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McLean College Guide: Surviving Your Roommate

A series of articles helping college students get adjusted to living the college lifestyle!

Now that summer is winding down to an end, many McLean 2011 high school graduates are moving to a new address.

McLean Patch is starting this special column to help our younger neighbors adjust to life beyond their lifetime bedroom at home. For the next few weeks, we will have a series of articles dedicated to helping McLean freshmen adjust to the three major issues of college life.

The first: housing since it will be the first true college experience.

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Most schools require on-campus housing for first-year students, which most of the time means bunk beds, a random roommate, even a mini-fridge, all cramped in a 12’ by 14’ room.

First off, living in a dorm is huge change for most people. With very little room for luxuries, it should be your goal to make your dorm a place a clean, livable area that will allow you to sleep, study and relax all at the same time. If you don’t keep it organized, your dorm could end up being a mess of school supplies, papers and lots of random junk.

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Buy whatever you think is necessary and often times schools will have a list of things that are highly recommended for settling in to your new abode. Realistically, your dorm will not be a magical haven of partying and delight but rather just a simple set up of desks and posters that represent you and your roommate. Too many amenities will make your room feel cramped and uninviting.

Keep it simple. Keep your fridge stocked with necessities, always have a bag or two of Ramen noodles on hand, and you should never go hungry.  

Dorm life will allow you to make some of your best friends for years to come. There will be a huge diversity in the kinds of people you will meet. “I virtually knew no one but by being in a dorm I was able to immediately meet people who were experiencing the same thing and get through that experience together,” said Danielle Burger, a rising sophomore at the University of Virginia.

Next is getting accustomed to your roommate. It does not matter if your roommate has been your best friend since the first time you played Pokémon together in fourth grade, an acquaintance you made on Facebook, or a completely random stranger, you will still have to learn to get along with them in a completely different way. When living with a person, you really see their living habits, personality and character.

“Be open and honest about everything - if they do something that upsets you let them know otherwise you are going to hold grudges and harbor resentment for them,” said Michael Colasuonno, a rising sophomore at Virginia Tech.

Looking at Virginia Tech’s housing website their main advice, along with a list of other hints, is pretty much the same: “Compromise and open communication between roommates can help prevent problems before they arise, or help settle them if they do happen.”

Now that you know what to expect from your housing and your roommate, next week we will look at how to get involved in your university and truly make it a year to remember.

I am a 2010 Langley graduate who was a freshman at Virginia Tech at this time last year. I'm sharing what I have learned and my mistakes so at least you can make other mistakes.

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