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Choosing a roommate is like choosing a car. The process should take time, satisfy your needs, and if possible, allow students to take prospects for a test drive.

The easiest reason to choose a roommate is because the person is your friend or seems easy-going. However, by not taking necessary steps to learn more about the person’s lifestyle, you very well may end up with a lemon.

Your roommate will be one of the most significant people in your life. Pick the wrong one and be miserable, pick the right one and gain a lifelong friend. Here is a list of important factors to consider before choosing a new roommate.

1) Cleanliness. This can be a little tricky because people always say they like things to be clean, but that means nothing about whether they actually keep things clean. Consider how much effort a person is willing to put in to keep things clean. A person may tell you he or she hates crumbs on the floor, but may live with you for an entire year never knowing where the broom is kept. Make sure you know how extreme or lenient your potential roommate is with cleanliness to prevent getting stuck with someone completely anal or entirely revolting.

2) Partying. Don’t just ask your forthcoming roommate if he or she likes to throw parties. Ask them how often he or she goes out to parties or bars. Just because your potential roommate doesn’t throw parties doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be pre-parties with friends coming over, drinking games and obnoxiously loud activity. Furthermore, sometimes the party they attend ends or the bar closes, and your roommate will bring an entourage of inept drunks back to your apartment. Or perhaps your roommate may have met someone and you are in for the unfortunate, or fortunate if you’re into that, display of intoxicated fornication.

3) Sharing. Many of you have not yet experienced the possessive roommate or the roommate that doesn’t respect boundaries, and for those of you this section is especially important. Some people like to share everything from food to razors (I know it sounds extreme, but trust me it’s true), and others don’t want you to even look at their side of the room. Before signing a lease, you need to decide whether food, clothes, computers, beauty products, etc. will be shared. Without taking these precautions you may find yourself having to resentfully replace condoms you hope to use before your roommate does, or trying to break the lock of your roommate’s secret box while your date is losing interest.

4) Significant others. Make sure you know if your pending roommate is in a relationship and how often he or she sees the significant other. If they are always together, I can guarantee that you will feel as if your one roommate has turned into two and yet your rent has stayed the same. You will find yourself waiting to use the bathroom more, watching “Oprah” if you are male, “The Man Show” if you are female, and trying to concentrate on a paper through the resonance of giggling and petty arguments.

5) Personality. Make sure they match! Do you like to be alone for the most part or do you like to talk about your day over dinner and watch “The Bachelor” together? Another imperative issue is whether you are a night or morning person. If you are a night person, lights, your computer or the television may bother your roommate. And in the mornings you might be disturbed by your roommate’s alarm and getting-ready-for-school routine. Do you like to study at home or in the library? Do you mind your room being decorated with bongs or having random people in your living room staring maliciously at you as they collect their grab bag?

Finally, when choosing a roommate don’t just take his or her word when it comes to living standards. Ask some previous roommates or friends, and if possible, spend some time over at their current place to see with your own eyes their personal lifestyle. You wouldn’t buy a car without asking to see or test drive it, would you? Just remember, how much you like a person is not the issue, but rather how well your living standards match up. Without identifying potential problems up front, you may spend 365 days in hell. Happy hunting!