<p>How good of opportunities have you had for internships and jobs in the political area? I know at Georgetown and NYU They talked a lot about all the internship and job openings but when I toured American they didn’t say much about it. Can anyone let me know about their experience finding things in politics while attending American university? Thanks!!</p>
<p>Vaulter78 - we had the opposite experience. When we attended the prospective student tour, Accepted Students Day and the Eagle Summer (orientation), the school had a lot to say about the availability of internships. In fact, during Accepted Students Day, we had lunch with a man from the Career Center and was very impressed with what he had to say. My daughter is a rising senior and she and her friends have held numerous internships during their time at AU. However, while the school helped my D with her resume, mock interviews, cover letter review, etc., the school did not find her the internships. She researched openings and where she wanted to work and e-mailed her resume and cover letter. The internships won’t fall in your lap - you have to look for them and apply to them. However, AU will give you lots of support. There are career fairs and internship fairs where companies and organizations come to the school. I can’t really speak about those since that is now how my daughter got her internships. I can say that if you want advice and assistance, AU is there to help. </p>
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<p>Thank you very much for the information! Maybe they just didn’t say as much because it was a summer campus visit, not an accepted students day. I am totally willing to send in resumes and research, I would just like to know that the companies that I would be applying to recognize American as a credible school that they would like students to intern at.</p>
<p>Vaulter78 - some additional info. Companies/organizations do post positions with AU as my daughter has told me that she has heard about opportunities that were posted, I believe by the career center. Additionally, student organizations are informed about job/internship openings and post them for their members. One TA, for a class my D took last semester, e-mailed the class about a summer internship in DC directly corresponding to the class subject. My D applied and although she was not ultimately selected, the company said they only interviewed 7 or the 42 applicants and my D was one of them. They told her that if she reapplied for the fall she would be a top contender. I believe companies and organizations do respect AU students. Do they prefer other schools? I don’t know but I think a lot depends on the applicant as well. Politics is very big at AU and there is also a lot of opportunity for networking. </p>
<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to give me this information! It sounds like there are plenty of opportunities for internships. I am very glad to hear that politics is a big thing at American and I can imagine that being in D.C. that there are even more opportunities than at other colleges. Thanks for replying to me and I am glad your daughter enjoys American so much!</p>
<p>My son is officially a DC policy wonk.
He had no problem obtaining positions while at American and often had some interesting choices to make. The career office is certainly a starting point, but also work with professors in areas of interest to you-- they often know who to pair you up with or introduce you to, or are working on interesting projects themselves.</p>
<p>One of my sons did an AU Llc on economics taught by a professor associated with the World Bank; he was generous in helping any students with interests in that area. One of those students is now with the World Bank, one is with the IMF</p>