<p>A couple of questions here----</p>
<li><p>I’m majoring in a combination of Latin/Greek, philosophy, and (maybe) history but no IR or poli sci. Assuming I get decent grades, would the State Dept. even bother considering my internship application if I don’t have a major more compatible with foreign relations (like economics or Middle Eastern studies)?</p></li>
<li><p>Will I be at a huge disadvantage not having attended an Ivy League or other prestigious school? I go to a cash-strapped state university in the south where we should have offer a major in SEC football with a minor in public intoxication. Our head football coach is the highest paid ‘civil servant’ (b/c he’s a state employee!) in the state…</p></li>
<li><p>What if I start trying to learn a modern language? I’m trying to find a way to learn Hebrew in Israel, it would probably be next Summer. There’s no Hebrew program at my school and I would only have had two or three months in Israel so I def. wouldn’t be proficient, but would it be something worth considering? I’ve wanted to go to Israel and learn some Hebrew anyway, so it’s not like the state dept. internship thing would affect my decision in any way. I’m in it for the intellectual enjoyment, now I’m wondering if it could help me with some of my career goals, too.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I could always start taking another foreign language before I graduate. I’ve thought about taking French (for my Peace Corps application) or Modern Greek, but would any of that make a difference for a state dept. internship?</p>
<li>Should I consider other, lower-level and less prestigious internships/jobs before I try applying for something as high profile as the State Department? I know it’s probably very presumptuous of me to expect to just jump right into something like that without previous experience in government or foreign relations. But I’m stuck (by my own doing, admittedly) at an obscure, underfunded university without a strong IR program in a part of the country that can politely be called ‘ignorant’. I desperately want to get out of here, but how?</li>
</ol>