<p>Stumbled across Discovery Internships the other day, looks like a pretty legit program,, though I haven't been able to find any reviews of their programs. Has anyone done one of their programs, or known someone who did?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>saw these as well and I was interested. Anybody?</p>
<p>Hey All, we’d love to give you more information or provide references from past interns! Give us a call 212-367-5695 or find us on Facebook: Discovery Internships</p>
<p>What is Discovery Internships
Discovery Internships, formerly Career Explorations, is dedicated to helping students stand out and take control of their futures. Our customized internship programs provide life changing experiences for students at a pivotal time in their life. Whether you are a high school student looking to gain clarity on college choices or fields of potential study or just looking for a meaningful summer in one of the greatest cities in the world, you’ve come to the right place. Whatever your needs, Discovery Internships’ customized programs will help you explore your future.</p>
<p>What We Do
The Discovery Internships program is an all-inclusive summer internship experience. In addition to gaining hands-on, career-focused learning opportunities, participants explore and live in an exciting city. Our programs feature a safe and fun living and learning environment based in a college residence hall. A meal plan, 24-hour staff supervision and mentoring, and a host of cultural, recreational, and other community events and excursions around the city are all included.</p>
<p>Our participants receive access to supplementary professional development workshops that enhance the internship learning experience and help students excel in both the college classroom and the workplace. Students receive academic credit for their internship and completion of coursework from New York University (NYU).</p>
<p>In 2010, Career Explorations joined together with two leading summer program providers – Musiker Summer Discovery and Dream Careers – to form Discovery Internships. With Summer Discovery’s four decades of pre-college summer programs expertise and Dream Careers ten years of college internship placement prowess, Discovery Internships is, without question, the finest career-focused summer program for high school students in the world.</p>
<ul>
<li>The Discovery Internships Team</li>
</ul>
<p>$6000 for four weeks? Sounds like a money-making program to me. Personally, I would not go simply because it would “help you stand out in the college application process”. It won’t, especially since colleges know that you paid $6000+ to do it. But with that said, I do believe that the program will be well-planned out and give you a great time. It would definitely be a great experience. Also, only go if you don’t mind the cost.</p>
<p>Hmm I realized that I might’ve been a bit harsh on the last post. Let me try this again.</p>
<p>I haven’t personally participated in the Discovery Internships, but it looks like a great program to spend a summer and have a good time. However, it is very expensive and probably will not impress college admission officers. But I would not go to a program just because it looks good on college apps. Spending four weeks in Boston, San Francisco, or New York is an amazing experience in itself. So as long as you don’t mind the cost, go for it. Just don’t overemphasize its helpfulness for college apps.</p>
<p>I really like spam. I really do. I like the disgustingly unhealthy meat product and I absolutely adore the distasteful marketing technique.</p>
<p>Protip: if you want to attract customers, don’t market your summer program by posting blatant advertising on a discussion website. It makes you look desperate for money. The only “good” summer programs are those that are free, I think.</p>
<p>A pity, too, because Discovery Internships seemed to be pretty legit and one of the few major summer internship programs that currently exist. Ah, well; US$5,999 is a lot for me, anyway.</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
<p>Does anyone know if there are any scholarships or financial aid for the program?</p>
<p>Let’s face it–this program is expensive no matter how good it is. Most people would have to find a way to pay for this over several months (including me), so I looked into when and how payments would be made. I was <em>deeply troubled</em> by the fact that this program does not accept credit cards as payment (except for the first $95). That’s HIGHLY unusual for these kinds of amounts and in these kinds of programs. </p>
<p>So… why would they do that? (The fee DiscoveryInterhips would have from the credit card companies is probably about 2.5%, and at the prices they charge, I think they can cover that!) It makes me wonder if they have had a lot of charge backs from dissatisfied students. (Credit card companies will consider reversing charges if there is evidence of fraud and in some other cases). Hummmm… makes me nervous… Also, their terms and conditions don’t seem to provide for binding arbitration, which means, if there are issues and DiscoveryInterhips is unresponsive, you would have to sue them in court (probably in New York), and that’s not realistic even for these high amounts. </p>
<p>I could be wrong about all this, of course, and would love to hear from anyone (including discoveryinternships.com) that has thoughts on this subject, or experience in the program.</p>
