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Cornell University

Housing & Residential Life

Resident Advisor Positions

2024-2025 Resident Advisor (RA) Selection Process Overview 

Information about the 2024-2025 Resident Advisor position can be found on the Housing & Residential Life Residential Advisor (RA) Position Description page. You must review Housing & Residential Life Pillars as well as the eligibility requirements found within the position description prior to submitting an application.  

Application 

You must submit a 2024-2025 Resident Advisor (RA) application if you are interested in the following positions: 2024 Spring RA position and/or 2024 Fall – 2025 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. Below you can preview the short essay questions: 

  • As a Resident Advisor, your role is to build inclusive connections through intentional interactions to support resident needs, such as their academic and social development.  In your own words, how would you explain the concept of community? Give an example of your experience building community and fostering (or finding) a sense of belonging among your peers. How has your experience prepared you to build community among residents??  

  • As a Resident Advisor, your role is to promote social responsibility by addressing conflicts and concerns both proactively, through building relationships and setting expectations, and reactively by helping residents identify and repair harm. Through this process, residents should learn more about their own values and how to incorporate it into decision making while keeping personal and community impact in mind.  Give an example of a time you addressed concerns and/or engaged in conflict. How did you identify and address the needs of everyone involved? What did you learn from this experience that you would apply to the Resident Advisor role when addressing concerns/conflict amongst residents while also maintaining relationships?  

  • As a Resident Advisor, you will be required to build an inclusive community for residents with diverse personal and social identities (gender, religion, race, orientation, to name a few), backgrounds, and experiences.  Give an example of how you have intentionally built relationships with people who have different social identities, backgrounds and experiences. How has that relationship impacted your approach to building inclusive communities? How has the relationship impacted your approach in diversity education? What did you learn from this experience that you would apply to the Resident Advisor role?  

  • What skills do you possess that you will apply to the Resident Advisor position?  How does that connect to the type of communities you have preferenced (first year residents, upper-level residents, program house residents), and/or the program houses you have ranked, within your application?  

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

Timeline for Resident Advisor (RA) Application 

Application Open Date 

Priority Deadline* 

Application Closure Date ** 

October 11, 2023, by 5 PM EST  

October 24, 2023, by 11:59 PM EST 

 October 31, 2023, by 11:59 PM EST  

* 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.  
 

Interview and Status Updates 

Interview invites will be sent on a rolling basis after the priority deadline and will continue until mid-November. If an applicant is extended an interview invite, applicants will have 2-3 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 and 5 PM, with limited time slots available between 5 PM to 7 PM. Interview dates will be included in the interview invitation. Please monitor your Cornell email account regarding updates. 

Final position status updates will be sent out on a rolling basis starting the second week of December. Status updates will continue throughout the month of December and will continue through the Spring 2024 semester. Status updates will pause between December 22, 2023, and January 22, 2024, due to Winter break. 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.  
 
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 a virtual information session.  
 
Attendance at the information session is not a requirement to apply. We ask that you register at least 24 hours prior to the information session.  

A recording of the information session will also be posted as soon as it becomes available.

To learn more about the RA experience, you can attend a virtual question & answer (Q&A) panel 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 a requirement to apply. We ask that you register at least 24 hours prior to the Q&A session. 

 
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. 
 
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 a graduate student, it is recommended that you connect with your Graduate School to learn about eligibility requirements.  

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 2 business days for a response as we may be experiencing a high number of emails during the selection process.