Living with a Roommate

A new roommate can become a lifelong friend!

One of the quintessential American college experiences is to live with a roommate. This will certainly be a new practice for most international students! Go Campus is proud to guarantee housing on campus for all undergraduate students to give them the ‘real’ American student life. You are therefore very likely to share your room with at least one other student when moving to college or university this fall.

This new experience is definitely one to look forward to! Living with a roommate (or more) in college has many great advantages:

  • Improve your language skills – the best way to truly learn a language is to speak it as often as possible. You will see your English proficiency increase very quickly and, if living with another international student, you might even learn a new language.
  • Immerse yourself into a new culture – New cultures are best explored if you fully immerse yourself in them. Living with someone from another country than yours will give you the opportunity to experience a different culture first hand.
  • Academic support – The education in the US might be new to you, but it might not be the case for other students. Your new roommate can help you write your essays or teach you about classroom etiquette.

Here are a few tips for a successful year with your roommate:

  1. Communicate: You don’t want to spend your whole year in an awkward silence. Be sure to make the effort to chat and get to know each other. Your new roommate could one day become a lifelong friend!
  2. Compromise: There is a good chance that you and your roommate might have different views and interests. It’s important to know that neither one of you can always have it his way. You should work on talking and compromising when there is a disagreement.
  3. Respect personal space: When sharing a room with another person it is very important to respect personal space. Make sure to keep your personal belonging to your side of the room, and tidy up regularly.

Sandrine first became an international student when she was 10 years old and hasn’t stopped since. Over the years, she has studied/worked in France, England, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and the USA. She brings her passion of travel and writing together to inspire students to embark on their journey around the world and discover its many cultures.

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