Students and parents often ask us about the admissions value of a summer internship. They’ve heard tales of students interning in seemingly impressive sectors and don’t want to be left at an admissions disadvantage.
But just because an internship sounds prestigious doesn’t mean it will necessarily help your chances of admission. A student whose parent leverages their status at their place of work to hand their kid a summer internship, who then does just enough not to get fired, and whose only real motivation was to supposedly impress colleges—that won’t lead to the admissions payoff the student was hoping for. And why should it? He hasn’t shown any initiative, passion, impact, or any of the other traits that make colleges take notice.
If you’re considering a summer internship and are curious to know whether or not colleges will look at it favorably, here are a few questions to consider:
1. Did you have a legitimate interest in the profession?
The best reason to get an internship is because you are genuinely interested in a field and view interning as a great way to learn (the worst reason is, “to put it on my college application.”) This is especially powerful if you’ve demonstrated this interest in other ways. A former Collegewise student who dreamed of being a journalist sought out an internship at her city’s local newspaper. But she also had many other examples of her interest in journalism, from a summer program at Northwestern to four years of involvement with her high school paper. Her internship was just another example of the real passion she had for the subject, and how serious she was about learning more about the craft.
2. Did you secure this internship yourself?
Many families don’t fully appreciate the value of initiative in college admissions. Who is more likely to make an impact while in college—the student whose parent secured the internship so all their kid needed to do was show up on day one, or the student who called five different law firms asking if they had an intern program, who interviewed with an associate and secured the opportunity on her own? Some of the most valuable lessons an internship can teach happen while searching and securing the opportunity. Don’t remove that learning by relying too much on a connection.
3. Did you do interesting, challenging work?
I was debating whether to share this one because it’s not always a realistic expectation. No matter how hard you work, your summer internship at a law firm won’t allow you to argue a case in court, and that’s fine. A student with a legitimate interest in the law could still learn a lot even just filing and getting coffee. But if your internship allows you to do work that most high school students would not get to do, the people reading your application will notice. A sure way to get closer to the real work beyond the basics? Go someplace that (1) needs help and (2) doesn’t typically hear from intern-hopefuls. Our former Collegewise student who spent the summer interning with a mobile health care unit that visited impoverished areas got a lot more medical-related experience than those who joined their peers volunteering at a large hospital.
Bottom line: If you decide to get an internship, do it for yourself, not for your colleges. Do it as a way to learn, to satisfy a curiosity, to get more experience, to do things you’ve always wanted to try, etc. That’s the surest way to end up doing something that both you and the colleges will find valuable.