Up until now, your roommate experiences have probably been more of a “family affair” or weekends away with friends. Your roommate at TCU has the potential to be more than just a person you share a room with.  Your roommate might be a life-long friend or just a good person to live with during your first year of college.  Regardless of what the future holds, we want you to have a great experience with your roommate, but that will require you both to make an effort. Here are some tips on getting along for the long haul.

Tips for Getting Along With Your Roommate

1. Communicate:  Sit down with your roommate at the beginning of the semester and talk about your backgrounds, preferences and habits, emotional styles and moods, and personal values. This can be particularly helpful if you’ve chosen to room with friends you’ve known before coming to TCU.

2. Establish House Rules: After discussing your values and preferences, establish some ground rules by which you will live together. Some common topics you might want to address include room cleanliness, borrowing each other’s belongings, study time, visitation times, room security, etc. Writing down your agreements together at the beginning of the year will help resolve problems that may develop later.

3. Ask For Help: If a difficult roommate conflict develops at any point during the year, reach out to your resident assistant, assistant hall director, hall director or program coordinator. Many times students tend to wait out problems until minor irritations become major conflicts. Your hall staff is experienced in dealing with these types of problems and can offer you sound advice.