3 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Rooming With a Swimmer in College

At the end of my four years of college, I will have roomed with swimmers every year, and have had a good experience with that, but many people have different experiences with swimmer roommates. I have seen many pairings that haven’t worked out because of the following reasons, so heed this advice when choosing your roommate. If you want to read the article opposite to this that describes 3 reasons why you may want to room with a swimmer, click here

1. Too Competitive With Each Other

I’ve seen this issue way too many times, and can evolve into a real problem. If you’re the competitive type, especially when it comes to swimming, it may be a good idea to avoid rooming with a fellow swimmer. This is especially true if your roommate swims the same events with you, as that creates even more tension if you and your roommate are competitive with each other. This issue many times destroys relationships and causes at least one of the roommates to be envious of the other, creating even more drama. If you know you’re a little too competitive for your own good and that you can see this being an issue, you may want to stay away from swimmer roommates.

2. Confined to a Certain Friend Group

The biggest issue that I have witnessed as a result of having a close swim team is that many of the members don’t branch out to find non-swimmer friends or NARPs (non-athletic regular person). I enjoy being close to my swim team, and having a swimmer roommate has fostered that bond, but many may find the close relationship over-bearing. If you know that you’re the type of person who likes branching out more, having a non-swimmer roommate will definitely help in that mission. You also spend a lot of time with the entire swim team at practices and team events, and rooming with a swimmer just means that you’ll see that person, and most likely other teammates, more often.

3. Not Even Compatible 

Don’t room with someone just because they’re a swimmer, but try to find a roommate that you think you will be compatible with in other manners. Swimming is a bond that will spark up conversations and mutual interests, but just that one commonality isn’t enough to fuel an entire relationship, especially with someone you’re spending so much time with. I can’t imagine having a roommate that I didn’t genuinely like as a person, so I would try and get to know someone before accepting an offer just because that person is a fellow incoming swimmer. Your first year will be immensely more fun and comfortable with a roommate that you’re compatible with.