Roommate screening questions

[Baz]

My third year in college we were allowed to live off campus and I ended up sharing a 4 bedroom house with 3 other dudes. The bedrooms were all converted to have their own HVAC but we shared the kitchen and bathroom.

Every day at noon we'd sit in the living room together and watch "All My Children". And once in a while someone would make a tuna casserole - which we referred to as a tuna bomb. And it would be shared.

Other than that everyone pretty much went their own way and we got through the year without any issues.

The following year I moved to one of the two rental apartments on the second floor. They each had outside staircases for entry/exit.

I stayed one more year before getting my degree, and that last year I shared a cottage on the Ornamental Horticulture Department greenhouse facility property with another OH senior and received rent in exchange for watching over the complex on the weekends and after hours on weekdays. We had the keys to the greenhouse complex and could go through them anytime we wanted, which was pretty cool when you wanted to impress a date. Plus that was where some of the labs were conducted for our courses so on those occasions, we'd just casually stroll over from the cottage just before class was to start..."Yo everyone...what up?"

[Baz]

I was probably an ideal roommate because I went home (my parent's home) every weekend to surf.

I mean EVERY weekend.

[brainz01]

A few from experience:

Do you require pitch black and 100% silence to sleep? Or can you sleep through a nuclear attack like me?

If you had to have a room too hot, or too cold, which would you prefer? If we lived in Houston and our windows opened onto the the industrial dryer vent for the dorm, do you think it would be a good idea to regularly turn off the AC and open the windows so we can get some "fresh air"?

Are you into taxidermy? Ever stuffed a beaver?

[David]

My freshman dorm was un-airconditioned in Austin! No choice on roommate, mine was OK, but his had issues. I moved into the frat house after one semester in the dorm. Our fraternity supervisor happened to be the director of housing at UT so I magically got out of my unbreakable dorm contract mid-year

All my roommates after that were fraternity brothers and life long friends. They all got the short end of the stick with their roommate but at least they got their cars and motorcycles fixed for free.

[Seahawk]

I hate to say this, but even with rock solid questions, there is no substitute for grill to grill meeting to figure it out.

Everybody interviews well on paper and over the phone. It is a total crap shoot.

I chased the baseball dream before college so I never lived in a dorm. I found my roommates in college like everyone else in the '70's: physical message board, address and phone number, come and talk.

I met these three exactly that way. We knew in two minutes it was going to work. South Fork of the American. I am back left.

George is a no kidding Crazy Rich Asian, Blythe a very successful entrepreneur, Gary a surgeon.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I hate to say this, but even with rock solid questions, there is no substitute for grill to grill meeting to figure it out.

Everybody interviews well on paper and over the phone. It is a total crap shoot.

I chased the baseball dream before college so I never lived in a dorm. I found my roommates in college like everyone else in the '70's: physical message board, address and phone number, come and talk.

I met these three exactly that way. We knew in two minutes it was going to work. South Fork of the American. I am back left.

George is a no kidding Crazy Rich Asian, Blythe a very successful entrepreneur, Gary a surgeon.

Great post, Paul.

Who took the photos? And where are they today?

[KFC911]

The person you interview before entering freshman year.... might change... a LOT .

We "worked hard" and played hard on weekends....

But Sat & Sun on the basketball courts at noon was a given ... had to sweat it all back out before starting all over again

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Baz

Great post, Paul.

Who took the photos? And where are they today?

George's girlfriend, just a smoking hot Taiwanese woman who could not swim. She was not getting in the raft - her choice. You can see in the picture George is hamming it up for the hammer.

George is in Taiwan, Blythe still in the Bay Area and Gary is in New York. I think, it has been over a decade. I may have to fix that.

[Tobra]

I think I may have a photo of me near that very same spot in very similar circumstances.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Tobra

I think I may have a photo of me near that very same spot in very similar circumstances.

Not far from Chili Bar...I think. Pics are from 1979/80.

Monday's were my day off during the summer and I would borrow a raft and equipment and we'd head out. I had friends at OARS and we'd stay in Coloma.

The cool thing about George was that his father made him work even though they had all the money in the world.

We both worked as waiters in SF during the school year and George would always drive. He'd pick me up and we'd hit the circuit after work on weekends.

An amazing time.

[stevej37]

My first year of college?....MI had just changed the drinking age to 18. My parents brought me to my new dorm/residence for the first year and we were met by keggers on every floor!
I still remember my father smiling and rolling his eyes as my mother tried to look away.
Fun times!
Learned how to party all day long...money well spent!

[red-beard]

My Freshman and sophomore years, I don't remember getting a choice in roommates. People could and did swap roommates.

First year was OK. We were both engineers, he was a year ahead. Second year I was sophomore and he was freshman and we ended up with one of the large rooms. I knew his brother from engineering. He studied "Animal Science". He did not have to study much and spent most of his time screwing around.

Third year I went off campus. Found my roommate at the "off-campus" resource building.

After that, I've never had a "Roommate" I was not sleeping with...

[fanaudical]

Originally Posted by LWJ

Fan,
You sound like me.

We're not trying to scare the shizzz out of them, just find a good one!

Funny!

Yep - Funny - And unfortunately all generated from real-world experience.

Like many of you, I played "room-mate roulette" when I first went to college and lived in the dorms my freshman year. Didn't exactly end well. Moved off campus, burned up some friendships with those I roomed with (stupid stuff on their part).

Last year of school got into an apartment with strangers again (weird apartment building - common kitchen/bathroom linked to four bedrooms, each with their own external entrance). First Friday night I'm coming back late from the engineering building to find cops at the apartment and a big party clearing out; one roommate in cuffs for dealing cocaine...