1L Roommate Experiences Forum

[MF248]

Hey Everybody,

This question is for people that shared an apartment w/ someone during their 1L year that they either hadn't know before or had just met at an ASW or through similar means. In general, how was that experience & do you think it's worth it to save $?

[nealric]

My 1L roommate contingent consisted of a mid-40s divorcee who was rarely around and a cool LLM student. I was working so much, I honestly didn't see either of them often.

Frankly, I think it's stupid not to get roommates if you are borrowing for law school. I've paid as much as $20,000 less in rent than many of my fellow law students did over the course of 3 years because I have always had at least 2 roommates.

[JuTMSY4]

I've always lived with people - it would feel weird not to at this point

Any advice on how to acquire them. I'm moving semi-far...

[Kohinoor]

[MF248]

My 1L roommate contingent consisted of a mid-40s divorcee who was rarely around and a cool LLM student. I was working so much, I honestly didn't see either of them often.

Frankly, I think it's stupid not to get roommates if you are borrowing for law school. I've paid as much as $20,000 less in rent than many of my fellow law students did over the course of 3 years because I have always had at least 2 roommates.

Was the divorcée a law student? (not a very relevant question, just curious). Also, how did you find your roommates?

[MF248]

I thought this thread was about roommates, not finals.

[TTH]

TWO GO IN, ONE COMES OUT!

[Knock]

I'm interested in hearing some experiences as well

[nick637]

Interested in this as well. Is it a good idea to live with other law students?

[Langfall]

Im curious about other 1L's exp with this as well but I had emailed a student at AU with a similar question. Her response was:

"In terms of a roommate, I would not recommend it. 1L year is stressful enough; it is risky to live with a stranger. The possibility of not getting along is high, and you will want your home to be a safe haven, where you can go relax. Roommates are great for 2L and 3L year. You can save some money, you get to live with someone who is your friend, and you will know the area better."

So thats one opinion to chew on.

[sayan]

Im curious about other 1L's exp with this as well but I had emailed a student at AU with a similar question. Her response was:

"In terms of a roommate, I would not recommend it. 1L year is stressful enough; it is risky to live with a stranger. The possibility of not getting along is high, and you will want your home to be a safe haven, where you can go relax. Roommates are great for 2L and 3L year. You can save some money, you get to live with someone who is your friend, and you will know the area better."

So thats one opinion to chew on.

I agree with this opinion. I'd save maybe $3000 over a year having a room mate, but if the experience caused my grades to drop or make it harder for me to attain high grades, I rather not risk it for a nominal amount in the grand scheme of things -- especially when 1L grades determine your fate for the rest of your life.

[rando]

Im curious about other 1L's exp with this as well but I had emailed a student at AU with a similar question. Her response was:

"In terms of a roommate, I would not recommend it. 1L year is stressful enough; it is risky to live with a stranger. The possibility of not getting along is high, and you will want your home to be a safe haven, where you can go relax. Roommates are great for 2L and 3L year. You can save some money, you get to live with someone who is your friend, and you will know the area better."

So thats one opinion to chew on.

I agree with this opinion. I'd save maybe $3000 over a year having a room mate, but if the experience caused my grades to drop or make it harder for me to attain high grades, I rather not risk it for a nominal amount in the grand scheme of things -- especially when 1L grades determine your fate for the rest of your life.

These points are a bit overly dramatic. Yes, roommates can be stressful at times, but so can a lot of things. Geez, being lonely can be stressful. You always have your textbooks to keep you company. I don't know anyone that had roommate troubles to the point they said it affected their grades. These opinions seem to be coming from people with whom money is not an issue. For many of us it is and I would strongly encourage you to cut costs and get a roommate.
Our schools has (had?) a roommate matching board. Sort of like craigslist ads but only for incoming law students. Most people I know did not know their new roommates until they started 1L year.

[Langfall]

Im curious about other 1L's exp with this as well but I had emailed a student at AU with a similar question. Her response was:

"In terms of a roommate, I would not recommend it. 1L year is stressful enough; it is risky to live with a stranger. The possibility of not getting along is high, and you will want your home to be a safe haven, where you can go relax. Roommates are great for 2L and 3L year. You can save some money, you get to live with someone who is your friend, and you will know the area better."

