The Race to Become a Resident Advisor

Each winter, over 130 students apply for one of the most sought-after jobs at The New School, a position as a resident advisor at one of the school’s five residences. Being an RA provides students with useful experiences and skillsets that can easily apply to future endeavors, which is one of the many reasons it is so highly prized.

In addition to conducting monthly room inspections and floor meetings with residents, RAs are required to maintain a safe environment for residents. An effective RA also has to be committed to building an energetic community within their assigned floor, as well as maintaining one-on-one relationships with residents.

A resident advisor receives a good compensation, which – coupled with the esteemed responsibilities that come with the job – make it a highly sought-after position. The New School Housing website says,  “[Residents] will receive a single room in one of the residence halls. RAs also receive an annual stipend of $1,900 and an annual meal stipend of $400.”

The first step to becoming an RA is to apply online in late December. According to Rebecca Stein, head resident advisor at the 13th Street Residence, the professional staff receives more than 130 applications each year. With each round of interviews, students are continually eliminated from the running until a final group of 40 applicants gets interviewed individually by Robert Lutomski, assistant vice president for student housing and residence life.

Of the 40 candidates, around 25 students are selected for positions as resident advisors. Around 20 are selected as alternate advisors.

Some students describe the application process as stressful and competitive.

“The process is pretty intense,” RA applicant Ksenia Muzyka said, “there’s a lot of applicants so there’s a lot of pressure, and the actual selection is fairly drawn out.”

Initially the applicant is interviewed by one or two staff members and one RA. The ones who are accepted from this pool of applicants then have a group interview in order to determine who works most effectively in a group setting. After that there is a one-on-one interview with an RA where the interviewee is asked about different possible incidents that could come up while on duty, and how one would be able to think on their feet to handle such tasks. Once this step is complete, the applicant meets with Robert Lutomski, who will make the final decision, together with the head residents, the hall directors, and area coordinators. Students find out if they have been selected for the job by March 21.

Despite the tough competition, the process is quite comprehensive given the number of applicants.

“You can tell they try to get the whole picture of a student,” literary studies sophomore Joe Anderson told The Free Press. “By showing yourself on paper, showing yourself working with others, and presenting yourself in interviews, you have ample opportunity to highlight your strengths and qualifications.”

While, granted, many students are not selected as RAs from the outset, around 20 students do become alternate advisors, which are essentially runner-ups. If, for whatever reason, an RA ends up changing plans and is unable to take on the job, an alternate is chosen as a replacement. Anna Lynch, an RA at Stuyvesant Residence Hall, got her job just two weeks into her time as an alternate.

“I got pretty lucky, because a lot of alternates don’t find out for the whole year, or maybe they get called a month in or two months in. So it’s really sporadic.” Lynch said.

Though a large portion of the job is about bringing people together and socializing, Stein says people often lose sight of the fact that, at the end of the day, the position is a job, and a hard one.

“It’s a fun job, but at the end of the day, it’s a position that we hold to a high professional standard,” Stein said. “Being an RA is a lot of work and a big time commitment, and we do what we can through our hiring process to demonstrate the gravity that the position holds.”

RAs go through an extensive amount of training throughout the school year and summer. Basic protocol for RAs include knowledge of what to do in a variety of different “what if” situations, confrontation methods, mediation, knowledge of all of The New School’s resources, Safe Zone Training and CPR Training.

Despite the hard work, student still desire the job for more than the benefits.

“I want to become an RA to try and become more active in the university community,” Muzyka said. “We’re a highly nontraditional school so it seemed like the best way to get involved and help out.”