<p>Long time reader, first time poster here. Here goes!</p>
<p>I'm a college freshman, attending school in the MD/DC area. I'm looking to major in political science or international relations, and want to throw my hat in the ring of "prestigious" (for lack of a more accurate term), but also interesting and relevant to my major, DC internships. I'm deciding between the Library of Congress and National Archives, and leaning towards the Library of Congress. What are your thoughts on the "better internship"? I'm getting nervous that the LOC might not be exactly what I'm looking for, but it is THE LOC nonetheless, and might help me in terms for securing future internships at the Smithsonian, Presidential Libraries, or the Hill. I mean, I could work at the National Archives next summer anyway, right? </p>
<p>Fabulous, I have a son who worked one summer at the LOC, which he felt was awesome. He applied online and did follow up phone calls and notes to express interest. He thought he was extremely lucky to get a job at all in DC considering the crush of applicants. He had a special qualification in the area of the LOC where he got a position that was paid. </p>
<p>There is a website for applications but I believe the deadlines are past–dig into the websites. However some agencies will take college students as unpaid volunteers, and I would suggest that you get very serious in getting your resume and cover letters out there after compiling places that would take volunteer support. In my mind landing an internship at either location would be fantastic. You have only finished one year of college, and lots of students will go home and work locally to put some money back for sophomore year. Nothing wrong with that! If you end up taking a job locally instead of an internship, why not select some place interesting and schedule volunteer hours there? </p>
<p>Go to the Career office and make an appointment and talk about your interests. They may have contacts in an agency that interests you. Make an apt to get staff member to review your Linkedin page and get a pro to do revision editing on your resume. My sons are much older than you are and I can guarantee you that their resumes always need further editing and drafting. </p>
<p>Cover letters should be personalized to each agency. Keep notes on every interaction you have. There are books at Amazon etc that are about DC internships…order a copy and immerse yourself! We usually get self help books used on ebay or half.com.</p>
<p>Hi Faline! Thank you for your tips and advice!</p>
<p>The thing is that I’m not sure the LoC is necessarily the ‘right’ internship for me, as I’m quite interested in American history and politics and I feel that the National Archives might have been a better decision. However, I think the LoC volunteer (since I am not being paid) position is solidifying itself, and that is certainly better than nothing!</p>
<p>I do plan on taking classes at my local community college over the summer as well, so I will have to coordinate that. One of the other things that has me very nervous is that I have many friends returning from a gap year, and almost all of them will be working a paid job, while I will be an unpaid intern. I didn’t work at all this year (my freshman year), since I wanted to focus on my schoolwork before getting into anything. Just a bit nervous that they’ll be going into their freshman year with money made, while I’ll be entering my sophomore year with no earned work money.</p>
<p>Time to study the websites where you can apply to DC internships…there is a 289 page thread on CC on WH internships alone. Helps if you are very active on the ground in your own sphere politically or in a notable public service effort. So be active locally! I believe the acceptance rate into the WH internships is comparable to Ivy admissions re stats but they do seem to represent students from across the nation. Please go see your college career officer for support and to get your Linkedin and resume edited properly.</p>