7 Tips to Get Along with a Dorm Roommate

1. Be honest on your questionnaire

If you smoke, do not check the "nonsmoker" box on your housing questionnaire. If you lie about something, you will either be miserable acting in a way you normally wouldn't or your roommate will be miserable because he/she wanted someone with different qualities.

Instead, be completely honest about both the type of person you are and the type of person you want to live with. Many colleges take these housing questionnaires very seriously and will match you as best they can with someone who meets your criterion.

2. Do NOT room with a friend

It may be intimidating at first to imagine living with someone you don't even know yet, but it's a much better idea than living with someone who is already your friend. One of the easiest ways to meet people on a large college campus is to live in the dorms with them. How will you meet new people if you insist on living with your best friend?

High school is very different from college. You and your friends will go through many changes in your first semester. Your innocent high school buddy may become a rebellious wild child in college (or vice versa) and the two of you will no longer be compatible.

You will fight with your roommate. There are few absolute givens in college, but this is one of them. Don't lose a friendship because you were too intimidated to meet new people.

3. Be courteous

Don't make your roommate smell your dirty laundry or old food. Don't play your radio when your roommate is studying. Don't insist on changing the channels if he/she was already watching a TV show. Don't have people over when your roommate is sick.

The golden rule applies to living with someone: if you wouldn't want someone else doing something in your room, don't do it.

4. Learn to communicate and be honest

The number one problem with roommates is lack of communication. Even if you only find something mildly annoying at first, you will have to live with that for the rest of the semester. Be honest about how you feel about things, no matter how small.

If you would prefer that your roommate lower his/her light while you try to sleep, say so. If you hate mafia movies blaring in the background while you're studying, say something. Your only alternative is to wait until your temper flares so much that you explode and end up in a huge fight with someone over something small.

5. Respect dormitory rules

If you have a visitor past visitation hours, your roommate could be in as much trouble as you are. If you keep some type of prohibited item in the room (alcohol, drugs, etc.), your roommate might be subjected to the same disciplinary measures as you are.

Hell hath no fury like that of a scorned roommate.

6. Respect your roommate's privacy

You're not the only one who has to live in a sardine can with someone. Your roommate has as little privacy as you do, so try to respect that and don't go nosing around where you shouldn't. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it also ticked off the roommate.

7. Become friends with your roommate

I know, I know - I said that it's a bad idea to room with a friend, and I meant it. But that doesn't mean that you can't turn a roommate into a friend. Some of the best friendships in college are made after having lived together.

Getting to know each other as a roommate first and friend second makes you more compatible to live together peacefully.