As the school year approaches, incoming freshman are beginning to receive super exciting news: housing and roommate information.

At Northeastern, we were fortunate to get our housing info in June, but most schools wait until late July or early August to release this information. This means that by now, the majority of incoming college girls have already had time to stress about their future roommate. A few common worries: Will I like her? Will we have things in common? Is she going to be crazy?!?!

No incoming freshman needs this unnecessary anxiety in her life. After all, we have plenty of other worries (classes? books? fall fashion?) in our lives!

Because I was lucky enough to already meet my roommate at orientation, I wanted to share my experience and give some advice so as to help relieve your stress! I hope that by sharing my experience, you will have an easy, stress-free, and exciting time meeting your roommate. Read on for my top tips for successful roommate meetings.

Related reading: 15 Items to Share With Your Roommates in College

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Online Introductions

In today’s world of Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Google+, there is a good chance that you will be able to get a glimpse into your roommate’s life before you even see her face. Once receiving their roommate’s contact information, nearly every girl’s first plan of attack is the same: Facebook stalking!

But be careful when Facebook stalking: It’s easy to form preconceived notions after scrolling through a few pictures and reading a couple status updates. If you plan on scouring your future roomie’s Facebook, keep an open mind. If you find yourself starting to form those perceptions, take a break and stop until you get to know her better. An online profile is not always an accurate portrayal of a person’s personality; don’t assume that you know everything about her after going online.