One of the most stressful, unpredictable parts about going to college for the first time is figuring out who you’ll spend your year living with. It’s the first major choice you make once you settle on a college, and it feels like it will have a huge impact on your experience at college. So, here are my tips on finding a roommate for your freshman year.

1) Make a list of the qualities that you value most in a roommate. That could be cleanliness, bedtime, common interests, etc. Then, rank these from most important to least important, and keep them in mind while you search for your roommate. To make this easier, when you commit to UIowa, you have the chance to fill out a questionnaire that will automatically match you with the people you are most compatible with.

2) Join the University of Iowa Class of 2026 Facebook group / Instagram page. Here, you can view people’s profiles and message them much easier than you can on the university’s roommate finder. It’s nice because you can create a post introducing yourself to a lot of people on a platform that everyone is already familiar with.

3) Talk to as many potential roommates as you can, and don’t be afraid to turn people down. Again, this is someone that you’re going to live with for a whole year, so you should feel pretty decent about the choice of roommate you’ve made before you dedicate (This advice also goes the other way around; people may turn YOU down, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean they don’t like you, it might just mean that their lifestyle isn’t super compatible with yours.).

4) Don’t stress yourself out looking for the PERFECT roommate. No matter who ends up as your roommate, they will have quirks that you’ll just learn to live with.

5) Take time to think about how to best introduce yourself to people. Maybe just write a few sentences in your notes app that hit on all sides of your personality. And don’t take it too seriously! People will like you most when you present yourself honestly.

6) Above all else, look for someone who would be a good friend. Being friends with your roommate will make it easy to look past a lot of their faults, as opposed to being stuck with someone you’re not friends with, which can amplify all the things that bother you about them. Plus, it’s really nice to have someone that you can see every night that you feel like you can be yourself around.

Bonus tip: Relax! Most people don’t continue living with their first roommate after freshman year. Even if you’re not super happy with the person you’re living with, you have an entire year to meet people that you know could make good roommate(s) for the years to come. It might seem like your roommate will make or break your year, but their role in your life is only as big as you allow it to be.