Rising Juniors/Seniors: Have They Secured Summer Internships or Are They Still Looking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody know the percentage of rising sophomores/juniors/seniors who actually get internships?

My DC goes to a ranked undergrad biz school. Maybe it’s a factor of being in a business school that is machine-like about it but ALL of DC’s friends had internships as rising Junior, and all across the country too, many did the corporate housing/university housing/sublet thing… They were based Boston, NYC, DC, CA SoCal and SF areas. They all have internships as rising Seniors too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anybody know the percentage of rising sophomores/juniors/seniors who actually get internships?

This depends very highly on the college they attend. Many top50 colleges, particularly the small-medium size with many faculty and connections, have research positions for the summer, or faculty that can reach out to other institutions and leverage connections for the students.

After freshman year it can be tough, but following sophomore year there should be no issue finding a major or career related position. Many top ones are not paid(ie DOJ internships) but are highly prestigious and valuable (prelaw in this case).

[Anonymous]

Among my friends with a lot of kids all the same age (now college juniors), a couple had internships as rising juniors but now all of them have internships as rising seniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm freaking out that my rising senior hasn't secured an internship yet. (Internally freaking out-- I know it doesn't help him to see me freaking out-- I think he is pretty demoralized already and doesn't need me to add to it.)

He applied to many places but evidently not enough. He is super friendly and loves to chat with people so if he could just get an interview I'm sure it would go well. But he has had zero interviews.

I don't think he did the shotgun blast of applications, but instead considered each employer individually and wrote cover letters specifically targetting that employer. His GPA is OK but not great-- like 3.3.

He is thinking that he will instead get the ball rolling with getting a co-op position during his senior year. He knows he is supposed to have a real internship this summer, but I'm feeling like it may not happen and instead he will be waiting tables. It's not the end of the world-- it's just tough to see him struggling so much, especially as I'm sure he would be a great employee.

My son is a college freshman. I’m not looking forward to this when he needs to get internships. It wasn’t a thing when I was in college, fortunately!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People need to realize the larger institutions use AI to "read" resumes to even get to an interview, so it is really important for kids to use the schools "tester" to make sure their resumes are scoring high.

What is the school’s tester? It reads the resume for the student ?

[Anonymous]

My rising senior in petroleum engineering was invited back to intern where he did last summer. He will be a Sr. Intern this time, which means higher pay, and if things work out well during the summer, he may be accepted to keep the internship during his senior year as a remote position. That can then parlay into a job offer upon graduation.

My rising junior in psychology has a contingent internship right now. It is pending her background check and secret clearance working out. This will be her first internship. Last summer she worked and traveled. I think she said her professor told the class about this internship at the start of the semester in January and she applied right away. I know she's had around 3 interviews over the last few months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm freaking out that my rising senior hasn't secured an internship yet. (Internally freaking out-- I know it doesn't help him to see me freaking out-- I think he is pretty demoralized already and doesn't need me to add to it.)

He applied to many places but evidently not enough. He is super friendly and loves to chat with people so if he could just get an interview I'm sure it would go well. But he has had zero interviews.

I don't think he did the shotgun blast of applications, but instead considered each employer individually and wrote cover letters specifically targetting that employer. His GPA is OK but not great-- like 3.3.

He is thinking that he will instead get the ball rolling with getting a co-op position during his senior year. He knows he is supposed to have a real internship this summer, but I'm feeling like it may not happen and instead he will be waiting tables. It's not the end of the world-- it's just tough to see him struggling so much, especially as I'm sure he would be a great employee.

My son is a college freshman. I’m not looking forward to this when he needs to get internships. It wasn’t a thing when I was in college, fortunately!

It is stressful! My kids have found it a lot more stressful than the college application process.

[Anonymous]

My kid did one sophomore and junior summer. Applied and recieved a fellowship for lab research this summer so staying on campus. They're out there just gotta dig.

[Anonymous]

My twins who are both rising seniors finally secured internships in the past couple of weeks. My DS is a politics major and will be in policy for a large trade association in DC. My DD is an anthropology major and she will be working as an events intern for a nonprofit foundation local to us. Both will be FT over the summer so they will be working like grown ups LOL


The summer before senior year is super important so I get the stress, I was too even though my kids have had great internships in the past so I knew they had the backgrounds. They both interviewed with about 8-10 firms and sent out maybe 30-40 resumes since last fall? In their areas most of the summer internships didn't start being advertised until about Feb this year.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on the field. Finance (and I believe consulting) applications go in the fall and the kids know by winter break generally if they have any bites. But more policy oriented ones don’t go in until December and they hear in March. Then I think the smaller nonprofit, university based internships etc can be picked up anytime along the way. I hate that the kids have so much stress about this! it’s great to have a meaningful summer internship, especially if it turns into a job after graduation, but it’s certainly not a requirement for a successful adult life and I know they put so much pressure on themselves. Hope your kid finds his way through it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the field. Finance (and I believe consulting) applications go in the fall and the kids know by winter break generally if they have any bites. But more policy oriented ones don’t go in until December and they hear in March. Then I think the smaller nonprofit, university based internships etc can be picked up anytime along the way. I hate that the kids have so much stress about this! it’s great to have a meaningful summer internship, especially if it turns into a job after graduation, but it’s certainly not a requirement for a successful adult life and I know they put so much pressure on themselves. Hope your kid finds his way through it.

If you don't secure a summer internship there are other ways to beef up your resume -- on campus internships, research experiences, major class projects especially capstone classes that give real-world-style experience.

[Anonymous]

It is stressful; a lot of competition for summer internships. Is it common for students to get internships during their college school year ? Especially if they are in an urban area. I would think they would be easier to obtain if they can foot in with their class schedule. I read PP post regarding her child may work an internship during the school year. Going to suggest this to my son for next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is stressful; a lot of competition for summer internships. Is it common for students to get internships during their college school year ? Especially if they are in an urban area. I would think they would be easier to obtain if they can foot in with their class schedule. I read PP post regarding her child may work an internship during the school year. Going to suggest this to my son for next year.

Another option, depending on the school, is on-campus "internships". I've seen them listed at both my kids' colleges. Here's the page for VT about their on-campus internship program https://career.vt.edu/experience/campus-intern-exp.html My son hasn't taken advantage of it but did get some good experience through an undergrad research program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is stressful; a lot of competition for summer internships. Is it common for students to get internships during their college school year ? Especially if they are in an urban area. I would think they would be easier to obtain if they can foot in with their class schedule. I read PP post regarding her child may work an internship during the school year. Going to suggest this to my son for next year.

As far as common during the school year, definitely common if it’s a big city/capitol. Some schools even provide funding for academic year internships that are unpaid.

[Anonymous]

Are these all paid?