Updated with current information for 2022
OU Student Services staff get that living with a roommate is a big adjustment. Whether you’re an underclassman in a dorm, or you’re living on your own, roommates can be a blessing or a bane.
To help students adjust, OU maintains a Twitter feed to dispense advice for those needing to sort out a difficult roomie situation. Although designed for the dorm resident, much of the information will also be helpful to any student sharing Athens Ohio rental homes. OU’s handbook and web pages on housing and residence life are also helpful.
And hey, by the way, if you’re a new student, and you decide you can’t bear the idea of a roommate and want to cancel your housing deposit for the spring semester, you can get a refund on your $200 housing deposit if you request it by Dec. 1.
Here are some tips for solving roommate struggles based on the size of your student rental:
For the two-bedroom apartment
A two-bedroom apartment is one of the more common Athens student rentals, and since there’s only two people living in a shared space, it means tempers can easily flare without outside mediation.
The key in this situation is to know what sets off your roommate. Ask them early on what their pet peeves and expectations are for cohabitation. Upfront communication BEFORE a problem arises can save you the hassle later on.
For the four-bedroom home:
If your student rental is closer to the animal house variety, some extra steps are needed to keep roommate issues under wraps.
Again, make sure expectations very clear. I.e., who parks where in the shared rental parking spot, who brings the furniture for the home’s yard and so on and so forth. Once expectations are set, all you can do is keep your own person in check. That means not talking behind others backs, instigating arguments and most importantly – apologizing when you’re wrong.
Following these steps isn’t a surefire way to avoid conflict, but it is a surefire way to do what you can to make sure future conflicts don’t get out of hand.