You’ve worked so hard and probably got admission to your preferred college or higher institution of learning, congratulations!!! But while moving in, either in the institution’s apartments or residential halls, the last thing you want is to worry about unnecessary stress associated with college life. Remember, you will reside with other roommates who may be total strangers, but what guarantees are there that you’ll live harmoniously and peacefully? To live in agreement, it’s a wise idea to draft a College Roommate Agreement Dorm Room.
What is a College Roommate Agreement Dorm Room?
A College Roommate Agreement Dorm Room is a friendly agreement that provides a set of rules or guidelines that improve roommates’ peaceful coexistence. Since you live with strangers, the chances are that you share different opinions, ideas, and ways of doing things. As such, disagreements can happen, hence affecting the quality of your stay or even your education. Note that your room should be a place for you to live and experience college life as fully as possible. However, the quality of life will depend on the roommate you stay with, and the relationship or agreement you two develop.
Things to Include in your College Roommate Agreement
The primary purpose of writing the College Roommate Agreement Dorm Room is to negotiate various guidelines and terms to follow during your stay. One thing that is a guarantee is that people are different. So your dorm rooms will always be composed of students of different backgrounds, cultures, acquaintances, hobbies, and personal schedules, to mention a few. With that in mind, here are some significant things to include in your College Roommate Agreement Dorm Room.
Define your schedules
This should be the first thing to mention in your College Roommate Agreement Dorm Room. Just as mentioned earlier, people do things differently. Therefore, you might find one student liking to wake up very early, while the other sleeping very late. In a room with two such students, struggles will always occur. As such, make sure you both negotiate the appropriate bedtimes and other essential schedules such as when to study when to watch the TV, listen to music, play video games, and the rest.
Guests
You’ll make lots of friends while at college. While some will prefer visiting you in your room, make sure you don’t cause your roommates discomfort. Perhaps, your colleague isn’t receptive to friends of the opposite sex. Or perhaps he/she isn’t social and hence gets uncomfortable around many people. Therefore, you need to negotiate on specific days or times that the visitors can come and at what number. Also, you can note if prior notice is to be made before allowing your visitors in. In some cases, the dorm building may have set rules on visitation. But with this, it’s still important to talk about it with your roommates.
Cleaning
Cleaning your rooms is one way of making them comfortable. No one likes staying in an untidy place. Similarly, it’s your responsibility to make sure your dorm rooms are cleaned regularly and adequately. As such, you can make a cleaning chart to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Therefore, when writing your agreement, ensure you mention who cleans what and at what intervals? Also, agree on the person responsible for buying the cleaning supplies. To make it fair, you can do the cleaning in turns/shifts.
Sharing
Sharing is an expected behavior among college residents. However, some students may not be willing to do so, especially the freshmen. If both of you aren’t for the idea of sharing, you can go ahead and define boundaries, i.e., this is your side, and this is mine. If you find sharing a noble idea, you can still opt for it. In large dormitories, you’ll find people sharing fridges, microwaves, bathrooms, and the list is endless.
Some other things can’t be shared. These include clothes, shoes, and other personal items. All in all, always talk about sharing early to nip out potential problems during your stay.
Alcohol consumption
This is another sensitive topic that most students fear to talk about. Ideally, different people have different feelings and opinions about drinking. While others pay strict observance, others don’t give a second ear. Nonetheless, both of you need to negotiate on terms governing alcohol consumption in your room. Since most first-year students get admitted while still minor, it isn’t a good idea to involve them in alcohol. Drinking happens in colleges. And when your roomie comes with some bottles, it’s up to you to stay by the rules and avoid getting caught in the snare. This should also apply to all other illegal drug substances that are commonly abused in colleges.
Free Templates & Forms
How Do you Write a College Roommate Agreement?
Writing a College Roommate Agreement Dorm Room can be daunting, especially if you do it for the first time. However, writing one shouldn’t be the cause of your worries as we have two options for you. First, you can download our College Roommate Agreement Dorm Room templates here for free or write one from scratch. If you choose the latter, here are some guides:
Write Down Personal Details
First, you need to write the name of your college/institution. This should be followed by your name as well as that of your roomies.
Write Down Basic Definitions
Before proceeding to the guidelines, you need to highlight some of the standard definitions and terms you’ll use.
Set The Terms And Conditions
Here, you can define the number of roomies you have and where they will be living. On top of this, you will note down the agreed negotiation terms, including schedules, cleaning, visitation, mode of sharing, and alcohol consumption, among other things.
Address Any Other Concerns
While the above set terms will apply frequently, there may be other concerns raised by the roommates. These concerns should be documented in this section and labeled as ‘additional concerns.’
Finalize The Agreement With A Signature
Make sure that every roommate goes through the whole document once again. If they agree, then they should append their signatures.
