Why College Students Should Meet Their Roommate Before Move-In

College roommates are often the first friend your student will make on campus. Either by choice or sheer proximity. As a college athlete, my son had it easy. His coach paired each of the swimmers with a roommate, based on major, and informed the athletes prior to orientation so they could meet each other in person.

My daughter, instead, used her college’s Facebook group to sort through potential roommates. She inputted her preferences on a variety of scales, including sleep schedule and study habits, to find someone compatible. Then through several texts and eventually a phone call, she chose her roommate. If this sounds eerily like dating apps, that’s because it is.

But finding a roommate is only part of the equation. Read on to understand why college students should meet their roommate before arriving on campus.

Ease the Transition

Hands down, the most important reason for your student to meet their roommate before move-in day is to make the huge transition of leaving home just a little bit easier. It allows both collegians the chance to get to know each other better and gives them the sense that they aren’t alone as the countdown to fall marches on.

One of the easiest ways for roommates to meet up is at orientation. But if the timing doesn’t work, then encourage your student to get creative. In our daughter’s case, we drove to her roommate’s hometown after orientation and shared a dinner out with her family. Not only did it reduce the girls’ anxiety by taking out one of the many unknowns, but it also put my tender mama heart at ease.

If time, budget, or geography prohibits an in-person meeting, encourage your student to FaceTime or Zoom with their new roommate. A little effort goes a long way to easing the transition to college life.

Figure Out Who’s Bringing What

Another advantage of roommates meeting each other, either in-person or via technology, is it gives them a chance to sort out who is bringing what to their space-constrained dorm room. My son and his roommate opted to rent the combination microwave and refrigerator offered by their dormitory, and it’s a good thing they did. Both appliances were mounted together in a sort of a tower (frig on the bottom and microwave on the top.) Which fit perfectly between their desks in the only free space in their 1960’s cinder block dorm.

My daughter and her roommate had the luxury of a bit more space since they were moving into a newer dorm that was part of a Living and Learning Community. So, while her roommate brought a refrigerator and coffee maker, my daughter pitched in with a bean bag chair and rug that fit nicely under their lofted beds.

Meeting each other in advance also allows college roommates the chance to commiserate as they begin the arduous task of packing clothes, linens, computers and all the things they need for a year away from home.

One Friend Leads to More Friends

A mantra that we repeated to our kids throughout their college years and even moving to a new city after college was, “you only need one friend to make more friends.” And that is exactly what happens when college students meet their roommate before arriving on campus. Suddenly, they have a friend to attend the first floor meeting with them, to share a table in the dining hall and possibly walk in the same direction to their first class. And through that relationship they can make other friends and begin to find their people. Because when it comes down to it, a big part of college is academics. But an equally important part is the social aspect. Which they will remember for years to come.

Photo by Sam McNamara on Unsplash