unpaid summer intern vs paid part time job for undergraduates

[Anonymous]

Look into any options at your college that will fund students who work unpaid internships. DD's college has a fund that pays up to $5k per student.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

It should be legal because it is from state government, and has been there for years. No school credit for my DC. Possible for others, I don’t know. It does let applicants to specify how many hours you are available. But based on previous interns, you have to be full time, or else no chance. So mine has put down 40hr/wk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College freshmen, very hard to get a summer intern.

Which one is better? A paid part time job in retail, 20hr/wk, but nothing to do with her major. Or an unpaid volunteer in circuit court, 40hr/wk. Will the later help law school application?

Take the unpaid court internship, make money on weekends mowing lawns or other labor jobs, or be tutor for high school students for SAT, ACT, college apps. Both kids we know at HLS did similar their fresh and sophomore summers, building to prestigious judicial internship in DC after junior year.

Are you talking about freshmen and sophomore years in law school or college? Never heard big firms hire college students not law student, even if intern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look into any options at your college that will fund students who work unpaid internships. DD's college has a fund that pays up to $5k per student.

At our kid’s school it is up to $1,000/year if kid isn’t on financial aid, requires essays and a long app AND it says priority is giving money out for those on financial aid. (Kids on FA can apply for more money for unpaid or low paid internships, and those apps get priority first. Those not on FA can apply for any remainder that may exist but only up to $1000 and won’t get priority).

Just fyi that this may not be a viable solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College freshmen, very hard to get a summer intern.

Which one is better? A paid part time job in retail, 20hr/wk, but nothing to do with her major. Or an unpaid volunteer in circuit court, 40hr/wk. Will the later help law school application?

Take the unpaid court internship, make money on weekends mowing lawns or other labor jobs, or be tutor for high school students for SAT, ACT, college apps. Both kids we know at HLS did similar their fresh and sophomore summers, building to prestigious judicial internship in DC after junior year.

Are you talking about freshmen and sophomore years in law school or college? Never heard big firms hire college students not law student, even if intern.

+1. "Prestigious judicial internship" for a college student isn't really a thing; one needs to be a law student for that.

OP, full time work experience after college would carry much more weight in law school admissions than a summer internship pushing paper in circuit court. I would also doubt that the circuit court internship would provide a decent view of what lawyers do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unpaid internship. Mostly so she can see if being a lawyer is really what she wants to do. It can be a grind.

This. If your family can afford it, the internship is better experience. DS did an unpaid psychology research internship last summer. It was very helpful for discovering what parts he enjoyed and what parts he did not enjoy. He learned a lot and we had no problem giving him extra cash at the start of the school year to make up for his "lost" income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College freshmen, very hard to get a summer intern.

Which one is better? A paid part time job in retail, 20hr/wk, but nothing to do with her major. Or an unpaid volunteer in circuit court, 40hr/wk. Will the later help law school application?

40 hours a week and she won't get paid a dime?

Jesus Christ!

That should be illegal.

If she wants to be a full-time volunteer, and your family is in a financial position to allow it, she should do it somewhere that actually makes a difference in the world like St. Jude's. Not some circuit court.

This IS illegal if the internship is at a for-profit firm. They will be breaking minimum wage laws.

If the internship is with gov't agency or a non-profit, it's legal. I'd see if it would be possible to do the internship part time (3 days in the office for about 25 hours?) and also do the paid part time job.

Circuit court isn't a for profit firm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

It should be legal because it is from state government, and has been there for years. No school credit for my DC. Possible for others, I don’t know. It does let applicants to specify how many hours you are available. But based on previous interns, you have to be full time, or else no chance. So mine has put down 40hr/wk.

40 hours a week leaves time for a part time job.