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Roommate Conflicts and Homesickness

by Betsy Chapman

By late September, the novelty of college can give way to bouts of homesickness or the natural friction of living in close quarters with a roommate/suitemates/hallmates. These challenges are completely normal components of the residential college experience.

You can help your student navigate these bumps by encouraging emotional maturity:

  • Allow them to process difficult feelings: If your student is upset about a roommate disagreement, resist providing immediate validation or distraction. Learning to sit with uncomfortable emotions helps them realize they can survive a difficult day.

  • Send a touch of home: Care packages filled with their favorite snacks are an excellent comfort. Send enough to share so your student can use it as an opportunity to invite hallmates over.

  • Encourage direct dialogue: Remind your student to talk openly with their roommate or seek out their Resident Adviser (RA) for balanced community mediation.

Missing home simply means they have a wonderful, loving foundation to look back on. These growing pains are very normal. By supporting your student’s agency to manage any roommate issues have on their own will help your student grow stronger and more mature.

Contact

To contact the Office of Family Engagement or Family Communications, please visit our contact page.

For mental health assistance: 336-758-CARE (2273) is a service that ensures someone will always be available (i.e., 24/7 M-F, weekends and university holidays) to provide caring and thoughtful consultation services for Wake Forest students in need of mental health assistance or support. You can also visit we.wfu.edu for resources.