If you’re currently serving as a Resident Advisor (RA) and this question is something you’re asking yourself, then you’ve clicked on the correct link on the RA 360 blog. Honestly, every student leader should be asking themselves this question, it’s good to reflect, weigh priorities, and make thoughtful decisions.
There are a plethora of considerations to make when it comes to returning as a live-in student leader.
Here are some indicators that you could reasonably return as an RA next school year:
You have the time. Look at what your schedule will look like next semester and consider the time commitment of the RA role. It’s especially important to consider not only the time commitment the role will take during the school year, but also what time the “beginning of the year training” starts. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about being an RA, training is almost always a requirement that you will not be able to get out of. If you have a summer internship that runs up until school starts or an end of summer vacation planned, it’s likely not possible to be an RA if you’re going to miss training. If you know you aren’t willing to be an RA during the dates in the RA contract, then this role likely will not be a good fit for you in the upcoming year.
You want to do the job. Now that you have at least a semester of the RA job under your belt, you know the basics of what the job entails. Everything from duty rounds, late night calls, event planning, student leader training, and so on. Sometimes it’s difficult conversations with residents, while other times you get to have silly connections with residents and the joy of helping them have positive experiences on campus. If this type of work continues to be something you want to do, then you should take this into account when it comes to serving as an RA in the upcoming school year.
You’d like to live on campus. This one is pretty obvious, but this job impacts where you will live. If you want to live on campus, then the RA role may continue to be for you. If you want to spend as little time on campus as possible and mostly hang out with friends off campus or stay with a significant other away from the residence hall then the RA role is not for you next school year.
You will be a full time college student. Nearly every RA role requires you to be a full time college student, typically between 12-18 credits. The RA role I fulfilled when I was a student required special permission to take more than 17 credits, due to the time required to fulfill the role. Be sure to have an awareness of the minimum and maximum number of credits you can be enrolled in in order to be an RA at your respective college. There are some caveats to this rule; for example, if you are graduating in the spring but needed fewer than 12 credits to graduate, you likely could communicate with your supervisor and be able to serve as an RA while not fulfilling the minimum number of standard credits required for an RA as you approach graduation.
A few reasons you absolutely should not return as an RA next school year:
You’re only able to commit to one semester as an RA. Oftentimes, students need to graduate at the end of a Fall semester or need to use their final semester of college for a big internship, making it impossible to commit to the RA role for a full school year. If this is the case for you, you absolutely should not return as an RA. It is a disservice to your residents to intentionally commit to the role for only a semester, and truthfully, you probably won’t be allowed to return as an RA if you tell your supervisor that your plan is to do only one more semester as an RA, when the contract is typically for a full school year.
You’re just in it for the free or discounted room and board. We all work for the benefits, whether it’s working as an RA to get discounted housing and a meal plan, for a paycheck, medical benefits, visa purposes, feeling good about yourself, having a desire to spend time serving a purpose bigger than yourself, etc. Nobody does a job without a benefit in it for themself. Even volunteers state that they do so because helping others makes them feel good about benefiting others. If the only reason you want to continue working as an RA is because you get a discount on room and board, then being an RA next semester is not the right thing for you. That will reflect in the quality of your work and be a disservice to the residents in your community.
Keep in mind that your performance as an RA previously will contribute to whether or not you are invited to return as an RA as well, so keep doing great work as an RA if you’d like to be considered as an RA for the next school year!
After reading these points, you should have a clearer picture of what the best option is for you next school year. If it’s best for you to continue on as an RA, that’s great, and if it’s best that you do not return as an RA next school year, that’s great too! The most important thing is that you make the decision that is best for you and the students that will live in the residence halls next school year.
If you still aren’t sure, consider reading this article: Do I Stay or Do I Go? Knowing When to Leave an RA Position – Roompact
Ultimately, each person has a unique experience and different wants and needs for their college experience. You must do an inventory of your needs and wants for yourself!