So thats one opinion to chew on.

I agree with this opinion. I'd save maybe $3000 over a year having a room mate, but if the experience caused my grades to drop or make it harder for me to attain high grades, I rather not risk it for a nominal amount in the grand scheme of things -- especially when 1L grades determine your fate for the rest of your life.

These points are a bit overly dramatic. Yes, roommates can be stressful at times, but so can a lot of things. Geez, being lonely can be stressful. You always have your textbooks to keep you company. I don't know anyone that had roommate troubles to the point they said it affected their grades. These opinions seem to be coming from people with whom money is not an issue. For many of us it is and I would strongly encourage you to cut costs and get a roommate.
Our schools has (had?) a roommate matching board. Sort of like craigslist ads but only for incoming law students. Most people I know did not know their new roommates until they started 1L year.

What school did you go to?

[MF248]

Also when ppl mention their experiences can they let us know if this was in a college town like ann arbor or in a city. Makes a difference both for cost, social aspect etc. (Or at least in my opinion)

[rando]

Im curious about other 1L's exp with this as well but I had emailed a student at AU with a similar question. Her response was:

"In terms of a roommate, I would not recommend it. 1L year is stressful enough; it is risky to live with a stranger. The possibility of not getting along is high, and you will want your home to be a safe haven, where you can go relax. Roommates are great for 2L and 3L year. You can save some money, you get to live with someone who is your friend, and you will know the area better."

So thats one opinion to chew on.

I agree with this opinion. I'd save maybe $3000 over a year having a room mate, but if the experience caused my grades to drop or make it harder for me to attain high grades, I rather not risk it for a nominal amount in the grand scheme of things -- especially when 1L grades determine your fate for the rest of your life.

These points are a bit overly dramatic. Yes, roommates can be stressful at times, but so can a lot of things. Geez, being lonely can be stressful. You always have your textbooks to keep you company. I don't know anyone that had roommate troubles to the point they said it affected their grades. These opinions seem to be coming from people with whom money is not an issue. For many of us it is and I would strongly encourage you to cut costs and get a roommate.
Our schools has (had?) a roommate matching board. Sort of like craigslist ads but only for incoming law students. Most people I know did not know their new roommates until they started 1L year.

What school did you go to?

Emory

[achang]

Im curious about other 1L's exp with this as well but I had emailed a student at AU with a similar question. Her response was:

"In terms of a roommate, I would not recommend it. 1L year is stressful enough; it is risky to live with a stranger. The possibility of not getting along is high, and you will want your home to be a safe haven, where you can go relax. Roommates are great for 2L and 3L year. You can save some money, you get to live with someone who is your friend, and you will know the area better."

So thats one opinion to chew on.

This sounds like THAT person noone wanted to dorm with - perhaps he/she is talking from personal experience...
maybe picked on Middle S too much?

[Langfall]

Im curious about other 1L's exp with this as well but I had emailed a student at AU with a similar question. Her response was:

"In terms of a roommate, I would not recommend it. 1L year is stressful enough; it is risky to live with a stranger. The possibility of not getting along is high, and you will want your home to be a safe haven, where you can go relax. Roommates are great for 2L and 3L year. You can save some money, you get to live with someone who is your friend, and you will know the area better."

So thats one opinion to chew on.

This sounds like THAT person noone wanted to dorm with - perhaps he/she is talking from personal experience...
maybe picked on Middle S too much?

Hahaha, no clue but I do appreciate her perspective. None the less I will undoubtedly be looking for roommates. I know 1L yr is stressful so thats something I would take into account when choosing who to live with but I had a roommate (that the school chose ) whom I never met before both 1yr HS and 1yr College and did fine. I kinda agree with Rando in that a roommate would be better in that a) takes away some loneliness b) can reduce cost by a great deal and c) when your stressed you can have a friend around who will help you vent and knows what your going through. I kinda think having your own room though my be necessary

[ShibaDan]

I definitely agree that it depends on where. I am looking at getting a one bedroom in AA which really isnt much more expensive than having roommates. At the ABSOLUTE most I am losing out on $1000. For me, having a place to decompress is worth it. I can have people over when I want company but when I need to be alone I can have that too. Definitely worth it. FWIW, I had a horrible 1st year college roommate experience in which they decided to borrow my underwear and wear it without asking...things like this happened a lot but my underwear was kind of the straw that broke the camels back.

