@OspreyCV22 wrote “So she got there first. Is she supposed to keep all her belongings in the common area and wait until all four of you are there to draw straws? IMO the university created a bad situation when they designed the apartments. Or maybe they are older apartments the university purchased. In that case the school should assign a particular room to each student. What happens if one pair of roommates destroys the bedroom they use? How does the school bill the proper pair of students for damage?”
For me this wouldn’t be that big of a deal unless the rooms are really egregiously different in quality. A few extra square feet on either side is not a big deal. I’d say pick your battles with this room mate or you’ll be fighting all the time.
When I got to college I had two room mates. I was coming from MA, one roommate was coming from WI, and the third was a local girl who got there first. Her mom had put up the most butt-ugly curtains I’d ever seen (it looked like a nascar flag had barfed on the windows), and to add insult to injury she had a matching comforter and had taken the alcove that had the most privacy. She’d also taken the best closet.
Being shy I sort of sighed and didn’t say anything about who should get the alcove. Roomie #3 arrived and immediately laid down the law and took the alcove away from roomie #1 because as a theater major she needed to rehearse without bothering us as much (legit).
The one good part was while she and roomie 3 were fighting over who got the alcove, I got the bed next to the window and would not give it up, despite her saying that she should be next to the window because her comforter (barf) matched the curtains (ack). Roomie #1 reluctantly caved. This was both good and bad for me to share the common room with her because she was quieter than roomie 3, but had a lot of boys over (blech).
The point of my story is that if it’s not going to work for you, push back. Especially since this is a 1 year deal for you-hold on to your stuff so it doesn’t become common property and difficult to take with you to the next place next year.