<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>Today the Department of State selected me an "alternate" for the internship choices I made within the department. They still want me to go through the normal security clearance and I will basically be in a bullpen waiting to be called out whenever. They said if their primary choice for the positions I wanted do not take the job then it will go to me, so it's not like a normal waitlist.</p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with their internship program? How often do they select alternates off their waitlist? Should I proceed with the rather lengthy security clearance?</p>
<p>choco</p>
<p>PS: I bet I would be a primary selection candidate if they saw my resume today; it's so much better than it was in October when I applied. oh well.</p>
<p>My son applied for this internship last year and has not heard a word. Is this the first communication you've had from the State Department? All the best to you--I hope it works out!</p>
<p>Yeah I remember when I was a sophomore I was selected as an "alternate" in February 2007, and I initially went through part of the security clearance (which is INCREDIBLY tedious), but I accepted an offer from a firm in NYC...so I just chose not to pursue the opportunity...I wish I could be of more help.</p>
<p>I do recall them saying they would also consider me for other Bureaus besides my preference...so perhaps you will slip in somewhere.</p>
<p>I started the security clearance stuff today.</p>
<p>Everything you say you must have a phone number and address of someone to confirm it. You need to list everytime you've ever been abroad. You need to list the number of times you've smoked pot or done another illegal substance. You need to confirm that you're not part of a terrorist organization.</p>
<p>I think lying would be even worse, especially if they did a thorough background check, so I wrote that I did marijuana 3 times in 2003 and 4 times in 2005 and provided a further explanation of my reasons behind it, which is the entire truth. I hope they understand that I was young and soon stopped.</p>
<p>and buzzwick today was the first thing I've heard from them since I applied in October.</p>
<p>Chocoman, My son heard today too, but was declined. I wish you the best!</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your son. Apparently these things are really competitive. </p>
<p>But I really don't know how they make decisions. I applied to work in Italy and thought I had it in the bag (Ivy league, IR major, good grades, previous work experience in IR, study abroad, language fluency, contacts at the embassy).</p>
<p>i too had high hopes this year. My GPA and school weren't anything impressive, but I had some unique first hand experience working with Ethiopian and Somali immigrants and thought that would make me stand out (For a post in Ethiopia). Obviously I didn't get it. I ran into somebody who did and administrative internship at the State Dept while I was an intern in DC, she said it was her job to help weed out the initial internship applications. She said you had to be extremely specific to your desired bureau in your statement of interest. It kind of made me uneasy knowing an intern was sifting through the applications. Seemed like somebody could just decide they didn't like this school, this major, etc. and just toss otherwise qualified people out. I've read similiar forums on becoming a Foreign Service Officer for the State Dept and that too seems very random. Somebody made an interesting comment once: "They just want bureaucrats." Which I'm beginning to think is true.</p>