The first important step in residence hall living is finding out who you will be living with. This excites students but can also make them a bit nervous. How you get along with your roommate can have a tremendous impact on your experience at Penn State Altoona.
Here are some suggestions on how to make it work...
Make a commitment to talk to each other at the BEGINNING OF THE YEAR!!
- What time do you want to go to bed at night?
- What time should your guests be out of your room?
- How will you share cleaning duties?
- Will you share your tv, stereo, computer, food, clothing, etc?
- Will you allow overnight guests? If so, on what days?
How to deal with conflicts...
Listed below is the process that Residence Life follows:
- Speak to each other calmly and listen to the other person
- After you believe that you have fully made this attempt and you feel you need assistance- ask your RA for help!
- Your RA may have you fill out a roommate contract- this helps you define the “compromises”
- Keep your RA up to date on how things are going
- If problems persist, your RA will then seek help in making a decision about what the next step will be
IMPORTANT NOTE
Don't wait until it becomes a serious issue for you. Take action before it gets to that point!
