<p>I am a freshman at Duke, and was just offered an internship at an online news publication stationed in DC. The internship is for spring semester, and they want me to work in DC. Is this a practical option for a freshman? Would it put me significantly behind in school?</p>
<p>a) I’d be wary of an online news publication, just make sure it’s a legitimate place before hand. (Even Politico and the Onion puts out a newspaper every day)</p>
<p>b) Finances:
- You’re going to need an apartment near Metro (Subway) station which costs 700+ for just a room and 850+ for a studio apartment by yourself. Price will probably be on the higher end for you because those rates are usually for 1 year leases as oppose to month to month/6 month leases. (Conservative estimate: $5100)
- Metro Fare: You will metro everywhere, and assuming you live closeish to your job, and fares are nearly doubled for rush hour, you’ll spend about 5$ a day just going to and from work. That’s assuming you go no where on weekends (visiting Smithsonian, etc.) (Conservative Estimate: $1000)
- You have to buy all your own food. If you make your own lunches, and bring them to work, and only drink water, you can keep food costs down to about 200$ a month. However if you buy lunch in the city, keep in mind it will be 8.50-10$ minimum per day. (Conservative Estimate: $1200)
So before anything, make sure you have a bare minimum 7500$ to spend (throwing in $300 dollars for the entire semester worth of ‘fun money’ – clothes, attractions etc.) without any financial aid.</p>
<p>c) It won’t put you significantly behind in school, just know you’ll graduate a semester later. (There is a way to avoid this by overloading the rest of your semesters/maybe attend summer school)
d) Also check with your parents regarding your health insurance, because chances are you’re only covered while you’re a full time student. If this were to change you would temporarily lose your health insurance for that semester. Which is fine, if you don’t get sick that often, but is something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>I know from experience because I took a semester off before Senior Year, I’m actually just finishing it up. Lost my health insurance temporarily, found an apartment on Craigslist for 700/month. Was it hard, yes – coming to a city where I didn’t know anyone was difficult, as was living paycheck to paycheck. Was it worth it, yes. Do I think you could do it? Yes. Just make sure you’re informed before you go making that decision.</p>
<p>If you decide to do it, and want any help finding out which DC neighborhood are safe to live in…or have any other questions…just message me :)</p>
<p>Does it pay you?</p>
<p>I would be very wary of this, unless you can get decent credits for doing the internship.</p>
<p>Duke might give you the opportunity to do a sort of study abroad program in D.C.–Richmond and other schools do. You might then be able to take classes at GW, American, or Georgetown. Check and see. Otherwise…I’d look for something closer to home, or wait until summer. Do you mind saying what company you received the offer from? That would definitely be a major factor.</p>