Finding the right college roommate that you will have to get along with can be tough. Coming from a senior at Rock Island High School, Emily Allison, who plans to attend Illinois Central College for volleyball, states, “I’m scared that I won’t gel with them as easily as I think I will.” 

While attending a junior college, the rooming situations are apartment styles. This gives her the opportunity to have three other roommates. Allison hopes to build a strong connection with her roommates. “I want someone who cleans up after themselves, and helps around the apartment as much as I do,” Allison states. Personal space is a key factor when it comes to living with people you just met. She claims that she doesn’t expect someone to do everything for her, and she doesn’t plan on doing everything for her roommates either. Luckily for Allison, playing a sport at ICC has helped her find a roommate because her coach put everyone in contact with each other. Some advice Allison has for those struggling to find a roommate is, “Don’t be afraid to reach out and contact people who are going to the same school because all incoming freshmen are all going through the same thing.”

As the time has come to start reaching out to people who plan on attending the same college, and start finding a potential roommate can be very difficult, another senior from Rock Island High School, Mackenzie Brokaw, who plans to attend Illinois State to major in nursing, states, “Trying to reach out to people I don’t know, and only being able to see what they are interested in, and what they enjoy based on their social media pages is tough.” Rooming with someone you don’t know could end up being the best case scenario or the worst. She plans to room with someone she doesn’t know, so then she can meet new people and expand her comfort zone. “Having the most enjoyable college experience possible and rooming with someone who I can be myself around, and get comfortable with over time is the most important thing to me,” she explains. By the end of all of this, Brokaw plans to create a strong bond with her roommate because this will be the first year they are both living on their own and away from home.