[rando]

I kinda think having your own room though my be necessary

YES

[JacobyEllz]

Chiming in, I am a pretty private person and I would say get your own room. You can always invite people over if you get lonely, and if you live in a dorm, I'm sure people will be over.

[romothesavior]

Roommate FTW. I can't imagine not having someone to relax with after a stressful day of law school. They have libraries and reading rooms for a reason, and I intend to be one of those people who does most of their work at the law school and doesn't bring it home with them (except for maybe a little reading or during finals time).

Having lived in a fraternity house for two years and an off-campus house with 4 frat guys, I can't even imagine a scenario where my living situation would detract from my studies. This position that a lot of you are taking seems very overdramatic.

[Knock]

Roommate FTW. I can't imagine not having someone to relax with after a stressful day of law school. They have libraries and reading rooms for a reason, and I intend to be one of those people who does most of their work at the law school and doesn't bring it home with them (except for maybe a little reading or during finals time).

Having lived in a fraternity house for two years and an off-campus house with 4 frat guys, I can't even imagine a scenario where my living situation would detract from my studies. This position that a lot of you are taking seems very overdramatic.

A little bit off topic, but I am also in a fraternity, and I was wondering if you put down any of your activities/positions on your application/resume, and if you think it affected your cycle at all? My fraternity is my main extracurricular in undergrad, so for good or bad it's going to feature somewhat prominently on my application.

[romothesavior]

Roommate FTW. I can't imagine not having someone to relax with after a stressful day of law school. They have libraries and reading rooms for a reason, and I intend to be one of those people who does most of their work at the law school and doesn't bring it home with them (except for maybe a little reading or during finals time).

Having lived in a fraternity house for two years and an off-campus house with 4 frat guys, I can't even imagine a scenario where my living situation would detract from my studies. This position that a lot of you are taking seems very overdramatic.

A little bit off topic, but I am also in a fraternity, and I was wondering if you put down any of your activities/positions on your application/resume, and if you think it affected your cycle at all? My fraternity is my main extracurricular in undergrad, so for good or bad it's going to feature somewhat prominently on my application.

I don't think it mattered one bit. Greek life is good for networking for a job (I have a few friends employed largely because of connections to alumni), but it is probably one of the weakest softs you could have for law school. It won't hurt you, but I don't think it can help much at all.

[Knock]

Roommate FTW. I can't imagine not having someone to relax with after a stressful day of law school. They have libraries and reading rooms for a reason, and I intend to be one of those people who does most of their work at the law school and doesn't bring it home with them (except for maybe a little reading or during finals time).

Having lived in a fraternity house for two years and an off-campus house with 4 frat guys, I can't even imagine a scenario where my living situation would detract from my studies. This position that a lot of you are taking seems very overdramatic.

A little bit off topic, but I am also in a fraternity, and I was wondering if you put down any of your activities/positions on your application/resume, and if you think it affected your cycle at all? My fraternity is my main extracurricular in undergrad, so for good or bad it's going to feature somewhat prominently on my application.

I don't think it mattered one bit. Greek life is good for networking for a job (I have a few friends employed largely because of connections to alumni), but it is probably one of the weakest softs you could have for law school. It won't hurt you, but I don't think it can help much at all.

Fair enough. I might hurt me then, because all of my leadership positions have been within the Greek Community. I've held a lot of leadership positions and risen high up in the ranks though, so hopefully it can help me at least a little bit.

[Ayeshabelle]

Roommates can be quite a strain. Most of the major problems I've had with college roommates concerned hygiene and sanitation. Fights over who is going to clean the toilet or take out the trash can cause unnessesary drama. I am more insanity-averse than I am debt-averse and thus prefer going without a roomie, fwiw