Resident Advisor (RA) Selection

2026-2027 Resident Advisor (RA) Selection Process Overview 

Information about the 2026-2027 Resident Advisor position can be found on the Housing and Residential Life Residential Advisor (RA) Position Description page. You must review the Housing and Residential Life Pillars as well as the eligibility requirements found within the position description prior to submitting an application.  

Application 

You must submit a 2026-2027 Resident Advisor (RA) application if you are interested in the following positions: 2026 Spring RA position and 2027 Fall – 2026 Spring RA position or the 2026 Fall – 2027 Spring RA position.  

Applications are submitted through Qualtrics. You can find instructions around the application process within the Qualtrics application.

The application will include the following questions: applicant information, eligibility questions, preferences, and four (4) short essay questions. Each short essay question should be completed in 350 words or less.

Application Questions

Question One 

As a Resident Advisor, part of your role is to build an inclusive community by facilitating individual and group interactions to create a sense of belonging, regardless of individual ideas, perspectives, or identities. 

• How do you define community? Give an example of a time you built a community or developed meaningful relationships with your peers. What specific actions did you take and what did you learn from that experience?
• How would you apply what you learned to the Resident Advisor position? Provide examples of what this would look like. 

Question Two 

As a Resident Advisor, your role is to promote social responsibility by addressing conflicts and concerns, building relationships, setting expectations, helping residents identify harm, and repairing relationships. Through this process, residents learn about their own values and how to incorporate their values into decision making while keeping personal and community impact in mind. 

• Give an example of a time you addressed or engaged in conflict.  How did you identify the conflict? What actions did you take to address the conflict? What did you learn from this experience?  
• How would you apply what you learned to the Resident Advisor position? Provide examples of what this would look like.

Question Three 

As a Resident Advisor, your role is to foster an inclusive community through intentional interactions with residents with diverse personal and social identities (gender, religion, race, orientation, to name a few), backgrounds, and experiences. Through this work, Resident Advisors role model and promote a sense of belonging.                

• Give an example of how you have intentionally built relationships or engaged with individuals who have different social identities, or backgrounds, or experiences. What specific actions did you take and what skills did you use to ensure a sense of belonging?    
• How would you apply what you learned to the Resident Advisor position to ensure a sense of belonging while navigating differences? Provide examples of what this would look like. 

Question Four 

• What skills do you possess that you will apply to the Resident Advisor position?
• How does that connect to the type of student population (first-year, upper-level) and/or the program houses you indicated interest in within the application? (If you ranked program houses, specifically state why you are interested in the individual Program House[s] you ranked.)       
  Note: Indicating preference does not guarantee placement in a specific area of campus or specific residential community.     

Note: Submission of application does not guarantee an interview or position.  

Once your application is submitted, you will be presented with a PDF copy to download as proof of submission. Please download this PDF for your own record. All application submissions are final and cannot be edited once submitted. If you believe there was an error in the information you provided for the applicant information, eligibility questions, and preferences, please email hrl-sl-selection@cornell.edu with the selection. 

Timeline for Resident Advisor (RA) Application 

* All applications will be considered if submitted by the priority deadline. 
* Application consideration or submission does not guarantee an interview invite or position.  
** Applications sent after the priority deadline and by the application closure date will be considered based on departmental need. This means that an application review is not guaranteed. 

Communication will come from hrl-sl-selection@cornell.edu regarding application updates. 

Interview and Status Updates 

Interviews for candidates who applied and are eligible for a Spring 2026 and 2026-2027 RA position will occur in November 2025.  Interviews for candidates who applied and are eligible for a 2026 – 2027 position will be interviewed in late January/early February 2026. 

Interview invites will be sent on a rolling basis after the priority deadline and will continue until mid-November 2025 for candidates who applied and are eligible for a Spring 2026 and 2026-2027 position. Interview invites will be sent on a rolling basis for candidates who applied and are eligible for a 2026-2027 position starting in January 2026. If an applicant is extended an interview invite, applicants will have 2 business days to sign up for a 30-minute interview time slot upon receiving an interview invite. 

Interviews will occur Monday through Friday between 9 AM ET and 5 PM ET. Virtual interview options will be provided Monday through Thursday, and in-person interview options will be provided on Friday. Interview dates will be included in the interview invitation. Please monitor your Cornell email account for updates. 

Final position status updates will be sent out on a rolling basis starting the second week of December and will continue throughout the month of December for the Spring 2026 RA position. Status updates will pause between December 23, 2025, and January 20, 2026, due to Winter break. Status updates after the January/February 2026 interviews will be sent out on a rolling basis in late February and throughout the Spring 2026 semester.

If offered a position, candidates will have 4 business days to accept or decline an offer. If we do not hear back from the candidate after an offer has been made, they will be removed from the selection process and will have to apply during the 2026-2027 Resident Advisor selection cycle to be considered for a future position. We encourage you to speak to the Office of Financial Aid prior to status updates being sent out.  
 
Note: An interview invite does not guarantee a position. We ask that you wait for a status update regarding interview invitations and final decisions post interviews as inquiries can further delay the process.  
 

Information Sessions 

To learn more about the RA position and the selection process, you can attend an in-person or virtual information session.  
 
Attendance at the information session is not a requirement to apply. We ask that you register through Campus Groups at least 24 hours prior to the information session. Individual links for each information is included below.

To learn more about the RA experience, you can attend a virtual question and answer (Q&A) session where you will hear about the experiences of current RAs. You can hear their stories as well as ask them questions about the role.  
 
Attendance at the Q&A panel is not required to apply. We ask that you register at least 24 hours prior to the Q&A session. 

• Thursday, October 9, 2025: 6:00 PM ET – 7:00 PM ET
  Virtual on Zoom
  Register through Campus Groups

Additional Information and Resources  

It is highly recommended that you speak to a representative from the Office of Financial Aid prior to applying and interviewing for the position. The remuneration for the position is room and a semi-monthly stipend, and this may affect your personal financial aid. Information can be found on the Office of Financial Aid website. 

Should you be offered a position, Housing and Residential Life will notify the Office of Financial Aid of your appointment.  Please note that the room is added as a grant and that the semi-monthly stipend is taxable.  If you receive financial aid, your package will be reviewed and may be revised.  This means that you may be required to repay a refund and/or make a payment to the bursar account for balances no longer covered under your original aid package. 

If you receive a refund during a semester that you are a Resident Advisor, you should contact bursar to confirm that it is valid prior to utilizing the funds. The refund could have been dispersed when it shouldn’t have been due to Financial Aid and the Bursar still working with Housing and Residential Life to make necessary adjustments after a position offer is made and accepted. 

Financial Aid and the Bursar will have been made aware of your position offer and will place a hold on your account.  Should you not accept the Resident Advisor position and are meant to receive a refund, disbursal may be delayed.
 
If you are an international student, it is recommended that you connect with the Office of Global Learning to learn about eligibility requirements. Information can be found on the Office of Global Learning website.  

If you are interested in resources available to you regarding interview preparation, we encourage you to visit the Career Services website.  

Questions

If you have questions after reviewing materials for the RA position and visiting the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, please email hrl-sl-selection@cornell.edu. 

Please allow at least 3 business days for a response as we may be experiencing a high number of emails during the selection process.