Roommate success guide – questionnaire and personal bio

Please note Northern Arizona University is a tobacco- and smoke-free campus. Read the full policy.

While smoking is prohibited on campus, some students may be allergic or sensitive to smoke that other students may carry on their clothes after smoking off campus. While most people automatically think of cigarettes, please also consider other means of smoking such as hookahs, cigars, vaping, electronic cigarettes, etc., as you answer this question about how often you smoke:

• Never – you literally never smoke.
• Occasionally – while you do not typically smoke, you may have a cigarette once in a while.
• Frequently – you smoke regularly, such as daily or weekly.

This question asks you to rate how important keeping your room neat and clean is to you:

• Not important – a messy room may not bother you. You may tend to clean up laundry piles and dirty dishes when you have time. You may not take the trash out every day. You may not notice right away that your room has become cluttered.
• Somewhat important – in general, you may prefer a tidy and clean room, but you may not get around to cleaning up right away. While not your preference to have a pile of dirty clothes or dishes waiting to be cleaned, it may not bother you if it is not taken care of that day.
• Very important – you may like to have everything in its place, clothes put away, and trash thrown out each day. Messes, dirty dishes, laundry piles, or clutter may bother you if not taken care of that day.

This question asks when you tend to go to sleep:

• Before 11 p.m.
• Between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.
• After 2 a.m.

Since you may currently be in high school, you may have a much more structured sleep pattern and regular schedule now due to school starting at the same time each day. As an incoming college freshman, your sleep schedule will likely shift depending on your class schedule. You may want to think about what time you currently tend to go to sleep on the weekends, or when you do not have to wake up before 8 am. While you may go to sleep at different times, answer this question based on when you typically go to bed.

This question asks how you typically spend your free time:

• Spend it on my own
• Spend it with one or two of my close friends
• Socialize with many people

All people will spend their free time in a variety of ways, sometimes alone and sometimes with others. However, for this question, think about how you mostly prefer to spend that time. Is it curled up reading a good book or taking a quiet walk on your own? Is it spent with your best friend getting coffee or seeing a movie? Is it hanging out with a large group of friends or getting to know a new group of people? How do you like to “re-energize” after a long day? With some “me time” or connecting with others?

How often do you typically study?

• A few days per week
• Most days per week
• Every day of the week

Studying can include homework, reading, preparing for quizzes or tests, writing papers, etc. Note that this may change as you transition from high school to college. Many of our students who are used to getting high grades without much effort typically find that they have to spend more time studying and doing homework for college-level courses.

This question refers to how loud the background noise can be in your room when you sleep:

• Low – may mean you are a light sleeper and anything more than a white noise machine, fan, or low lighting may likely disrupt you
• Moderate – may mean that soft music, lights, TV, or a computer game in the background will likely not disrupt you
• High – may mean you are a deep sleeper and music, talking, TV, computer use, and lights will not likely disrupt you

Some people can only sleep when it is very quiet, while others prefer to have a radio or fan while they sleep. Keep in mind that when living in a living community, there are hundreds of other students living around you, so you’ll likely experience and get used to the ambient noise in the hallway or from the room above. For this question, think about your immediate room. Are you a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper? Think about noise, light, guests, and other possible distractions during sleep. What do you like the background noise level to be?

This question asks about the importance of your ability to study quietly in your room:

• Not important – you will likely find a quiet space in the library, study lounge, or other nook.
• Somewhat important – in general, you will likely study outside of the room, but you would like the opportunity to study in your room occasionally.
• Very important – you typically prefer to study primarily in your room.

In this question, “quiet study” refers to times when you will need more focused and intense focus on your studies, such as preparing for an exam or writing an extensive paper. This question does not refer to daily homework or group projects.

This question asks about the importance of your ability to use your room for hanging out with friends. Do you like to have friends visit you? Do you prefer to visit other people in their rooms and have your room for your own time? How often do you like to socialize with friends? While there are many options to hang out with others such as the living community floor lounges, lobbies, game rooms, laundry rooms, kitchens, or outside or at the dining hall, some students prefer to hang out together in their living space. Please review the Standards of Residence for our full policy on guests and visitation.

This question asks about the importance of having your roommate become a close friend. It is important to think about your expectations so you’re not disappointed if you want to be best friends but your roommate just wants to have a respectful living environment without hanging out together. While some roommates become lifelong friends and like to hang out together, others can be excellent roommates while not becoming close friends. Either way, or somewhere in between, communication is key in all situations!

• Not important – while you would like to establish and maintain a respectful environment, you prefer to hang out with other people to provide some space and balance; you do not expect to become close friends but want to be good roommates.
• Somewhat important – you are open to developing a good friendship if it happens but do not want it to be forced; you will not be upset if you do not become close friends, but you still want to be good roommates.
• Very important – you envision an ideal roommate situation where you become close friends and spend a lot of time together; while you do not want to force a friendship, you would likely be disappointed if one did not develop.