Roommate Ice Breakers

When you first move in with someone, things can be a bit awkward. You may not know each other that well, or even at all, but the reality is that you will be with this person a lot for at least the next two semesters. Why not make an effort to actually get to know your roommate? Here’s a few ice breakers to try…

Chat

You will likely know who your roomie is before move in so make the effort to email, call or even connect on social media. Talking beforehand could make you feel more comfortable with the idea before you even meet and you may learn some things about who they are before your first day of sleeping in the same room as them. Find out when they are going to campus and who is going to get what for the room, then see where the conversation goes and if it flows.

Decorate

Doing something like decorating your room together may help you bond. You will both be unpacking and hanging things up at the same time, so maybe talk about what should go where and if there should be some sort of color scheme or theme for your room. Working together will help you both feel like you’ve added something to the room and help it to feel like both of you are at home in the space.

Explore

If you are both freshman, chances are you aren’t too familiar with where everything is on campus. Take an outing together and map out your classes to explore the campus. Maybe you’ll find that you’re around the same spot and be able to meet up for coffee in between your classes. If either of you came to college knowing people, try introducing the other to your friends.

Question

How do you expect to get to know someone if you don’t ask them questions? Try to get them to open up and find some stuff out about them. What do they like and dislike? What is their major? What classes are they excited for? What time do they typically go to bed? Building on things like these as well as favorite TV shows, movies, music etc. will help you find some common ground and give you a base friendship.