We have all heard horror stories of college students moving into the dorms, just to find out that the roommate they’re living with is the weirdest person on campus. A bad roommate can be a real pain in the ass, and I wasn’t the best at dealing with it, but here are some personal tips that may or may not be helpful.
Show Your Roommate What Kind of Roommate You Are
Show your roommate who you are as a person from the very beginning, and show them that you’re very transparent as to what kind of roommate that you are. Be nice and kind and make sure you show them some positive qualities about you as they pertain to being a good roommate. For example, show them that you’re an organized person by keeping your stuff neat and tidy. Show your roommate you don’t like the room smelling bad by having nice smelling candles or air fresheners around the room. When you do this, your roommate might feel encouraged to change some of their poor habits that make them a bad roommate.
Try to Switch Roommates as Soon as Possible
Sometimes, you just know whether or not you and your roommate are going to be cool or not. Maybe they did something that goes against your beliefs and values right from the jump and there’s just no way to salvage the bad situation. If you’re in this situation, try to switch roommates right away. Don’t sit and wait and let the anger bottle up. Talk to your housing/dorm director about the situation, and chances are they’ll probably switch your housing situation if there’s room to do so.
If getting rid of the roommate is not an option, and the dorm resident director won’t allow it, try to avoid talking to them as often as possible. Try to do most of your conversations in text or email so that you are not tempted to dawdle on the phone with them or meet up with them in person. Maybe this doesn’t sound like a great idea, but it definitely helped me out.
Kill Them With Kindness
If you are nice to a bad roommate, they may come around and actually be a good roommate. Maybe they thought you were an asshole the whole time and they’ve been purposely being a bad roommate the whole time too. Who knows. If you show them kindness, maybe they’ll realize that being a bad roommate is not cool and fix their bad roommate behavior.
Get advice from others about the situation
If you are having problems with a bad roommate, talking to other people may give you a new perspective on the situation. Ask your parents, other roommates, Resident Advisors, or your professors if this is a common problem. Hopefully they will be able to give you advice on how to deal with your bad roommate.
Look for serious advice when doing this. Don’t ask your sorority sister or your frat bro who is always talking trash and gossiping. This might turn into a trash talking session and it might feel kind of good and make you feel better because you’re getting a laugh at the expense of your bad roommate, but this ultimately won’t solve anything.
Set Some Dorm Room Rules
If you dislike your roommate because of how different their life is compared to yours, I think this could easily be solved. Try addressing the issue early before it carries on deep into the school year. If your roommate is studying or doing homework late into the night hours, maybe see if they can move into the lounge and do their work there. If your roommate is always stinking up the dormroom because they’re not throwing away their trash, maybe ask them to throw it away. Basic things don’t have to be complicated. A good way to go about this is setting rules that you both agree on. Set a time when you both believe the lights should go off. Set a time when you both think it should be quiet in the room.
Party With Them (if you’re 21 or of age to drink)
Maybe try hanging out with them in a social gathering. If there is a cool campus event, maybe attend with your roommate. If you’re of legal age, and still live in the dorms for whatever reason, maybe share a few adult beverages together at the bar . Sometime’s talking about deep issues can be a lot easier after throwing back a couple cold ones.
Ultimately, if all else fails and you have to just live with this roommate, just remember it is only temporary. The school year will end and you won’t have to deal with them afterwards. Tough it out, take care of your business, and find ways to have fun. Yeah, having a bad roommate in college doesn’t sound fun, but on the brightside, you’re in college. There are so many fun and cool things to do in college, so go and make the most of your once in a lifetime experience!