<p>1-Is a car a necessity at Michigan if you live outside of the dorms?
2-How hard is to be an RA? Are there a lot more people trying to get it than positions open?
3-How does UM determine who will be RAs? Seniority or GPA or something else?
4-Do you have to be a junior or senior?
5-Does UM pay for your room and food, or just room?
6-How much time per week do you have to do things for the students in dorms? It says 20hrs on UMs website-That seems like a lot of time doing things with/for kids in the dorms. Is that accurate?</p>
<p>You can chat online on the U of M website or just call admissions and if they ask “how does this pertain to admission” like I am wondering right now just say it will influence your decisions because “college life” is a major decision in your acceptances.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Cars are not really necessary if you live within a reasonable distance from campus. As a umich student you can use the AATA buses for free and/or the blue buses to get around campus. Parking is a limited on campus, so that would be another thing to consider.</p></li>
<li><p>From what I heard from the ResLife meeting, about 600 apply, 400 get past the application phase, and about 150-200 are accepted. So it can be a bit competitive. </p></li>
<li><p>You need a minimum GPA of 2.5 to apply. You need to sign up for a shadowing experience at a mandatory info session. For your application, you fill out general information, what school, what position you want, student ID, etc. In addition, you have to write an essay about your experience from shadowing, and then an additional essay about a certain topic (I believe it changes every year, this year it was to describe a situation when you had to determine between doing something right and something that was popular.) Along with the application you need to have two letters of recommendation. If you make it past the application phase, you will have a behavioral interview. You’ll be asked to bring a resume. If you are applying for a living learning community RA postion (WISE, Honors, Michigan Community Scholars, etc.) then you may be asked to have an additional interview after the first one. </p></li>
<li><p>In order to be an RA you have to be a junior or a senior student for the year that you want to apply (so once you’re a sophomore, you can apply for next year).</p></li>
<li><p>As an RA you receive room and board, (free single room housing and the unlimited plus meal plan), free cable, and a mini fridge to use in your room as an RA. If you choose to be a living learning community RA, you can earn a cash stipend from about $1-2 thousand for the year. (Of course, more work is involved.)</p></li>
<li><p>Being an RA involves planning for hall events, working a the community center, being on duty, holding floor meetings, attending RA meetings, and any various things that pop up. The time range helps accommodate for all those random times when you have to walk up at 2am and let a resident back into his or her room when he or she gets locked out, etc. From what I’ve heard, it’s a demanding position, but it really is worth it.</p></li>
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<p>A car is not neccessary in Ann Arbor unless you live on North Campus or very far off central campus. Trying to park in and around central campus is like looking for a 4 leaf clover. I barely use my car and probably won’t bring it back next semester. I never use my car to drive to class or anything. I only use it to go shopping or to the grocery store. Save your money. I use AATA buses more than my own car and they can take you just about anywhere important u might go, i.e. meijers, grocery store, mall, etc.</p>
<p>Thanks guys.</p>