Students agree that with the help of roommate surveys, trained resident assistants and Housing and Residence Life, roommate horror stories are kept to a minimum.

There are about 200 roommate changes over a course of a semester said Craig Allen, Director of Housing and Residence life at TCU. He said only a few of these changes are the result of roommate conflicts.

Roommate conflicts are experiences that many college students can relate to. Students and resident assistants agree that sharing personal space with a stranger for an entire school year could cause unwanted conflicts. Some students said many problems among roommates are significant, but most problems can usually be avoided.Michael Daniels, junior business major, said that most issues with roommates stem from miscommunication.

Daniels, who is a resident assistant in Carter Hall, said small issues tend to escalate into big issues if students don’t deal with the problems with their roommates from the beginning.

Residence halls for first-year students such as Colby and Foster are considered hot spots for roommate conflicts because of the smaller living spaces and because many of the students have never met their roommate prior to moving in, Daniels said.

But contrary to popular belief, Allen said roommate switches happen evenly across all dormitories on campus. Allen said no one dormitory has a more roommate switches than the others.

Sandra Balderas, first-year pre-major, said she knows several people who have struggled with their roommates.

Balderas said she has seen students get mad at their roommates for bringing strangers into their rooms at inappropriate hours of the night.

“I think the biggest thing is setting ground rules in the beginning,” Balderas said.

Nara Manuel, a senior mechanical engineering major, said she has plenty of roommate horror stories from her own experience.

“One day, I packed my stuff. I got tired of all of them and moved into a friend’s room and I’ve never seen them again,” Manuel said. “This is why I live by myself.”

Leah Carnahan, Assistant Dean of Campus Life, said dealing with different lifestyles is probably the biggest factor in roommate conflicts.

“It’s learning how to be a good roommate or friend, whatever that may mean, and I think that requires a little bit of give and take,” Carnahan said.