Questions to Ask a College Roommate

How it works

These questions to ask a college roommate cover what two people in one room need to settle: who brings what, sleep, study and noise, guests, cleaning, and how to raise a problem. Press Print this list and answer together.

Read the full guide

Choose what to talk about

The page opens on fifteen questions drawn from the whole list. The box under the button narrows the sheet to one group: Before move-in for the weeks before you arrive, Guests once you have settled. Each question prints with a line to write on; the example answers print on a last page you can leave out.

A talk, not a contract

Sit down in the first week and write both answers on each line. This sheet is a conversation, not an agreement: if your residence hall gives you its own roommate agreement, that comes first. Keep the sheet and read it again after a month.

Tips

The page address keeps the group you chose, so you can send it to a roommate you have not met.
When something bothers you is the group to print again in the middle of the term.

Questions and answers

What should you ask a college roommate before move-in?

Who is bringing the fridge and the microwave, what you can both use, when each of you arrives, and how to reach each other. Before move-in holds the questions for those weeks.

What should roommates talk about in the first week?

Sleep and wake times, when the room is quiet, how much notice a guest needs, who takes out the trash, and how to raise a problem. Writing both answers on one line puts any difference on paper.

Is this a roommate agreement?

No. It is a list of questions to talk through. If your hall hands out its own roommate agreement, that document comes first. Nothing here is housing or legal advice.

Does the page store our answers?

No. Nothing is typed into the page. Answers go on the printed sheet, or press Copy the list and paste the questions into a message to your roommate.

All 80 questions

Before move-in 12

Do you care which bed and which closet you get? The bed by the window, and I will trade for the bigger closet.
Do you want anything in the room to match? No need, as long as nothing glows.
How much are you bringing: two bags or a truckload? Somewhere in between.
How should we arrange the beds and desks? Beds along the walls, desks near the outlets.
Is there anything I should not bring into the room? Nothing with peanuts, and no scented sprays.
Should we split the cost of anything for the room? A rug and a trash can, half each.
What are you bringing that we could both use? A kettle, a rug and a printer.
What do you want to keep just for yourself? My pillow and my good pens.
What is coming from home that you could not leave behind? A lamp shaped like a goose.
What is the best way to reach you before we move in? Text. I never check email.
When are you arriving on move-in day? Around ten, with my parents and too many boxes.
Who is bringing the fridge, and who the microwave? I have the fridge. Can you bring the microwave?

Sleep and mornings 12

Are weekends for sleeping in or for early starts? Sleeping in, then a long breakfast.
Are you a talker in the morning, or should I wait until noon? Give me until after coffee.
Can you sleep through typing or a quiet call? Typing yes, calls no.
Can you sleep with a lamp on? Yes, if it is a desk lamp and not the ceiling light.
Do you get up at the first alarm? The third. I will use a quiet one.
Do you nap, and when? Twenty minutes after lunch.
How warm or cool do you like the room? Cool, with a heavy blanket.
Should the window be shut while we sleep? Open a crack, even in winter.
What helps you fall asleep: quiet, a fan, music? A fan, all year.
What should I do if you sleep through an alarm before an exam? Wake me. Throw a pillow if you must.
When do you usually go to sleep on a class night? Midnight, later before a deadline.
When does your earliest class start? Eight, three days a week.

Study and noise 12

Do you keep a show on while you work? Only when I am folding laundry.
Do you need silence to work, or is background sound fine? Low music is fine. Talking is not.
Do you play an instrument or a game with sound, and when? Guitar, unplugged, before dinner.
Do you study in the room or somewhere else? The library until nine, then the room.
Do you work late at night or early in the morning? Late. My best hour is one a.m.
Headphones or speakers when we are both in the room? Headphones, always.
How do you feel about a study group meeting in our room? Fine in the afternoon, not after dinner.
How should I tell you I need quiet? Just say it. I will not be offended.
Is it fine if I take a video call in the room? Yes, with a heads-up first.
What should I know about you in exam week? I pace, and I eat a lot of crackers.
Which hours are quiet hours for us? After eleven on weeknights.
Which sound drives you up the wall? Pen clicking.

Guests 10

Are there days, like the night before an exam, when guests are off the table? Yes, and reading week.
How do you feel about a friend staying the night? Fine on weekends, if we agree first.
How much notice do you want before a friend comes over? An hour, by text.
May my guests sit on your bed or use your chair? The chair, yes. The bed, no.
What do we do about a guest who stays too long? The one who invited them says it is time.
What is our signal for please take this somewhere else? A text that says library.
What is the largest crowd our room should hold? Five, counting us.
What should we do when family visits? Tidy the night before and trade off the room.
When I have people over, do you want to join in or be left alone? Say hello, then let me decide.
When should visitors stay away? Before nine in the morning.

Cleaning and sharing 12

Do we lock the door every time, even for a minute? Every time.
Do we share food or label it? Share the snacks, label the leftovers.
How clean is clean enough for you? Floor clear, desk can be a mess.
How do you feel about clothes on the floor? On your own side, fine.
How do you feel about food smells in the room? Popcorn is fine. Fish is not.
Is it fine to use your charger, printer or fridge shelf? Charger and printer yes. Ask about the shelf.
May I borrow things if I ask first, and what is off limits? Ask and it is yours, except my laptop.
Should we set a day to tidy together? Sunday afternoon, with music.
What happens to dishes left out? Washed by the next morning.
Where do shoes, bags and coats go? Shoes by the door, coats on the hooks.
Who buys what we both use, such as tissues and soap? Whoever notices first, and we keep a tally.
Who empties the bin, and when? When it is full. We take turns.

Getting to know you 12

Do you talk things through or want time alone first? Alone first, then I will find you.
Have you shared a room before, and what did you learn? With my brother. I learned to label things.
How do you recharge after classes? A run, or an hour of a game.
Is there anything I have not asked that you want me to know? I sing when I think nobody is home.
Should we eat together sometimes or keep separate schedules? Dinner on Sundays would be good.
What are you looking forward to most this year? The radio station.
What are you nervous about? Chemistry, and finding my people.
What are you studying, and what made you choose it? Geology. I liked rocks before I liked school.
What do you do for fun, on campus or off? Climbing wall, and thrift stores.
What first impression of you is usually off? They think quiet means annoyed.
What would a great roommate do, in your view? Say hello, and be fine with silence.
Which weekends will you be out of town? Once a month.

When something bothers you 10

How do you like someone to say sorry? Plainly, and then change the thing.
How often should we check in about how the room is going? Every few weeks, over food.
How should I bring up a problem: in person, by text or in a note? In person, when we are both calm.
How will I know you need space? Headphones on and my back to the door.
If we disagree, when is a good time to talk about it? The next day, after class.
What is a deal-breaker for you in a shared room? Taking my things without asking.
What is one promise we can both make today? To say it early, before it grows.
What should we do if talking does not fix it? Ask the resident advisor to sit in.
What small thing bothers you more than it should? Wet towels on a chair.
When you are annoyed, do you say so or go quiet? I go quiet. Ask me twice.

How this list was compiled

Written for this site on 2026-10-02 by the gamenightgenerator editors: 80 questions two new college roommates go through together, each with one invented example answer that describes nobody. Own work; nothing was copied from another site, and no facts are stated. The sheet is a talk, not an agreement, and it is not housing or legal advice: where a residence hall has its own roommate agreement, that comes first. Nothing asks about alcohol, dating, health, money beyond splitting the cost of shared things, religion or politics. Licence: own work