Roomates: what's your magic number?

A roommate can make or break a college experience. If you go random and get someone you don’t get along with then it may make for a long year.

If your roommate has sticky fingers then you may find yourself paying to feed him, too.

The number of roommates you live with can also be vital. If you are a person who constantly wants to be around friends, then living with seven other people is not ideal.

If you value your personal space and alone time, then maybe living with just one roommate, or even living alone, is right for you.

Sophomore John Davis lives in Terra Trace Apartments with a friend he met on his dorm floor last year.

He said that if he lived with more people, “it would be a little overwhelming.” He added that he prefers “living with one roommate because I have some space to myself to get things done that need to get done.”

Fellow sophomore Zach Gentz lives off campus near the stadium with four other students.

“With four roommates it was easier to get a house which is what I was looking for, and it’s a lot easier to split costs making it cheaper for everyone,” Gentz said.

He also likes living with four other guys because “there’s always someone to hang out with.” He never feels over crowded or wishes there were less people in the house.
“Everyone has their own space, everyone has their room,” he said.

Even though he values his privacy, he said having friends around is always better.
“Every now and then a little alone time is pretty good, but I’d rather have people around,” he said.

Sophomore Jennifer Weaver is a Resident Assistant at Forest Residence Center and lives in a single dormitory room there. Her reason for choosing the RA route is simple.

“I get free housing, that’s about it,” she said. Weaver said there’s probably an academic advantage to living alone. If anything else, she said, there are “certainly fewer opportunities for distractions.”

Although she lives alone now, she does not want to live alone for her entire time at IU.
“I feel like having roommates would be a good experience,” Weaver said. “It would allow me to have a close support system emotionally and academically, an active
social life, and make things cheaper. And we could learn how to live on our own
together.”  

Even though Weaver lives in the residence halls, she still does not feel secluded.

“Living in the residence halls makes it really easy for social life,” she said.