Navigating Dorm and Roommate Life
By Angelina Nunez
November 18, 2025
Image credit: Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels
Living on campus for the first time can be an exciting experience, but it can also be intimidating. Whether a student found their roommate through Instagram, a roommate finder or random assignment, living with someone new will take some getting used to.
Ashlyn Hoffmann, a sophomore biological sciences major specializing in physiology and neurobiology, had a unique experience adjusting to dorm life. While expecting a random roommate assignment, she was given a single dorm room. Though many students would have found this to be a lucky draw, she felt she missed out on a big part of the “freshman experience”.
“I felt like everybody had a built-in best friend,” Hoffmann said. “You have somebody to go to an event with, you have somebody to go to a dining hall with, to approach other people with and I was kind of doing that aspect of it solo. I feel like that made it really difficult.”
Though she was able to make friends through classes and her scholars program, she felt that sharing a room during her freshman year would have made it significantly easier for her to become involved early on.
This semester, Hoffmann was able to get the roommate experience that she wanted last year. From this experience, she found that some things are crucial to do in order to live with someone else successfully.
“Be open about your needs and talk about that early,” she said. “Establish with yourself, before you’ve even talked to your roommate, what some of your non-negotiables would be and then some things that you’re willing to compromise on.”
Freshman food science major Nadia Safran saw coexistence in the same space differently. The roommate aspect of the “freshman experience” isn’t something that she deemed necessary.
“I know a bunch of people that found their roommate from Instagram and had a really good experience, but that being said, I don’t think it’s crucial,” Safran said. “I would take a single if I could, but that's just my personal preference.”
Though the college roommate experience isn’t ideal for her, she still found ways to foster a healthy dynamic with her roommate.
“I try to make sure my side of the room is tidy, and also I don’t let my alarm go off more than twice. At home, it would go off like six times before I got up,” she said.
Despite preferring her own space, Safran recognized that having a roommate comes with a particular obligation to be considerate of one another.
Campus speaker and former University of Maryland professor Jennifer Gershberg gave her professional opinion on roommate communication to foster healthy relationships in an article with SHRM.
“If your roommate is doing something that you find really annoying or hard to live with, address it directly and promptly through kind, respectful, and honest communication,” Gershberg said.
Whether a student thrives in a shared space or prefers their own room, dorm life offers a chance to learn valuable skills like communication, compromise and the ability to adjust to new, unfamiliar environments.
Ashlyn Hoffmann, a sophomore biological sciences major specializing in physiology and neurobiology, had a unique experience adjusting to dorm life. While expecting a random roommate assignment, she was given a single dorm room. Though many students would have found this to be a lucky draw, she felt she missed out on a big part of the “freshman experience”.
“I felt like everybody had a built-in best friend,” Hoffmann said. “You have somebody to go to an event with, you have somebody to go to a dining hall with, to approach other people with and I was kind of doing that aspect of it solo. I feel like that made it really difficult.”
Though she was able to make friends through classes and her scholars program, she felt that sharing a room during her freshman year would have made it significantly easier for her to become involved early on.
This semester, Hoffmann was able to get the roommate experience that she wanted last year. From this experience, she found that some things are crucial to do in order to live with someone else successfully.
“Be open about your needs and talk about that early,” she said. “Establish with yourself, before you’ve even talked to your roommate, what some of your non-negotiables would be and then some things that you’re willing to compromise on.”
Freshman food science major Nadia Safran saw coexistence in the same space differently. The roommate aspect of the “freshman experience” isn’t something that she deemed necessary.
“I know a bunch of people that found their roommate from Instagram and had a really good experience, but that being said, I don’t think it’s crucial,” Safran said. “I would take a single if I could, but that's just my personal preference.”
Though the college roommate experience isn’t ideal for her, she still found ways to foster a healthy dynamic with her roommate.
“I try to make sure my side of the room is tidy, and also I don’t let my alarm go off more than twice. At home, it would go off like six times before I got up,” she said.
Despite preferring her own space, Safran recognized that having a roommate comes with a particular obligation to be considerate of one another.
Campus speaker and former University of Maryland professor Jennifer Gershberg gave her professional opinion on roommate communication to foster healthy relationships in an article with SHRM.
“If your roommate is doing something that you find really annoying or hard to live with, address it directly and promptly through kind, respectful, and honest communication,” Gershberg said.
Whether a student thrives in a shared space or prefers their own room, dorm life offers a chance to learn valuable skills like communication, compromise and the ability to adjust to new, unfamiliar environments.