Applications, interviews and group meetings are not the only worries for aspiring resident assistants.
They may also wonder whether they will enjoy the perks of upperclassmen housing.
Rising juniors and seniors who applied to be RAs will not be notified if they received the job until after all housing lotteries for those grades.
Many applicants are hesitant to agree to a living situation before receiving an explicit decision on whether the university has selected them to be an RA.
“It’s stressful for me as an RA applicant because I don’t want to put my friends in an awkward position where they put my name down as a housemate but are left with an empty space,” said Ann Cavallaro ’06.
“It is especially awkward for my group of friends because out of six, three of us are applying for positions. If we all get accepted and take the jobs, we’re forcing our friends to live with people who were not their choice,” she said.
The application process for RAs is so selective that applicants are strongly advised to commit to an alternate living arrangement, no matter the strength of the application.
“We tell students they need to apply for housing,” said Laura Cantrell, associate director of residence life and housing.
“Traditionally, we have at least three applicants for every RA position, so it is much more likely that students won’t get a position. It’s much easier to pull students out of their housing [than it is to find housing],” she said.
Cantrell advised students not to plan on being RAs, because the number of positions is so limited.
“In the past, we’ve had approximately 80 people apply for only 19 positions. It’s a selective process,” she said.
Efforts to coordinate the housing application and RA application processes have been done in the past. However, these processes are independent of each other and rely on several specific factors, making them challenging to synchronize.
“These two processes cannot always be set in respect to each other,” said Cantrell. “The RA application is approximately six weeks, and we want the letters to go out right before spring break. The lottery process for townhouses and apartments is driven by spring break and enough time to select managers, so it is usually set four weeks before the first weekend in April. Sometimes it works in favor of RA candidates, sometimes it does not.”
Only three percent of the overall housing lottery for townhouses and apartments is affected by the RA process, as there are only approximately 30 applicants for 1,100 juniors and seniors, according to Cantrell. Nevertheless, applicants continue to fear they will leave housemates stranded.
“I feel bad for my friends … that’s four people who I would inconvenience,” said RA applicant Jess DiBuono ’06. “They might be counting on me to live with them.”
In addition, students who are waiting to take the place of accepted RAs in houses or apartments are stressed about the uncertainty of their situation.
“I feel I’m in an awkward position waiting to hear from two people regarding their RA status. My roommate and I don’t want to split up, so we need two people to get the position,” said Mariel Kauffman ’06. “It stinks because RAs find out right after pick night, but until then, it’s all up in the air.”
Cantrell encouraged all interested to apply for the position, despite housing predicaments.
“We would hope that students who want to become RAs will do it regardless of the housing decision,” said Cantrell. “I would hope that they have better motives since it is such an important decision.”
Gary Stephenson did not respond to requests for comment.
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