<p>My son, a science major, is planning to apply for summer research internship positions. I did some searching and these appear to be quite competitive. I have suggested to him that he needs to "cast a wide net" but really have no idea of how many he should apply for. Any experience with this?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>“Cast a wide net” is an excellent advice. Good summer internships are very competitive. Your son shall apply to as many as he is eligible to apply. He shall also apply as early as possible. My son has applied for around twenty internships by this time last year and end up getting a lot more rejections than offers (two last year).</p>
<p>IMO, the strategy is to apply to everything he can find until he has an offer that he likes</p>
<p>The standard thought process these days is that you apply early and often, and you don’t stop applying until you have ACCEPTED an offer (preferably in writing).</p>
<p>As many as it takes to get an offer.</p>