How do you vet a potential roommate you've never met for your first year at med school?

[779663]

I'm gonna start in July and currently looking at a possible roommate. My school has a residence building that only has other med students so it would be another kid in the program.

I've had terrible experiences in the past, so what should I be looking for to make sure I don't start med school on the wrong foot?

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[NotASerialKiller]

If you find someone hideously unattractive and socially inept you won't have to deal with any romantic partners

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Isnt loud
Isnt messy
Isnt socially inept
Isnt clingy
Not more attractive than you (for wingman/women scenarios)

Anything else is extra and should be evaluated on a case by case basis.
/thread

 

[CommyO]

/open thread
Pays rent on time
/thread

 

[787593]

I'm gonna start in July and currently looking at a possible roommate. My school has a residence building that only has other med students so it would be another kid in the program.

I've had terrible experiences in the past, so what should I be looking for to make sure I don't start med school on the wrong foot?

Ask a series of deep/probing questions regarding intimate details of their personal life.

 

[Lucca]

1) Ask them to send in a "tertiary" application to be your roommate and charge 50$ a pop for processing fees.

2) have enough money to live without a roommate

 

[Fancy_Feast]

Maybe ask them whether they plan to study at home or on campus, whether they're an early riser or study late into the night, how cleanly they are (like, how long do you think it's okay to leave dishes in the sink for? Would you be okay taking turns cleaning the bathroom?), whether their social expectations line up with yours (do you want to have people over a lot? do they?)?

I'd like to think that we're all mature enough to have figured this out by now...but last time I found roommates remotely it did not work out (they were get the police called, have sex in MY bed kind of roommates), so I guess not 🙁

 

[JoaoMoutinho]

Use one of those search engines advertised in those clickbait ads that show up. "Ever try Googling yourself? Do a 'Deep Search' instead, but brace yourself..."


Please never click on one of those clickbait ads. It only encourages them. This suggestion was entirely facetious. r/savedyouaclick will probably tell you the answer to whatever headline they use to try to scam you into clicking on it anyway.

 

[mistafab]

It really depends on your priorities. Make sure whatever they are, that the potential roomate has the same priorities and in the same order.

 

[vellez]

Noise is all I care about. Say your expectations (including if YOU would be the noisy one) wrt noise.

 

[liquidstatic]

I heard Donald Trump knows a thing or two about "extreme vetting". /s

 

[spartawdw]

Make sure your potential roommate has lived with roommates before. I've lived with a few girls who all came from living at home/in their own dorm room and I could definitely tell the difference. Three important things I'd say:

1. Conscientiousness. Seriously, the most successful roommate relationships I've had are with people who respect your space (keeping common areas clean) and know if they're being a burden (music too loud/ SO staying over frequently)

2. Cleanliness. Doesn't bother everyone, but it bothers me. There is a difference between MESSY and DIRTY...I don't want to come home to dirty dishes every day, but I don't want my roommate to chop my head off if I leave a book or two lying around. Just make sure you're on the same page.

3. General safety and finances. They will pay rent on time, lock the door, pay utilities, etc. Pretty self explanatory.

Hope this helped! I've had a LOT of different living arrangements and lived with a ton of people, almost always successfully.

 

[FeinMS]

Get a small loan of million dollars and live alone

 

[gallons]

if they have zero social media presence they are likely psychotic and should be avoided. Im serious.

 

[alex.jl1994]

Only two major conflicts that have come up with people in my class that I'm aware of...

1) Sleeping/noise habits - does one roommate go to bed early and the other stay up late with the TV on or clanging around in the kitchen?

2) Cleaning habits - ask specific questions about habits, not general ones. My roommates first year told me they were "pretty neat and clean" and literally never once cleaned their bathroom or vacuumed or cleaned in common areas. I'm fine with a little clutter or clothes on the floor or dishes in the sink for a day or two...but I'm not cool with a fine coat of frying oil all over everything in the kitchen or gross hairs all over the floor. I was the only one who cared how disgusting the apartment got to I got stuck with all the cleaning and it took way more time out of my schedule than I was cool with.

When I read that bit about the coat of oil all over the kitchen and gross hair on the floor, it was like you were describing my suite senior year. I lived with some of my closest friends, who all described themselves as "quiet" and "clean," but clearly our definitions were different... I basically became the live in maid haha.

 

[CoffeeMug13]

Extreme. Vetting.