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RA Selection

RAs are students who live and work in our halls, cottages and apartments, and they are the foundation of our communities. The main function of an RA is to support their residents in many aspects of their wellbeing and to help develop and build their community. RAs work under the direction of a Residential Life Coordinator (RLC), Resident Director (RD) or Neighborhood Coordinator (NC).

Currently, we have over 160 RAs that serve approximately 2,400 on-campus residents. Each residential hall, floor, wing, cottage and apartment has a resident assistant living in or overseeing and leading the community. 

Benefits

The RA role comes with many responsibilities and learning opportunities but also great benefits, including:

Remuneration

The Board of Trustees sets RA remuneration rates in January for the following academic year. We anticipate the 2026–2027 rates to come in the form of a housing credit:

• Hall RAs: Typically receive around 95% of a double room rate for first-year RAs
• Cottage/Apartment RAs: Typically receive around 38% of a double room rate, and around 45–50% for supervision over multiple units (dependent on the number of units and/or residents)

The Office of Financial Aid is informed of RA remuneration, so it is possible that remuneration may affect an RA’s financial aid package. Please call or email the Office of Financial Aid at 616.395.7765 or finaid@hope.edu for more details.

Leadership Development

The RA role is a very visible leadership position on campus, and the Residential Life professional staff invest time and resources into developing the RAs as people, students and leaders.

RAs receive training that can be used beyond the RA role with skills such as conflict management/mediation, crisis response, diversity and inclusion, event planning and programming. Many hiring managers tell us that they love hiring RAs due to their extensive experience and training.

Community Involvement

RAs connect regularly with a wide range of students, other RAs and Residential Life professional staff through one-on-one interactions or to plan community engagement programming or training. With each of these interactions RAs help to shape their community, which in turn shapes the culture of the entire campus. 

Learn More

The RA position is a student leadership position within Residential Life and Housing.  The ideal candidate would be a currently enrolled student with residential community living experience who maintains at least 8 credits per semester and a minimum GPA of 2.5 or higher and is in good judicial standing with the college. Quality candidates will have a committment to personal integrity, desire to serve members of their peer group and engage in professional development through required and scheduled training opportunities.

To learn more about the positions, view the following job descriptions below or contact your RLC or RD.  

Note that job descriptions are reviewed yearly and subject to change. Additional questions regarding the positions can be directed to your RLC or RD or by emailing reslife@hope.edu. 

2026–2027 Application Process

Each application process is outlined and explained below. If you have questions about the RA selection please email reslife@hope.edu.

New Resident Assistant Application Process

The New Resident Assistant application will be available early December 2025.

How to apply
The New Resident Assistant Application process is currently under review. Please check back for more information.

In the application you will be asked to identify whether you would like to be considered for a Resident Assistant position in a hall, a cottage/apartment, or both. The application will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and will ask you to upload an updated resume for our staff to review. Application deadline is TBD.

What you can expect after submitting your application
You will receive an email directing you to sign up for an individual interview. These interviews will take place in January, in the Boerigter Center, lower level (under the glass). Your individual interview will last approximately 30 minutes and will be with a Residence Life professional staff member (resident director, residential life coordinator or assistant director) and a student staff member (resident assistant, neighborhood coordinator or student assistant resident director).

Residential Life will also be hosting our group process. The group process will give us an opportunity to view how you work in a brand-new team, what qualities shine through in various activities. You will be in a group of 10–13 applicants and process through three–four different challenges. The entire group process will take about 90 minutes from check-in to completion. Please ensure that you reserve this time as we will only be able to make accommodations for those students that are studying abroad or athletes that may have games/meets.

New RA application deadline is January 13, 2026.

Returning Resident Assistant Reappointment Process

The Returning Resident Assistant Reappointment Form will be emailed to returning RAs on December 1, 2025.

We ask that resident assistants interested in returning for next academic year begin having conversations with their supervisor during their evaluation in December.

How to reapply
Complete the reappointment Google form that will be emailed to all 2025–2026 Resident Assistants on December 1, 2025.

Student Leadership Team Application Process

The Student Leadership Team Application process begins on November 8, 2025.

How to apply
Complete the Google form application that will be emailed to all 2025–2026 resident assistants on November 8, 2025. 

Applications are due by Monday, November 17, at 12 noon.

Interviews will take place from Monday, December 1, through Friday, December 5, 2025, in Cook Hall. More information to be communicated to those who apply.