Roommate Selection Guide

Answering your profile questions as honestly as possible will increase the likelihood that some of your top matches will be a better fit for you. You should fill out these questions yourself (not with your parents) and write your answers according to how you are on a regular day. 

Parents & Guardians: If you have completed your student’s application up until this point, encourage them to complete their profile on their own! We appreciate your support but it is best for your student if we get unfiltered responses from them.

While the profile questions may give you a better idea of who is potentially a good match, you should also chat with that person to discuss what your hopes are for the living space and what feels comfortable to you.

When selecting a roommate consider these questions:

• Is this someone you feel comfortable resolving conflicts with?’
• Is this someone you feel you can discuss your comfort and needs in the room about?

Yes, it is great to ‘hit it off’ and get along with your roommate as soon as you move in, but this excitement can wear off. When the quirks start to come out that bother you, do you feel comfortable approaching them?

Don’t forget to discuss studying and quiet hours to make sure your school priorities match. You don’t want your grades to suffer because you can’t focus on what you need to.

Roommate Contract

Consider these questions when chatting to your potential roommate:

• What temperature do you prefer in the room?
• Do you like to stay up late or are you an early riser?
• What items are you bringing to residence?
• Do you want to share things or should we each use our own stuff?
• If I forget to take out the garbage, how will you approach it?
• What noise level is acceptable to you when you are studying?
• Do you have any allergies or food preferences I should be aware of?
• Do you like to shower in the morning or the evening?
• Are you okay with my friends coming over?
• Are you actually okay with my friends coming over?
• When is it not okay that my friends come over?

Some of those questions may appear to be a joke, but you should actually ask those questions. Are these situations you feel you can effectively manage with your prospective roommate?

Roommate selection for students who have met all Residence application deadlines will start in late July.

If you miss the deadline to participate in the selection a roommate will be selected based on your profile questions.

A roommate will be selected for you by our Housing Coordinator. This will be based on the best match according to your profile.

There is no option to live alone in residence.

You should look for someone you feel comfortable resolving issues with. You will live with each other for 8 months (or longer) which means that conflict will likely come up. Are the two of you proactive in your communication and willing to address issues in a respectful and mature manner?

While it is important to share similar interests and feel like there is potential for this person to become a lifelong friend, it is important to start with the basics. Can you establish effective communication with this person? Can you see yourself resolving issues with them?

Someone who demonstrates respect and cooperation with their roommate. This does not have to be a best friend but rather someone who is willing to hold their end of the bargain when it comes to keeping the comfort of both parties in the suite. Someone who is considerate of their roommate’s needs but also feels confident in communicating their own.

Absolutely! We want you to choose the best roommate for you.

We do advise that a close friend may not always be the best match. There is a tendency to avoid conflict with friends – we have seen this result in conflicts escalating just simply because they did not want to hurt the friendship!

That being said, the choice is yours and you will know what feels most comfortable for you.

There is no option to select someone who identifies as a different gender to yourself. Should you have any inquiries or special considerations, please contact us at info@algonquinresidence.ca.

You will receive a Roommate Confirmation email in August from our Housing Coordinator. This email will include the name of your roommate and their email address so that you can contact them if you want to.

There are no guarantees this request can be accommodated.

Our advice would be to contact your Residence Life Coordinator (RLC) as soon as possible to advise them of the situation. There are no guarantees that your RLC will be able to permit this but they will look into availability.