What will my roommate be like in first year?

First-years at IIT Madras are allotted to fresher hostels - Mandakini for boys and Swarnamukhi for girls. The hostel rooms are well-lit and have good ventilation. First-years and second-years will be allotted double- or triple-sharing rooms. The rooms are spacious with a fan, a tubelight and a bed for each student. Enough cupboard compartments are also available in the room as per occupancy. A number of charging points are available in the room with LAN ports for each student, to avail the internet.

In the first year, your roommate will be one of your classmates or, in some rare cases, a batchmate of the same year. Having a roommate, especially in the first year helps you shed your insecurities by bonding with someone. While freshers are allotted rooms and roommates by the hostel authorities, they can choose to have another roommate in the second year. A roommate may become your first companion in exploring the campus in your first few days. More than that, they help you settle in a new place by setting up a room, arranging it, sharing chores and having fun together.

Roommates help each other arrange cupboards, shelves and desks. You buy common requirements such as brooms, dustpans, cleaning fluids, etc. together. You work out a plan as to who will do the dusting on particular days, or clean on alternate days. In the initial days when you might not have some items, your roommate can share with you. One of you might be an early riser and could wake the other up everyday for breakfast. You may go to mess together, you may explore the campus together. They might even help you overcome your fear of monkeys as well! Roommates are a great help when you fall sick; they get you medicines and food, and if things get out of hand, inform the concerned people and accompany you to the Institute hospital. Having a roommate gives you a first-hand experience of negotiating differences and making small adjustments to make them feel comfortable. Having a roommate who understands you can go a long way in keeping your mind healthy as well.

In order to build a bond with your roommate, you can choose to decorate the room together, making it your “own” space, you can buy snacks collectively and binge on them while watching a movie on a weekend together in your room or in the OAT. You can go to dinner with your roommate and other friends, thus helping them make new friends as well. You can order in and have food together. As time progresses, you get used to borrowing each others’ clothes and things. Your roommate can become your study partner who explains things you don't understand and learns from you. You can visit other friends’ rooms together for casual chit-chat. Having a roommate who has good chemistry with you and shares common interests may make your first year a smooth ride. If you get a roommate whose interests are different, you may learn something new from them.

Freshers can have fun and be productive if they get along well with their roommates. Many people choose to have the same roommate in the sophomore year as well due to the attachment between them. For many, their roommate would be their first friend at the institute. IIT Madras is a great place to meet new and versatile peers and your roommate might be the first person you cherish when you graduate from IIT-M a few years down the lane.