One of the things that college parents and their students both worry about is getting along with a college roommate. Most students have never shared a room before, and small college residence hall rooms put students in close contact. Parents and students alike realize that a good roommate relationship can be a wonderful experience, but a difficult situation can make everyone miserable. Everyone hopes for the perfect match, a new best friend, and a happily-ever-after living arrangement.
Most colleges work hard at making good roommate matches. They ask students for information about themselves and then assign roommates that have a good chance of being compatible based on lifestyle and interests. However, no matching system is perfect, and even if students are perfectly matched, conflicts are inevitable. Even if students are well prepared for the experience of living with a roommate, conflicts are inevitable. There are things that your student can do to try to minimize conflict and to deal with conflict when it arises. One thing that you and your student may not have considered, however, is that there may actually be some benefits to those inevitable situations when your student is confronted with roommate issues. We’d like to suggest four benefits or skills which your student may gain from dealing with roommate conflicts.
