Would you ever have your child do an internship that they need to pay for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It's not an internship, OP. It's just a way for the college to siphon money from parents' wallets.

Ding ding ding! Caveat emptor.
The colleges usually don't even run these summer programs. They are outsourcing their empty rooms to a company that pays them. The company will also hire the school's professors as 'consultants' on the payroll. This arrangement bamboozles families into thinking their child might actually have a shot at that college when the kid applies.

My kid is doing a summer abroad language program, won a scholarship to cover most of it and her high school alumni foundation is kicking in some money to help. I just have to pay for the plane ticket.
The previous summer she held a teenager retail job and got some interesting life experience from it. The kid spent enough of her life in a classroom, I don't intend to stick her in one of those pay to play summer academic enrichment/internships/pre-college bubbles where she continues to be in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend's DD was invited to do an internship at a well known college but it is a handful of zoom meetings, 2 weeks in a lab and $3500.

I suggested no. What do you think?

Is DD in high school? It's not an internship, it is just a summer program. It will not help with her college applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here: that’s what I thought. I told her it is just like those camps at Harvard or MIT and parents think it’s impressive because of the time. It’s overpriced and meaningless. I’ll add that apparently it also guarantees a LOR with it, at the end. I asked my friend how can they guarantee a LOR before they even met your kid?!

Its not meaningless if its catered to what the child is interested in and you can get high school or college credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here: that’s what I thought. I told her it is just like those camps at Harvard or MIT and parents think it’s impressive because of the time. It’s overpriced and meaningless. I’ll add that apparently it also guarantees a LOR with it, at the end. I asked my friend how can they guarantee a LOR before they even met your kid?!

Its not meaningless if its catered to what the child is interested in and you can get high school or college credit.

It relates to what the child is interested in. No credit is awarded or offered. They give a paper “certificate” at the end.

[Anonymous]

I don't know, OP. It sounds pretty dubious to me, especially the LOR promise. I am with you on that skepticism. There's got to be other programs that would offer a similar or better experience for less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's not an internship, OP. It's just a way for the college to siphon money from parents' wallets.

Ding ding ding! Caveat emptor.
The colleges usually don't even run these summer programs. They are outsourcing their empty rooms to a company that pays them. The company will also hire the school's professors as 'consultants' on the payroll. This arrangement bamboozles families into thinking their child might actually have a shot at that college when the kid applies.

My kid is doing a summer abroad language program, won a scholarship to cover most of it and her high school alumni foundation is kicking in some money to help. I just have to pay for the plane ticket.
The previous summer she held a teenager retail job and got some interesting life experience from it. The kid spent enough of her life in a classroom, I don't intend to stick her in one of those pay to play summer academic enrichment/internships/pre-college bubbles where she continues to be in a classroom.

I wish American Councils/NSLI-Y would diversify socioeconomically and actually accept more public school students. Private school students already have an edge when it comes to enrichment opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend's DD was invited to do an internship at a well known college but it is a handful of zoom meetings, 2 weeks in a lab and $3500.

I suggested no. What do you think?

That's not an internship! That's a moneymaker for the college!

No. Internships are free work in exchange for learning.

Summer internships should be paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend's DD was invited to do an internship at a well known college but it is a handful of zoom meetings, 2 weeks in a lab and $3500.

I suggested no. What do you think?

Is DD in high school? It's not an internship, it is just a summer program. It will not help with her college applications.

Who says you can’t have an internship during Hs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's not an internship, OP. It's just a way for the college to siphon money from parents' wallets.

Ding ding ding! Caveat emptor.
The colleges usually don't even run these summer programs. They are outsourcing their empty rooms to a company that pays them. The company will also hire the school's professors as 'consultants' on the payroll. This arrangement bamboozles families into thinking their child might actually have a shot at that college when the kid applies.

My kid is doing a summer abroad language program, won a scholarship to cover most of it and her high school alumni foundation is kicking in some money to help. I just have to pay for the plane ticket.
The previous summer she held a teenager retail job and got some interesting life experience from it. The kid spent enough of her life in a classroom, I don't intend to stick her in one of those pay to play summer academic enrichment/internships/pre-college bubbles where she continues to be in a classroom.

I wish American Councils/NSLI-Y would diversify socioeconomically and actually accept more public school students. Private school students already have an edge when it comes to enrichment opportunities.

Yeah, it’s BS. LGBTQ+ really have a great shot coming from private. I have yet to see one limited-income public school kid get past the initial interview. It’s funny b/c they say that they want students who have never been abroad before

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's not an internship, OP. It's just a way for the college to siphon money from parents' wallets.

Ding ding ding! Caveat emptor.
The colleges usually don't even run these summer programs. They are outsourcing their empty rooms to a company that pays them. The company will also hire the school's professors as 'consultants' on the payroll. This arrangement bamboozles families into thinking their child might actually have a shot at that college when the kid applies.

My kid is doing a summer abroad language program, won a scholarship to cover most of it and her high school alumni foundation is kicking in some money to help. I just have to pay for the plane ticket.
The previous summer she held a teenager retail job and got some interesting life experience from it. The kid spent enough of her life in a classroom, I don't intend to stick her in one of those pay to play summer academic enrichment/internships/pre-college bubbles where she continues to be in a classroom.

I wish American Councils/NSLI-Y would diversify socioeconomically and actually accept more public school students. Private school students already have an edge when it comes to enrichment opportunities.

Yeah, it’s BS. LGBTQ+ really have a great shot coming from private. I have yet to see one limited-income public school kid get past the initial interview. It’s funny b/c they say that they want students who have never been abroad before

My public schooled child participated in NSLI-Y in Tajikistan. It didn't seem like it was just private school kids? She hasn't been abroad unless you consider a week at an All Inclusive in Puerto Vallarta when she was 12 to be "abroad". LOL!

NSLI-Y is awesome!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it an internship? What is the cost for?

My college student is doing a program this summer at another college and we had to pay for it - but they are getting faculty and classes and dorm living so it seems worth it.

It's not an internship - maybe just semantics but it's a program and it makes sense to pay for it. And its in person with faculty they have to pay.

Yes agree with this PP completely.

Fine if it's more of an academic program with some research component. But weird to call that an internship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the $$ to cover room & board? Expensive, but then could make sense. The fact of the matter is that the overpriced college-based programs do sometimes give you a chance to make a good impression on a prof, which can be especially helpful if you're interested in the school.

They're not going to have much chance to make an impression on a prof vai Zoom mtgs and 2 weeks in a lab. It will be a generic LOR at best.

[Anonymous]

That's a summer program not an "internship". I generally think summer programs can be worthwhile but I'd rule out one that disingenuously calls it an internship when it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend's DD was invited to do an internship at a well known college but it is a handful of zoom meetings, 2 weeks in a lab and $3500.

I suggested no. What do you think?

NO.

[Anonymous]

My professor wife worked at one of these summer programs at a top 10 private university. She was pressured to write LORs, so she would literally write, "This kid took my class. /s/ Professor."

The programs are scams, but if money really isn't an issue, the kids seem to like it, they are safe, and the programs beat working at a golf club.