Once upon a time, two girls were roommates in college and became best friends. They moved to the same neighborhood after graduation, their husbands became best friends and they all lived happily ever after. This is what many people may expect from their college experience, but sometimes fairytales are far from reality.
Leaving your home, family and friends is never easy, so coming to college is definitely a life-changing experience. In college, we meet new people, we make friends, we get lost on our way to class during the first week and we live with someone who is not a relative — we live with our roommate. Getting to know someone’s culture and lifestyle takes time, and for this reason, relationships between roommates can occasionally be difficult.
Disagreements usually start at the very beginning when you are getting to know each other, a time when you realize how different your lives might have been before college.
Bryan Licona, graduate assistant for mediation services in the Office of Residential Life and Housing, said, “The typical top three disagreements between roommates are sleeping schedules, cleanliness and visitors or overnight guests,”
Licona said that there’s always a solution.
“Roommates should sit down and talk to each other. In general, they know the conflict exists, but they don’t talk about it,” he explained.
Communication is extremely important between roommates, and many conflicts start because students don’t talk to each other.
Some roommates, however, try to talk but can’t come to an agreement. There is no need to panic because at NSU, a lot of people are willing to help students through good and bad times.
“If talking to each other does not help solve the problem, roommates should contact the Residential Assistant (RA). If the RA feels that the situation is out of their control and they are not comfortable handling it, they will ask students to reach out to the Office of Mediation Services,” Licona said. “We are here to help students, and they are more than welcome to come to the office anytime”.
Although having issues with your roommate is not easy, it’s possible to find a solution to your problems. 
“During my freshman year, my roommate and I had very different sleeping schedules,” said Sophie Madden, sophomore sports management major. “She comes from a country where people go to bed late, and I like going to sleep early. At first, it was hard because I didn’t know her too well, and I found it difficult to get my point across. But we finally sat down and arranged a sleeping schedule that suited both of us.”
College is meant to be a fun learning experience, so don’t give up right away on solving any problem you might have, especially roommate conflicts. Communicate, solve the problem and enjoy.
If you have problems with your roommate, talk to them first. If that doesn’t work, talk to your RA or visit the Mediation Services Office. You can also contact the Office of Residential Life and Housing at 954-262-7052 or housing@nova.edu.
