Roommates

 Roomate

Hey everyone, it’s OC Hunter! With move-in day right around the corner, I know many of you have probably wondered who your roommate is going to be for your first year and how exactly that process will go. Today I wanted to share about meeting and living with your frosh roommate the Stanford way. 

As you all may have seen by now, you currently do not have a specific room or roommate(s) assignment. This is because Stanford has an ongoing tradition of having random roommate pairings that you meet once you move on to campus. Frosh and transfers do not have the option to choose roommates to provide the opportunity for the incoming students to develop new relationships and meet new people in their first year on The Farm. 

Couple with random roommate pairings, Stanford also does not release roommate assignments until you arrive on campus. Stanford has found that meeting your roommate face-to-face first rather than digitally leads to forming a more successful and positive relationship with your roommate. This allows you to make a genuine first impression void of preconceived notions based on social media or even a Google search. 

In short, you will meet your roommate once you arrive on campus. This could be a person you have already met through social media, someone you may end up taking all of your classes with, or maybe they are just your roommate for the year and you see them around later. Even so, leaving home for the first time, potentially traveling across the country, and moving into a dorm with a complete stranger can be nerve wracking for anybody. With that being said, the OCs wanted to share a bit about a tip we found for both building a relationship and living with our roommates.

The Roommate Agreement

In both a metaphorical and literal sense, The Roommate Agreement is extremely important and a well known concept at Stanford. The Roommate Agreement is not an official document or signed agreement, rather an ongoing conversation between you and your roommate(s). Essentially the roommate agreement gives you and your roommate the opportunity to share your boundaries and living habits. Here are a few things to consider when making your roommate agreement:

• Sleeping Schedules (going to sleep and waking up)
• Study Schedules (studying in the room, etc.)
• Cleanliness Expectations 
• Visitors/Guests (when, who, etc.)
• General Room Rules (leaving door open, leaving window open, using heater, etc.)

Again, this is more of an ongoing conversation. If your preferences for your living space change, be sure to communicate this with your roommate to “update” your agreement. 

We hope this helped clear any confusion or stress regarding roommate assignments. The biggest advice the OCs can give is to approach meeting your roommate with an open mind and positive outlook on the year. For more information on roommate assignments, feel free to visit the Stanford R&DE website here or check out page 68 in the Approaching Stanford Handbook found on the Approaching Stanford website here. 

I hope these last few weeks of summer treat you well and I will see you on The Farm soon!