Trying to deal with a difficult roommate in college? Sometimes, we don’t click with certain people. Here are some tips to get along with your college roommate.

Are you in college and looking for some simple tips to get along with your college roommate? You’re not alone! What often starts out as a friendly living situation can turn into an unhappy situation pretty quickly. If you’ve found yourself living with your roommate and it’s no longer a positive environment, there are things that you can do to help.

These tips may or may not work but they’re worth a try. If you can get along with your college roommate, it’s always better than losing a friendship or having to move out.

Tips To Get Along With Your College Roommate

When looking for ways to deal with a bad roommate, just know that you’re not alone. This is why so many people say that friends should never room together in college – because it always ends up being a bad situation that breaks friendships and creates chaos.

However, if you’re in a situation where you’re already living with a roommate and are now needing some guidance, these simple tips to find a way to get along just might help.

1. Set Expectations In The Beginning

Orientation is over and you’ve already got a feel for how your roommate is. Once everyone is moved in, bring up the topic of setting the expectations for chores, behavior, sharing, and other things. Think of things like How often will you both clean? When are lights out? What’s the overnight guest policy? What do you agree to share and not share. It doesn’t have to be formal (but it helps).

2. Take some time apart from each other

Did you know that living with someone means that you’re literally with them all of the time? And this is especially true if you’re friends and hang out with the same group, too.

To get a big of a break, time some time apart. Find new hobbies, hang out with other people, go home and visit your parents and just have fun doing things apart.

You may find that spending time apart is just what you needed to find a new appreciation for your college roommate.

3. Communicate early

If something is bothering you, try to bring up at earlier. Don’t let things linger and then fester inside until it all bubbles over. If they haven’t take the trash out in a while, mention that you’ve brought it out multiple times. If you’ve been ousted from your dorm room due to them hooking up multiple times, tell that how you feel it’s not fair to be ousted on the regular. Every very once in a while with a heads up may be okay depending on you but now it’s becoming a habit and their romance has to be at another place. Remain polite but firm in your delivery.

4. Sit down and have a face to face

There’s a good possibility that your roommate doesn’t even know that there are issues. Instead of assuming that they know that you’re upset, sit them down and talk to them about your feelings as well.

Just a little bit of conversation and communication can go a very long way in helping them to understand the problems and issues at hand.

5. Have someone else break the ice

If you’re not a fan of confrontation, it’s fine. Just have a friend sit in and be part of the conversation that you’re wanting to have with your roommate. That way, there’s a third party in the room in case things get super weird. Don’t use the friend to gang up on the other person though. The friend should be as neutral as possible. If you have to, bring in the resident advisor instead to mediate.

6. Get comfortable with silence

Silence is actually golden. And if you don’t like silence, you’re going to have a hard time with this. If you’re feeling as though you constantly have to fill the air or have a deep and meaningful conversation with your roommate every time you see them, it’s going to be draining and cause issues down the road.

Instead, find a way to be okay with the fact that you’re being quiet and don’t have to have anything to say when you see your roommate. And let them in on that secret as well. Forcing conversations are just as bad and aren’t really a good outcome for either person, either.

7. Take the high road

It’s not easy but someone has to do it. There are just some roommates that should have never agreed to live with one another. And if this is your case, don’t fret. All you have to do is keep taking the high road in situations that you don’t agree with and your roommate will eventually get the hint that you’re not one to be messed with.

This might be totally tiring sometimes, especially in those moments that you’re wanting to retaliate and stick up for yourself, but taking the high road means that you won’t let your roommate or anyone else get under your skin.

REMEMBER THIS IS TEMPORARY.

If things get really, really bad beyond repair, you can look into moving rooms. You may want to find another roommate hopefully before the next semester, or find another place off campus. Thankfully beyond freshman year, you can generally choose your own roommates for the following years.

Dealing with a bad roommate situation is never fun for anyone. Instead of tucking tail and heading for the hills, try and find a way that you can save the relationship and keep your current place of residency.

After all, it’s no fun to lose a friend and also have to pack up all your stuff and hit the road as well. These simple tips listed above just might be a good way to make it work between you and your college roommate. It’s always a good idea to give it one last try!

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