Ohio State offered an Off-Campus Roommate Fair on June 11 for students to meet potential roommates. Credit: Lily Pace | Managing Campus Editor
Finding the perfect roommate while transitioning to off-campus living may feel overwhelming or complicated. However, Ohio State has services and events—like the Off-Campus Roommate Fair—to help make the search, and decision, less intimidating.
On June 11, Ohio State students met potential roommates during the fair from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Hosted by Ohio State’s Off-Campus and Community Student Engagement office, people met virtually rather than filling out a questionnaire and selecting randomly, Rachel DeMooy, Off-Campus Residential Experience Manager, said.
“It’s a low-stakes, relaxed environment, but it gives you an opportunity to meet people face to face or on Zoom, and really get to know them a little bit better than you would over some of the other applications,” DeMooy said.
To start, the students were divided into smaller groups and rotated throughout the fair to speak to a variety of students, DeMooy said. The students then had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a person they are interested in living with so they can continue to get to know each other.
Towards the end of the fair, students singled out a particular person they are interested in speaking with more one-on-one, and asked the host to assign them to a room where they can continue to get to know each other.
When deciding if someone is a good fit for a roommate, it is important to make sure that they are compatible in ways other than being friends. It is crucial to consider each other’s budgets and lifestyles, Frank Kremer, chief counsel for the Civil Team at Ohio State Student Legal Services, said.
“The first thing I always want to suggest to students is a roommate can obviously be a friend, but you need to look beyond that,” Kremer said. “This is somebody that you’re going to be living with day-to-day and sharing financial responsibilities to some degree, your living space and that personal side to your life.”
Although the conversations can be awkward, Kremer said, it is a good idea to be honest with prospective roommates about their financial stability. It is important to be comfortable asking difficult questions about their budgets and finances to avoid issues that may arise in the future.
“If you’re going to be on a joint lease with that person, you are financially tied to them for that term of lease,” Kremer said. “Because in a joint lease, if the roommate doesn’t pay their half of the rent, you can be liable to the landlord for that.”
In addition to budgets, it’s important to consider each other’s lifestyles. DeMooy suggests getting specific about you and your roommate’s expectations for cleanliness and noise. One dish in the sink overnight might be clean to somebody, but clean to somebody else could mean a full sink in three days, DeMooy said.
Kremer suggests that students sign a roommate agreement form provided by Student Legal Services. This form encourages students to discuss any future issues, whether they’re lifestyle or financial, that may arise before they become difficult to address.
“Having somebody commit to writing what they’re in agreement to do or not do, or house rules and things like that, can prevent things from happening,” Kremer said. “It’s a lot easier to deal with them on the front end than after things have already started.”
To request the roommate agreement form provided by Student Legal Services, visit their website here.
This story was updated June 12 at 10:52 a.m. to clarify that the event was virtual.
