Keeping the same roommate year after year can be beneficial

Sophomores Hauna Payne and Rachel Snow live in Bennett Hall. This is the second year they have roomed together.

Snow said she and Payne decided to room together again because they have similar personalities.

“We're like the same person,” Snow said. “We put up with each other. We get along really well and we don't have any problems.”

Payne added, “We've gotten a feel for each others' schedules, what annoys each other, there's no awkward trying to get to know someone…It's reassuring to know she'll be there for me.”

Snow said living with the same person again can confine someone's social life.

“We hang out with the same people,” Snow said. “You don't get the opportunity to know other people on a more personal level.”

Snow said she has had a good experience. “We have a mutual understanding of each other and we respect each other,” Snow said.

 “We're compassionate, we care for others,” Payne said. “We give similar advice. And we're both biology majors, so we can help each other.”

Snow said she thought it would be stressful to room with someone she doesn't know. “I would feel like I had to cater myself to them,” Snow said.

Payne said if they had to room with other people, she thought they would both be fine.

“We're both able to fit in wherever we need to,” Payne said.

Both Payne and Snow said they plan to live with each other again.

According to Brandy Hicks, area residence hall coordinator, most students choose to live together several years in row because they're friends, who think they can live together.

“If it works for them, it works for me,” Hicks said. “It makes my life easier. There are less roommate conflicts. But, it does take some students a while. They're learning to adjust to personalities, time schedules, hygiene habits and even just others' backgrounds.”

Hicks said limitations to rooming with the same person depend on the student, but usually the students are not limited because they are involved with other activities. Hicks said students who room together multiple years do not encounter a lot of issues with each other.

“They usually have a feel for how everybody is,” Hicks said.

Hicks said it is usually more beneficial for students to room with the same person multiple times.

“They know what to expect from each other,” Hicks said. “Students' residential experience has been shown to have an effect on the academic side of college.”