<p>Or will not having an internship have slight negative impact on an app? There aren't many internship opportunities in my town and while being an intern seems appealing to me, I'm wondering if it's a worthwhile pursuit to take one-hour drives to the nearest location just for one.
Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Not having an internship will have not negatively impact your app. It’s hard getting a meaningful internship and colleges know that. </p>
<p>Having one however is a nice boost, especially if it’s related to your planned major. </p>
<p>Hardly anyone does internships in high school. </p>
<p>Most people applying to competitive schools try to have atleast one internship/fellowship on their resume. Unlike what Quadmaster said above I think it can be meaningful if you make it meaningful. Every internship I’ve done and the ones my friends have done have not been “tv internships”. I use that term because on television you usually see internships being like coffee runs/copying/officework. I have not had one person say they had to go get coffee. Its not going to be super serious, just make sure it aligns with your profile.</p>
<p>No, actually halcyon is right. Almost no one does internships in high school. Most people applying to competitive schools do not have them. It also is very hard to find meaningful internships. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any, but the vast majority of internships are number crunching and typing things into the computer- not meaningful at all.</p>
<p>thanks everyone!! just to clarify, is an internship basically viewed as another EC//more evidence for a passion or hobby you have? </p>
<p>yes, pretty much. There are those rare ones that are super competitive and meaningful that can be thought of as an award (kind of), but in general, its viewed as an EC</p>
<p>An internship is just another EC you can put down on the common app. I did an internship my junior year and thought it was pretty meaningful, but by no means is it required for competitive colleges. Do one because it ties into your interests and future area of study, not because you feel like your resume needs beefing up! </p>
<p>If you can’t find an internship for the summer or school year and feel like you want to do something other than volunteering in your spare time, you could always try getting a part time job. This would show initiative and it’s pretty good character-building, too–I kind of wish I got one in hindsight. </p>
<p>Best of luck! </p>
<p>Don’t sweat the lack of internships while in high school. At DS’s HS, his classmates parents who are Wall Street investment bankers give each other’s friend’s teenage children summer internship jobs. Since we don’t live in NYC, we’re not able to engage in this EC-padding swap. Colleges aren’t dumb to this.</p>
<p>Depends on your hs and area, what’s available. For the most competitive colleges, this isn’t about hobbies, nor padding. It’s about being the sort of person able to pursue some experience relevant to your future plans. So on that note, it doesn’t even have to be an official internship. </p>
<p>It’s true some parents facilitate this- but given a choice between that and nothing (or founding the pie club,) why not go do something? There are no rules about how long, whether you’re paid or what you do. Yes, a job is good, too.</p>
<p>my main worry was that because I live an hour away from the city, I would be perceived as “not taking advantage of my opportunities” by not finding an internship. thank you to everyone for clearing up my questions!</p>