Living on campus can increase the amount of people you know. As college progresses, you begin to find your identity, which kind of friends you hang out with, and even what type of roommate they are.
Some students hope they don’t end up with a roommate they don’t like, especially when roommates are assigned randomly. Others hope their friends, who they chose to room with, don’t turn into someone with an unlikable personality or habits. Whichever is your case, you can expect your roommate to be in one of the following categories.
1. The Loner
This is the roommate who never seems to go out or have friends. When you get back from class, you’re never surprised to find them reading, sleeping, watching TV or playing video games. They don’t talk much or invade your space. They always seem uncomfortable when you have friends over. When they are gone, it’s usually because they are in class or working.
Because this type of roommate prefers to be alone, you get your private time when you really need it. They don’t push you to talk. You’ll find that you’re able to get a lot of homework done around them because they give you the quietness you need. However, sometimes the quiet can become too much when you need someone to talk to.
2. The Neat Freak
This roommate is clean all the time. They are so organized, they can find everything and anything you might ask to borrow from them. Sometimes you will come back to find your side of the room completely spotless, but other times you become frustrated because you can’t find anything.
For some people, chaos works, but for the neat freak, organization is key. With this person, you could end up fighting a lot, or you could end up picking up on their organization skills depending on what type of roommate you are.
3. The Health-Conscious Roommate
This is the roommate who is eating healthily and exercising most of the time. They are very conscious about their health and always make sure they stay fit. Perks to having a health-conscious roommate includes always having nutritious food in your room when you need it and a work out buddy if you choose to work out regularly.
Even though they might let you eat the granola bars they just bought, this roommate could be overbearing, especially if they try to convince you to follow their lifestyle. If you aren’t on a strict diet, this is the type of roommate that most likely will not be very willing to go out to eat with you at a fast food restaurant since they will point out all the bad in the food that you are eating.
4. The Partier
This roommate has connections on campus. Most weekends they are gone late at night partying with the local fraternities, sororities or anyone on campus having a party. This is also the roommate who is likely to participate in bar crawls when they turn twenty-one.
Through their connections, you could end up meeting new people. You will also have plenty of time to yourself as they are usually out of the room. The only downside is their partying attitude may result in you caring for them late at night because they drank too much. This type of roommate is fun to hang out with and helpful with their connections, but they also have their downfalls.
5. The Lazy/Messy One
Your room may never be clean with this type of roommate. This person spends most of their time doing whichever hobby has piqued their interest the most. The hobby could be reading, writing, sleeping, binging TV shows or playing video games. They most likely aren’t going get a lot done, so unless you clean the room, you might always have dirty clothes, shoes and other items all over your floor.
If there are any dirty dishes, you’ll most likely be the one to wash them, even if they aren’t yours. You might even end up running errands for them, such as picking up their groceries when you are out getting your own. Don’t let this roommate take advantage of you. Although, you could take advantage of having a lazy roommate by sharing lazy weekends in.
6. The Player
This is the roommate you might not be sure whether you love or hate. Much like the partiers, they are out of the room most of the time. They could be anywhere, at parties or hanging out with the opposite sex. Sometimes when they bring a potential partner around, it’s hard to keep track of who they welcome into the home simply because there have been so many people. However, their need to bring new people around will introduce you to more people on campus.
The player roommate has the reputation for breaking hearts. You might have to keep all of your friends of the opposite sex away from this person. You might never know when it is safe to go back to your room because they haven’t sent a courtesy text, and when they don’t respond to your texts you assume that it’s not safe to go to your room. This is the roommate that might carry around a lot of drama, whether it’s a girl or a guy.
Each type of roommate can bring you fun in their own way. College is about finding yourself and what works for you. At college, you will find the type of people you can live with and those you can’t. You’ll also find ways to compromise with roommates that you don’t necessarily get along with, so you both can make it through the school year unscathed.
If your current roommate’s co-habitat style is clashing with your own, sit down with them and talk about it. Create ground rules that work for both of you. And remember, not everyone fits into the six types of roommates listed above. There may be other roommate types you encounter in college, so keep an open mind when sharing a living space.
Happy campus living!
