1. When filling out your roommate questionnaire, pretend you're doing it under penalty of perjury. Be honest, even if it means admitting that you listen to Britney Spears or admire Paris Hilton's intellectual curiousity.



2. Get in touch with your roommate as soon as possible. Calls and emails are fine, but if geography allows, try to spend a few hours together to get to know each other.

3. Consider putting together a contract covering the areas of concern you or your roommate have. He or she might want some guidelines about guests (none after midnight on evenings before classes?), you might want to be assured your room is kept fairly neat (no more than three pieces of clothes on the floor?), or you might want some rules about borrowing (please ask first?). A good contract will help avoid misunderstandings or conflict.

4. Remember that even if your roommate has little in common with you, you can get along, and maybe become good friends if you are open, tolerant, and slow to judge.

5. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Then, communicate some more. If you can talk to each other calmly, you'll be OK.

6. Pledge that you will not complain about your roommate to your friends or family for a minimum of 3-4 weeks. Give him or her a fair chance.

7. That doesn't mean you shouldn't frankly tell your roommate about behaviors that bother you. In fact, just the opposite is true.

8. Remember the art of compromise. If you adopt a "my way or the highway" attitude, you are probably the problem, not your roommate. And, if you can't do it now, learn to accept criticism without anger.

Really bad roommates are like watchdog poodles...there may be a few of them, but not many. So, just follow the suggestions above and, in most instances, you should be just fine.