<p>Professor0 - Your post sounds quite familiar to a question that we received from a parent who has since enrolled in our program. I hope you’ll correct me if that’s not the case, but I say this for the benefit of anyone else who may be reading.</p>
<p>I’d also like to clarify that your post was not factually accurate: We DO accept credit card payments for enrollment deposits ($1500-$3000, depending on the time of year the enrollment is received).</p>
<p>Our billing policies are what they are and have nothing whatsoever to do with chargeback or fraud claims. I don’t think we’d still be in business if that was the case. After 46 years providing educational summer programs to high school students, we’d like to think that we’ve earned the trust of our customers. I encourage prospective participants to contact us directly if they have any questions or concerns about our service, guarantee, or reputation.</p>
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<li>Discovery Internships</li>
</ul>
<p>Hesaves - You can learn more about our philanthropy and scholarships at [Scholarships</a> : Discovery Internships](<a href=“http://www.discoveryinternships.com/scholarships]Scholarships”>http://www.discoveryinternships.com/scholarships)</p>
<p>Chaseholl - Thanks for the tip. The previous post was meant as clarification for users who are sometimes confused by the concept of an “internship program” and think they are “paying for an internship.” In retrospect, you are correct; it is written too much like an ad. If I can track down the login info for that other account, I’ll edit it. </p>
<p>Thanks again for the insight, although you may want to reconsider your statement that “the only good summer programs are those that are free.” That’s quite an unusual statement and warrants qualification. Can you please provide a few examples.</p>
<p>Iceui2 - Thanks for the speculative commentary on the merits of our program. We agree with your statement that you shouldn’t do a program “just because it looks good on college apps.” There are dozens of other reasons students choose Discovery Internships. One of the reasons parents and educators like us so much is because we help students make more informed decisions about career and college choices. For that matter, any internship will help you do that and we encourage all high school students that feel ready to engage in an internship experience to do one, whether or not it’s through our program. And by the way, you don’t need to specify on your college applications how you acquired your internship experience. Would a student that lined up an internship through his or her parents specify on their college application that they got the internship through mom or dad? I don’t think so. We don’t tell our participants to put Discovery Internships on their college application - we tell them to put their specific internship. After all, they’re the one who successfully completed the internship; we just helped them get it. I suppose, for most high school students, the tendency is to focus on “getting in,” whether to a college, an internship, a club, or whatever. But in the real world, no one really cares about whether you got into a particular school or job - they only care about what you did there. If you do an internship in high school and spend a few weeks or months filing papers and doing meaningless administrative work, no college admissions office is going to be particularly impressed. We help student’s acquire meaningful professional experience that informs their decision-making about where and why they want to go to a particular school, and that’s what helps them “stand out in the college application process.” </p>
<p>I hope this clarifies that point.</p>
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<li>Discovery Internships</li>
</ul>
<p>Hi all, I went to the discovery internship which was the biomedical research academy at upenn last year. It was really fun, an introduction to biology, and I got letters of recommendation from the professors at upenn. Overall, it was a little on the pricey side, but a loved living at upenn and the dorm experience, as well as meeting and studying with many amazing people!</p>
<p>That’s a Summer Discovery program you’re referring to. Summer Discovery is closely affiliated with Discovery Internships, but is a different program entirely: Pre-college academic enrichment rather than an internship program.</p>
<p>Discovery Internships is a joke. Its just a way for parents to hype up the egos of their college-bound teens. When you are dishing out that much money for four weeks during the summer, it tells colleges nothing about your personal qualities such as the dedication you exemplified to get that job. It only shows adcoms that you got where you are in part because your parents have money. Plus, it takes away those internships from deserving students from low-income backgrounds.</p>
<p>JFVollegirl27 - Thank you for your opinion. To your first point, I have to strongly disagree. Perhaps you didn’t read one of my previous posts. I’ll excerpt the most relevant part: </p>
