Hi, I was accepted into CHC at UMass Amherst and I’m not sure if I want to sign up for a RAP or not. I’m majoring in Computer Science; on the one hand, I’m a bit shy so I don’t know whether I would feel comfortable in the CS RAP, which only has 38 people in it. On the other I’m really interested in getting into undergrad research, so if signing up for a RAP would give me better access to such opportunities I would be interested.
Has anyone signed up/had their friends sign up for a RAP? How is it compared to regular living arrangements in Southwest/Central?
I did a RAP. Actually, I did two - I did one my freshman year that was academic-based, and in my junior year, I was actually an RA for one of the RAP communities that was not purely academic. So obviously, I liked it. 
My first year RAP had about 200 students in it, my junior year RAP had only about 40.
I didn’t feel the smaller RAP was limiting. In fact, it helped residents make friends, because it was smaller. I don’t think that your RAP having only 38 people in it is a drawback, it may actually be a benefit.
I don’t know if the CS RAP would give you better opportunities for research. However, if you get to take some of your CS classes as part of your RAP, and they are thus smaller than the standard version; or if being in the RAP in other ways allows you to have better quality time with your CS professors than you normally would, then yes, it would help. I don’t know enough about the CS RAP specifically to answer these questions.