My neighbor arrived at her college dorm freshman year to find the entire room decorated in Disney theme, complete with a Lion King bedspread for each of them. A childhood friend of mine claims her roommate’s boyfriend moved into their dorm two days after school started and stayed for over three months.

We’ve all heard the roommate horror stories: the overly promiscuous, the religious fanatics, the kleptomaniacs and the sleepwalkers.

For most college students, however, roommates are a great stepping-stone — financially, socially and emotionally — away from their families and into independent living. Roommates give us an opportunity to examine the way that we practice interactions outside of our comfort zones and develop relationships as young adults.

Top 10 tips for healthy roommate relations

1. If you haven’t already, sit down with your roommate and discuss who is contributing what to the space, decoration ideas, bill payment, housecleaning and visitor preferences. The key here is compromise!
2. Avoid making snap judgments about your roommate. Dismissing someone based on first impressions can drastically limit your college experience.
3. Determine what are shared and what are personal items as soon as possible. While it may be an uncomfortable conversation, there’s nothing worse than going to grab your favorite shoes only to find them missing from your closet.
4. Make sure that you are only liable for half of the rent, utilities and other expenses. If your roommate damages any shared property, document and report it immediately to your RA or landlord after discussing it with your roommate.
5. For your safety and the safety of those you live with, inform your roommate of any medical issues that may be an issue, such as food allergies, sleep disorders and mental health issues.
6. Bring up small annoyances before they become major issues. While a problem might seem painfully obvious to you, your roommate may be completely oblivious to the issue.
7. When you discuss problems with your roommate, stick to the current situation. Your roommate may become defensive if bombarded with various issues, which will reduce the likelihood that you will come to a productive conclusion.
8. Remember that you and your roommate don’t need to be best friends. It’s important to develop social relationships away from your roommate to prevent friendship burnout.
9. Try to assume goodwill on the part of your roommate. While you may think his or her perpetual lip smacking is done purposely to drive you crazy, it’s probably just a bad habit that she does not realize bothers you.
10. Consult your RA or landlord if roommate issues are more than you can handle. If you have tried all other means, you may be able to switch rooms or get out of your lease.

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