give it a cooling period before confronting your roommate.

Should you have issues that can’t be resolved immediately through frank conversation and reference to your roommate agreement, there are resources at the school who can help.

Your RA (Resident Assistant), responsible for your floor, is trained to help with roommate concerns. Additionally, your school’s housing office can provide assistance should you need it.