Hello all!

I’m going to talk about the resident assistant application process, which I recently went through.

A Resident Assistant is a student who lives on the floor of a residence hall and ensures floor community. They are there to help students living on campus feel safe, comfortable, and happy. They are the first person to go in cases of emergency, roommate problems, and other advice/situations. They also host floor events to help students meet one another and create a fun living atmosphere. Being an RA at Iowa involves a stipend and free housing, a great perk.

RA applications open near the end of the fall semester, and they have short answer questions about yourself. If the committee likes your application, you are pushed forward to the interviewing round. This is a Zoom call with members of the housing department and RAs who ask you questions about yourself and the RA position.

Then there is about a month until you hear back if you got the position, waitlisted, or declined.

You can apply to be a general RA, an Honors one, a Reach RA who works with various disabilities, a Belin-Blank RA for high-school students accepted early, or a Living Learning Community RA who helps run a community for students with a shared interest or identity.

This is a great leadership experience!

-Solenn