<p>How do internships play out in the admission process? Are they worth a lot or not? Lets say I were to have 5 internships from big firms ( multinationals etc). Would it make a big difference?</p>
<p>No. Admissions know very well you probably got these internships through connections.</p>
<p>@cbreeze I don’t understand why so many posters marginalize internships because they may have been arranged through connections. The student gave up their free time, usually without pay, and most likely learned quite a bit from the internship experience. There are many enrichment opportunities made available only to minorities, such as Mites or the Lead program at Wharton. Do you feel that Admissions Reps would likewise dismiss those experiences because they were only made available to someone because they are a minority? </p>
<p>@Islmom, I was responding to the OP’s proposed five internships from big multi-national firms while being a high school student.
Even though you have done the Lead program at Wharton, you are not guaranteed admissions. From Penn’s website it says very clearly “Please note that participation in LEAD does not guarantee admission into Penn.” And from what I know the Lead program is not strictly for minorities.
Wharton does not expect high school students to have any hands on experience about business unless you have achieved something significant in your internship. </p>
<p>@cbreeze How do you know that these achievements do not bear any weight? These internships whether gained through connections or otherwise are still valuable assets for the applicant. The applicant is using his resources to his advantage and applicants are evaluated based on their opportunities available to him. Yes, the LEAD Program at Wharton is geared towards minorities. I attended to the 2014 LEAD Program at Wharton and ALL of my peers were minorities (in part or full). LEAD is a clear boost when applying to Penn, and the experience cannot be dismissed because it’s mainly for minorities. </p>
<p>Bump</p>
<p>@Anewcrown, it’s great you had the opportunity to participate in the Lead program, but I am just repeating what’s said on the Lead program on Penn’s website where there’s a photo of the class of 2014 and I can’t tell that ALL participants were minority. The Lead program is for students of diverse backgrounds and if everyone is a minority, then it doesn’t make it very diverse, does it?Think about poor whites from Appalachia.</p>
<p>Not all internships are the same. There are some students who get “internships” through parental connections and Penn knows the difference. As I said earlier in my post, I’d rather see someone volunteer to build houses for the homeless or feed the hungry or be engaged in their passion than someone who sits in an office just “observing and pick up pieces of information here and there”. As I said Penn doesn’t expect HS students to have business experience or knowledge because Wharton will take care of that.</p>
<p>However, there are those who have shown an early interest in business and achieved significant results in their work with large corporations.</p>
<p>My posts were responding to the OP’s question, will having 5 internships in multinationals make a big difference in admissions? His reasoning is whether those 5 big names will impress Penn Adcom. My answer is still no.
I’d rather you work in ONE company or engage in one activity all four years of HS and have something to show for it.</p>
<p>@cbreeze As someone who has intended three different LEAD programs, it’s safe to say that you are not very knowledgable on the organization. LEAD was founded with the purpose to connect high-achieving minorities to top-ranked colleges and universities. Although YOU can’t personally tell that ALL participants of the LEAD Program were minorities, that does not take away from the fact that the overwhelming majority were. Clearly it would be illegal to exclude white people from applying or attending, but many people of Native American, Hispanic, and African-American descent look lighter skinned and could pass for Caucasian in some eyes. And for the record, if a program is composed of all minority students, the program can still be diverse as minorities make up an extremely diverse body.</p>
<p>But back to Penn…Even though the LEAD Program does not give a student an automatic ticket into Penn, it is a great addition to the application. As the LEAD Program was founded at Penn, there’s a special partnership between Penn (Wharton) and LEAD. Furthermore, LEAD applicants have the opportunity to explore many of the great assets of Penn’s campus and have the opportunity to develop sincere affection towards the university which can be translated in the “Why Penn?” essay. Also, LEAD participants get to personally interview with their regional admissions team member.</p>
<p>Lastly, in recent years (through 2011) a plurality of LEAD Program participants have chosen Penn as their college of choice and have further matriculated into Penn. </p>
<p>So in all…It is a plus.</p>
<p>midwestbandie, your post exhibits entitlement.
You are right, I have no experience on the Lead program. I graduated from Penn many moons ago. Can YOU tell that all the participants on the photo are ALL minorities as Anewcrown claims? Am I wrong?
<a href=“http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/academics/LEAD.cfm”>http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/academics/LEAD.cfm</a></p>
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<p>I hope you are careful to be open minded and to be consistent with your opinion on this topic regarding race. How would this sentence sound to you “And for the record, if a program is composed of all white students, the program can still be diverse as whites make up an extremely diverse body”.</p>
<p>I didn’t post anything based on race factors, someone else did, but if you can dish it out, you should be able to take it in.This is what we call dialogue.</p>
<p>Good luck on your application to Penn.</p>
<p>No need for this to become another heated battle surrounding race/income/“privilege”/etc, we have enough of those these days at Penn and elsewhere…</p>
<p>The bottom line with admissions-related questions is that the vast majority of the people on here (myself included) don’t know what is in the minds of those reading and deciding on admissions. We may have been admitted ourselves, but that doesn’t mean we are suddenly experts.</p>
<p>Common sense goes a ways, however. Five internships on an app, whether it’s a college (or job) application, doesn’t look good. In general someone reviewing your application/resume wants to see a natural progression that fits into a story as to why you want to attend this school (work at this firm). And they want to see depth of experience instead of a bunch of disjointed activities. I think one meaningful internship that you really got something out of would enhance a college application and would help you support your reasoning as to why at age 18 you are sure that you want to enter a business school. It may not help much, but properly woven into your story it certainly would not hurt - just don’t oversell it too much. On the other hand, IMO having a bunch of different internships at big companies without any depth would smack of someone who is unfocused and just being strung along by their parents. </p>
<p>If I won those internships? As in I won a comeptition and the prize was internships at 5 MNCs, are you suggesting that I dont even do the internships?</p>
<p>Are these more of a job shadow / externship? Internships are usually something that lasts 2-3+ months, so my guess is you would not have won five different internships out of one competition.</p>
<p>Of course you would do them if you were interested in what those companies do. The question here was whether it would be valuable in the admissions process, and probably not if it is more of a job shadow type of thing; but it may be very valuable to you personally.</p>
<p>They are about 6 week long, of course they would be involve shadowing. No respectable firm would let people manage or a actually work in their business not only because it would be illegal ( im under 18 ) but also because of risk undertaking.</p>
<p>@Sharecentury: Well that sounds like a good opportunity and I’d suggest you do them if you are interested in those companies.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I get why you are asking these questions however, when based on your other thread it looks like you have already applied ED to the Huntsman program…</p>