With housing selections opening up at Rowan University, many Rowan students across campus decided to live with their friends. It seems like the ideal setup. You can live with people you already know and trust. But not everyone has that option. Some Rowan students ended up with random roommates, whether through group selection or individual rounds. Students who don’t have a roommate group often face a stigma that they somehow “missed out.” 

In reality, that assumption could not be more wrong. Having random roommates is not something to be ashamed of. Often, it can lead to a better college experience than living with your friends. 

There are many advantages to rooming with your friends. Rooming with your friends means you already know each other. It’s easier to acclimate in the apartment without roommate agreements. Living with friends also means you won’t have to deal with terrible roommates. It’s also comforting to live with a familiar face.

Even though there are many upsides to living with friends in college, there are many downsides. Being friends with someone and living with them are two unique experiences. Friendship doesn’t always mean the same everyday habits, whether it’s how clean someone is, how late they stay up, or how they handle shared responsibilities. 

Small differences in lifestyle can quickly grow into ongoing frustrations. More importantly, poorly managed conflicts can strain or even end a friendship. What starts as a comfortable living arrangement can become complicated when personal and practical boundaries begin to overlap. 

Even though many people look down on living with random roommates due to random roommate horror stories, sometimes a random roommate could be your best friend. While many students focus on the worst-case “horror stories,” those situations aren’t the norm.  According to Liu et al. (2008), 50.1% of women and 44.1% of men report occasional or frequent conflicts with their roommates, regardless of whether they are friends or not. Conflict isn’t just unique to random pairings; it’s a natural part of shared living.

There are many advantages to living with a random roommate. Living with a random roommate allows you to expand your social circle. When you live with someone new, you aren’t just meeting one person. You gain access to their entire social circle. This can expand your friend group in college. 

Living with random roommates also strengthens your conflict resolution skills. Living with random roommates requires you to navigate different points of view and set clear boundaries from day one. It teaches you to advocate for yourself and compromise on shared space without the emotional baggage of a pre-existing friendship. Living with random roommates also provides an opportunity to explore new interests and hobbies. You might be introduced to new foods, music, or sports that you otherwise might not have experienced. 

All in all, living alone without a group of friends is perfectly fine. Based on my personal experience, living with people who are randomly assigned can also be a positive experience if you establish clear boundaries and maintain an open-minded attitude. 

I had a solid relationship with my first roommate freshman year, before he swapped rooms to live with his closer friend. My second roommate ended up introducing me to my closest friends through Rowan Navigators. My sophomore year helped me grow closer in my faith and connect with like-minded men. Randomly pairing with certain individuals can sometimes have a profound effect on your life. In the end, not having a set roommate group might not be a setback at all; it could be the opportunity that leads you to the right people.