How To Get A Compatible Roommate In School

Learning to survive alone outside your family shelter is indeed one among the first adventures on the journey to adulthood. If you are leaving home for college, the university or you simply landed a small employment somewhere away from home, then you may have to face one out of two choices-to pay the bills alone, or split it with someone we call a Roommie.
Nigeria in the past one decade have recorded several incidence of fights, stabbing, beating, betrayal, and even deaths of some students who co-inhabit in various campuses in the country. The First Student Consultant (Wilfred) have therefore, after a thorough research on this topic, provided the Nigerian students with some solutions.
In what follows in the next few, important, different, but yet complimenting paragraphs; I will share with you some knowledge to equip you in your next choice of Roommate, or better still before you look out for your first Roommate if you are a first-timer.

One thing is necessary here, If you find a good roommate, you will  have a valuable partner to make your life easier. Choose the wrong fellow and you’ll end up like Tom and Jerry. I will launch you through a journey of successful Roommate search below, all divided into six (6) separate but related steps. Now that you are ready, let’s go there!

Step-1: What do you want?

Knowing what you want in life at any point in time will always go along way to solving your problems. The first step to successful living is dicovering the purpose of living and reason(s) for any action we intend to embark upon. Look for somewhere nice; a quiet eatery, classroom, Library, the Chapel (place of worship) or anywhere you like and sit down. Within few “meditative quiet times, ask yourself what you really want from a Roommate.
Some students need someone to share the house rent with. Others need a friend, a companion, a partner to share meals with and hang around with when necessary. a knowledge of these preferences will go a long way to helping you find a Godsent and compatible Roommate in school or elsewhere.

Step-2: Don’t be a Pretender!

There is nothing wrong that you are a neat-freak , a slob  or anything in-between. Be frank, and honest with your living habits as long as you share the same bed space with someone with same preferences. Know your noisy levels, bed time, etc and let your lifestyle be known to your partner, the way they are point-black! Don’t pretend to be what you are not. Only that way, your Roommie will know what you like or hate.

Step-3: Make a questionnaire for yourself

This is where Statistics comes in (I am always proud to tell people the usefulness of my study field-Statistics). There is nothing wrong with making a list of all your likes and the things you obviously cannot take from someone. With a  kind of questionnaire or something, compile your partner-searching criteria into a YES or NO format, and run through it. See sample below:

1. Would I like a boy for a Roommate since I am a girl? (YES or No)——Obviously NO.
2. What Religion or Denomination would I prefer ? (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, etc) Catholic, or Pentecostal?
3. I prefer someone from (Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, etc) —-choose one (this doesn’t matter anyway).
4. The person must be in what level in school? (Lower than I am) or (Same as mine) or (A Senior)—etc.

Step-4: Interview prospective Candidates in person

Have you ever wondered why companies write something like “Interested Applicants should apply in person” while looking for workers?  The reason is obvious, and same goes to someone looking for a Roommate. Let me tell you my friend’s (Emeka’s) experience while he got admission into the university in 2008. His Cousin who had just finished in the same school assisted him to get a Roommate that turned out to be very incompatible with him. Emeka couldn’t help it but leave the room for him after he deceived him to failing four out of ten courses he offered in year 1.
No doubts, time pressures and distance may tempt you to make do with email, middleman or phone contact, it is essential that you sit down and chat face to face. That is the only way you get a sense of how comfortable you would feel seeing that face every day or even sharing your bed space or corner with him/her.

Step-5: Be tactical in first meeting

I advice you to ask probing than straight-forward questions when talking to a prospective Roommate in a first meeting. That will help you master his/her reaction to certain sensitive issues when you finally make it together.
Inquiring into the persons lifestyles, likes, dislikes, work, hobbies, etc will help place him/her in the base of your understanding. However, I don’t mean you should be hostile. Who knows? The person may turn out to be the best person you will ever meet on campus.

Step-6: Make final references

Permit me to liken the search for a Roommate to a search for an employee, or even a wife. Before you make that final decision on the person you will spend your days and nights with in the campus, try and make some references about the person’s personality. A good testimony from previous Roommate(s) or Landlord can help you decide. While you do all these, bear in mind that NO body (including you) is perfect.