Meet Christopher Hess. Christopher is a freshman in Electrical Engineering. He is from Springfield Missouri. Christopher decided to attend the University of Arkansas because of its great engineering program and the beautiful location. In his free time he enjoys riding the bike trails and playing disc golf.
Most first year students at the University of Arkansas are required to live on campus; if your student does or has lived on campus they should be familiar with what a resident assistant, or simply RA, is. Resident assistants are upper-class students who live in the residence halls whose job is to help build and maintain the community within the halls. Being an RA is a great opportunity with several perks, however, the hiring process is very competitive and can be somewhat overwhelming at times.
Like most hiring processes, this one starts with an application. The application opens to students during the fall semester. Students applying must have a 2.75 cumulative GPA to be considered, as well as being enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours. The application also requires a current RA’s recommendation. Last year’s application closed in late December so make sure to encourage your student to apply before the end of fall semester if they are interested.
The next phase is the individual interviews. Qualified applicants will be notified that they are to be interviewed in late January. The interviews will be conducted by current housing staff. The applicant pool is narrowed down significantly after these interviews, all interviewees will be notified if they have been selected to continue the process or if they have not been selected.
After students have been notified if they have been selected to continue, they will be scheduled for a group interview. This is a less traditional aspect, you will be split into small groups that serve as your team through several activities and scenarios. The current housing staff will also observe you throughout the day and ask questions about how you performed.
After the group interview applicants will be notified if they are chosen as a finalist, alternate or if they were not selected at the time. The students are then assigned to specific residence hall staffs, although not all finalist will be assigned. Personally, I was not selected at first but received an offer several weeks later to join a staff. If you are a finalist or alternate housing may contact you at any point during the summer or following academic year if a position becomes available.