As incoming Freshmen, the one thing that most intrigues us about going away for college is the living ‘in’ college part. Before moving into UCLA, I loved filling out my housing application and inputting my living preferences, etc.  I submitted my application, paid the fee, and waited patiently to receive my housing offer letter. The letter notified me of where I would be living and who my roommates were along with their contact information. Soon afterward, I contacted one of my roommates through phone and the other online. Both of my roommates seemed very nice and approachable from what I had researched (yes, I looked through their Facebook pages to try to get to know them better :P). We had conversations to get to know one another and made arrangements about dorm stuff and other accommodations. Then we moved in and everything worked out! We hung out, had group dinners, and everything went amazing for an entire year. No complaints here! The same happened the following year before and after I moved into my dorm :). Now, here are some tips I hope will serve you well in trying to get to know your roommate a little bit better BEFORE you move in! After all, it’s the person you are going to be sharing your personal space with for an ENTIRE YEAR. Here they are…

— Contact your roommate(s) by phone or online once you find out who they are! The sooner you do this the better. By doing so, you are showing your roommate that you are interested in getting to know them better and are making an effort.

–Try starting a conversation! Not just about arrangement situations, but about their interests and your interests; just genuinely show that you care. Ask how their summer is going, if they are excited to move in, if they are going to Bruin Bash, etc.! By doing so, you might find out new and interesting things about your roommate! You will become more comfortable knowing instead of guessing and you will have loads of stuff to talk about by the time you actually move in! 😀

–Be accommodating/try to work things out. What I mean by this is that if your roommate mentions something while you guys are chatting or having a conversation that makes you a bit uncomfortable, let him/her know nicely. Do not start making orders or GIVE OFF A TONE THAT WILL BE INTERPRETED BY YOUR ROOMMATE AS RUDE (btw, typing in CAPS can give off either a really good tone or a bad one…depending on what you are talking about…it is also translated as shouting, hehe). Be nice and soon you’ll realize that everything will work out. You just have to remember that this is an agreement between all the people living in the room, not only one person.

–Be approachable. This can also be tied in with my previous suggestion, but just in case you did not get the point, I had to say this. 😛 Tell your roommate to let you know if they have any questions or suggestions! You will be surprised by how shy some people can be; they might be too afraid to ask questions! If anything, your roommate might be a little overwhelmed by all of your questions but by that time you will probably be overwhelmed by the amount of questions and answers you are receiving, haha! Remember, it is better to know than assume.

–Be yourself. One of the most important things that I always recommend and suggest is to be who you are. Embrace your personality traits and how you are as an individual. If you start off lying to your roommate about who you are, then it is going to be harder for you to tell the truth later on down the road. I’m not saying to just lay everything out during the first conversation or let your heart out, but just be comfortable with yourself. Your roommate(s) is the person(s) who you are going to be sharing your personal space with and are going to be going to sleep in the same room in for a year so you want to make sure that you are comfortable. You’ll soon realize how everything works out perfectly when your roommate knows you for who you really are as a person. In the end, you want to make sure that you are happy, comfortable, and safe in your own room so starting off on the right foot by showing who you truly are as a person makes everything better at the end of the day. If it worked for me, it’ll work for you regardless of the circumstances.

These are some pieces of advice that I have for you guys before you move into your dorm/apartment/housing with your roommate(s). I hope this was helpful! If you have any other suggestions that you think will be helpful do not hesitate to comment! 😀 Tune in next week for suggestions on getting to know your Roommates AFTER move in :).