<p>You don’t need to specify on your college applications how you acquired your internship experience. Would a student that lined up an internship through his or her parents specify on their college application that they got the internship through mom or dad? I don’t think so. We don’t tell our participants to put Discovery Internships on their college application - we tell them to put their specific internship. After all, they’re the one who successfully completed the internship; we just helped them get it. I suppose, for most high school students, the tendency is to focus on “getting in,” whether to a college, an internship, a club, or whatever. But in the real world, no one really cares about whether you got into a particular school or job - they only care about what you did there. </p>
<p>To your second point, that is a valid concern. Educational inequity is a serious problem in the US and we are committed to leveling the playing field where we can through our philanthropy (see [Scholarships</a> : Discovery Internships](<a href=“http://www.discoveryinternships.com/scholarships]Scholarships”>http://www.discoveryinternships.com/scholarships)). However, I think it’s largely inaccurate to state that we are “taking away those internships from deserving students from low-income backgrounds.” Many companies choose to work with us because we add significant value to their internship programs, but that doesn’t preclude those companies from also working with interns on an ad hoc basis. The issue here is not one of privilege so much as it is one of access and knowledge. The majority of high school students do not have the know-how, resources, time, or commitment needed to acquire an internship on their own. To that end, we’re happy to help. We encourage all students to check out our internship tips and resources here: [Get</a> Our Free Internship Tips : Discovery Internships](<a href=“http://www.discoveryinternships.com/tips#adTop]Get”>http://www.discoveryinternships.com/tips#adTop)</p>
<p>We are in our second week with the program and it seemed great BUT then the intern placement decided they did not need an intern any more and “fired” my daughter for coming in 1 hour late. We paid a large amount of money for the program and are disappointed that Discovery did not really check closely that the people wanted a high school intern. The manager even said to my daughter on the first day- I don’t have time for this program. I do really want an intern.</p>
<p>Be sure to ask about this problerm if is should occur weather you will get a refund.</p>
<p>That is a very weak argument and I highly disagree. The fact that you tell students NOT to list Discovery Internships on their resume proves that no one thinks highly of your organization. You are exploiting desperate high school kids––that’s what I think. Competition for internships should be based off of a person’s experience, grades, and character. Not how much mommy and daddy are willing to pay for little Jeremy to have a “fake” addition to their college application and boost to their ego that was unearned. My parents would never have bought me an internship spot.</p>
<p>Let me start by saying the Summer Discovery/Summer Internships/Musiker “Family” is made up of a bunch of money hungry greedy people. I personally enrolled and experienced one of their internships and even though I had fun and somewhat gained knowledge, I cannot tell you how much I loathed the program itself. The internship they promised me was NOT AT ALL what it was in reality. They abused their employees/interns and the Discovery Internships team simply looked the other way. I tried changing my internship the first week of the program and they could not be any more impassionate and selfish. This meant I had to endure the horrible internship I was so looking forward to for 4 weeks. I thought after the ridiculous amount of money I had paid, they’d have to care. On another note, I really felt ripped off from all the promised “meals” that ended up being cold Papa John’s after I got home from my internship and nothing in between. I thought maybe being in another country and such a diverse metropolitan city, we’d be able to experience different foods and activities. Well, I was wrong. All the restaurants we went to were American (Hard Rock Cafe, Pizza Hut, Subway, etc.) and the activities ranged from Bowling, going to the movies, going out for ice cream, etc. And the worst part was that it was all MANDATORY. Basically, if you want an authentic, enriching experience with a program who even slightly cares about your affairs, DO NOT ENGAGE WITH DISCOVERY INTERNSHIPS/SUMMER DISCOVERY.</p>
<p>I actually participated in Summer Discovery last summer… I actually really enjoyed it. The classes were interesting, although you have to have the motivation to actually listen in class. A lot of people just end up sleeping in class, but my classes were actually pretty interesting. The people at camp were amazing. I made a lot of friends, and I still talk to them today! I really, really miss them. We got a lot of freedom, which really helped me with my independence. I guess you just have to have the motivation to listen in class yourself. But people should stop bashing on Summer Discovery/ Discovery Internships. I had a couple friends that were doing internships and they all really enjoyed their internships. I had a really good experience with Summer Discovery. It didn’t only teach me in-class knowledge, but it also taught me how to live on my own. I feel like this is just as important. People put so much emphasis on getting the best grades and what looks good on a resume, that they don’t even think about what is actually important in life anymore. Who cares if something looks good on a resume or not? Do it because you want to and you’re interested in it.</p>