The College Roommate from Hell von Linda Fiore

Every year, over 500,000 new students join the ranks of American college students and a good percentage of them stay in student housing. For those who do not stay in student housing, it is almost guaranteed that you will have a roommate at some point in your college career it s a rite of passage. But, for someone who has lived with their parents, in their own room, for 18 years, having a college roommate can be an entirely new experience, especially if that roommate is the roommate from hell. When living in a dorm, you have almost no choice as to who you live with. It could be the nicest person in the world or the your worst enemy. It is that horrible roommate who can ruin your college experience unless you know how to deal with them. This comprehensive guide to everything bad in a roommate is designed to show you how to do just that, providing you with a detailed plan to take on, confront, and handle your problem roommate. You will learn what you should honestly expect from a roommate on the first day and how to tell if part of the problem might arise from you. Learn how to know if your personality types are too different and what you can do to alleviate the stress this might cause. Outlined in detail are common cultural and social differences and multi-step plans for handling each one of them. For those that have issues with confrontation, a special chapter designed to walk you through a calm conversation will help you bring up those concerns that have been nagging at you for weeks. Information on the biggest problems you might encounter with your roommate have been gathered through hours of interviews with college students both new and graduated. Topics such as a roommate using your personal stuff, not cleaning their share, staying up too late, making too much noise, being rude or moody, neglecting to pay their share of the bills, bringing over too many house guests, and dozens more of the most common problems college students encounter with their roommates every year are discussed in this book. Tips for each and every one of these issues and a special chapter on successful communication with a stubborn friend will help guide you through the harrowing maze of trying to fix your roommate from hell. You will learn when a problem roommate may actually have a real problem and how you can help them deal with it. Finally, if things just are not working out, you will learn how you can get help dealing with your roommate and even how you can move out if necessary. If you are pulling out your hair and agonising over one too many late nights or mouldy pints of milk kicked under your bed, this book is exactly what you have been looking for.

Linda Fiore has worked in education for more than 20 years. In addition to her research and writing on education, she was executive director of a Philadelphia-based nonprofit arts-education organization, taught music in public and private schools, and is the Director of College Relations and External Affairs for the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University. She is also a freelance writer and has published extensively on arts education, public arts and cultural policy, nonprofit leadership, and local history. She is editor of several higher-education publications, and serves on boards and panels of Philadelphia cultural organizations and academic institutions. She studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music and holds a B.A. in music from the University of Maryland, a M.MusicEd from the University of Portland, and an M.S. in Arts Administration from Drexel University. Researching this book and interviewing past and current college roommates has brought back fond, and not-so-fond, memories of the author's own roommate experience more than 30 years ago in a cramped dorm off the Fenway in Boston.