As a freshman, I was sucked into the new procedure for first year housing. In simple terms, I had no choice with my roommates. My only hope was an online survey that made its way into the Office of Residence Life. From there, it was my answers guiding me through the rest of the process.
For me, the idea of rooming in a multiples room was not as alarming as it could be for others, but I get it. Not everyone has had the experience of sharing rooms with others (or been like me and attended an overnight camp, living in a cramped cabin with around 15 other people). However, I chose it for the financial benefits of living in a multiples room. The cost of living on campus would be slightly lower, and if you’re like me and love food, we get the micro-fridge for free.
However, I realized it is not as complicated as you think. And relatively, you interact with your roommates the same way you would have interacted with any other roommate. But if you are still in a rut about it or having some early reconsiderations, here are suggestions about how to get through it:
- COMMUNICATION: As soon as you get your roommate, your priority is communication! Agreeability between roommates is ideal, but it is okay to have any respectful disagreements about how you want to organize your dorm room. From my experience, I communicated with my roommates as soon as Residence Life sent the email with their names. Of course, don’t panic if they do not respond right away! Some people just take longer to respond. Communication is great for helping you and your roommates to get to know each other. Play a little game of 20 questions! However, it is more than that; you should also get to know each other’s habits and stuff. Things like what their boundaries are, sleep schedules, and anything you think is important for all of you to know.
- ORGANIZATION: Plan how to set up the room beforehand. If you can find a way to see what the furniture is like and the measurements for it, then you can start planning ahead. It is better to choose beds beforehand because the “first come, first serve” method is not always a good start.
- SHARING: In a triple, you are better off not bringing too much stuff. It is good to get containers or mini shelves because it will help with a lot of organization you have to do. There are some things you should split the cost of like wall mirrors, carpets, etc. My roommates and I created a spreadsheet with what we still needed for the room and divided up what we should each get.
- *BONUS*: It helps a lot to get a succulent to share the responsibility of taking care of. Bonus points if you all name your succulent together. (Ours is Steve!) It is super easy to take care of a succulent, but be careful because it is still a living and breathing plant.
Enjoy the time you have in a triple room! It can be super overwhelming at first, but you can make potentially amazing friends. Just do not forget to properly communicate with each other! If you are all going to be in the same room for the year, you might as well get down to the nitty gritty details in order to ensure you can all meet each other’s needs.