How rare is it for a student to have an International Internship during high school? Has anyone here done such a thing during high school? I would assume if you had this it would make you stick out a lot especially if the internship was related to your field?
It usually just means the kid has parents with a connection in another country.
^^ and money.
A lot of high school kids do service projects in other countries, work in orphanages, teach English. Some could be considered internships.
Like the other twp posters said, not rare if it is a summer internship. There are agencies that organize this type of oversea trips for community work and recreation. If you can spend a few thousands, you can have a week of teaching kids in Various countries on your resume. I also know a girl whose who got a job in China.
She did a summer job in his company in China the summer before her senior year. Another student was an exchange student in Scotland for a year. To me, it’s not rare but it is interesting.
It usually signals wealth/social capital and/or immigrant origins.
What matters isn’t where the internship was but what the student did, what impact they had and how they can document that, whether the internship is part of a sustained effort started in the US and continued after the internship, and how it fits into the student’s overall narrative/profile.
It won’t get you into a college you are not otherwise qualified to attend if that is your underlying question.
Yes, it would make one stick out, but not always in a good way. It often stinks of privilege, which AO’s can smell a mile away.
Will an AO be more impressed by an internship/job/service project done in another country versus on done in your hometown? No.
Seems like there a general consensus on this topic regarding it to be negative in a way showing privilege and such but I would guess if on the application the students family income is below 40k a year it would say otherwise. Thanks none the less.
The teens in the church groups near here often travel on 2-3 week service projects. The group of kids adopted through the agency we used to adopt my daughter often go to China for 2-4 weeks in the summer with some of the trip being working at orphanages. Neither of these take millionaire parents and the accommodations reflect that!
There are many opportunities available and most are terrific. If you can take such a position or trip, DO IT. But don’t think you have to have a foreign internship to get into college. Do it because you want the experience.
The effectiveness of such work depends on the length of the “internship.”
Are you taking a year off? A semester? Or is it a 2-3 week experience? Honestly, anything less than 3 months is of limited value to anyone in my opinion.
HOWEVER, if it is a small part of a larger overall picture of a student…it might have value. For example, say a student is applying to college expressing an interest in History/Archeology. And the student had the chance to go to Cambodia and work on a dig at Angkor Wat. THAT would be an interesting part of the overall story of the student. How did the trip enforce the interest? What did they learn? Etc.
No, not necessarily.
We live within an hour’s distance from the Mexican border. We have groups of kids, not wealthy, spending their spare weekends building houses/ schools/ churches in Mexico. They don’t get a salary; it’s voluntary. It sticks out because these kids don’t have money, but they do their own fundraisers to purchase building materials.
It does happen a lot in border cities, but again, the kids don’t get paid.
If you don’t have the stats, that “internship” alone, wont get you in, nor make you “stick out”.
@rayWg11:
Please read post 4 carefully.
It typically signals three things (wealth is only one).
Post 4>also explains how it can help you stand out (implied: how it wouldn’t).
I don’t think OP meant service trips. What many kids living near borders do is great, though.
A number of kids get “internships” with businesses in their family countries and it doesn’t make them “stick out a lot.” It’s often vague.
Personally, I think that doing an internship or a semester abroad in a foreign country is a good idea. I think that this gives a student a better view of the world. I know a number of students who have done this.
I am not sure however that this is all that unusual nor particularly meaningful for university applications.
Agreed. But border towns, for me, fall under earlier point about doing things in the community. I don’t get the sense that the OP lives along the border, so that was not his/her question.
yeah when I meant internships, I meant like heavy internships. I do not mean for service trips, volunteering trips, or working for a small company. When I meant international internships I was thinking those that are handed out to college students where you have large responsibilities and such. For example if a high school student wanted to go into business and got an internship overseas at a corporation. This student put in work making an impact on the company; ultimately contributing as if they were a member themselves. Would it not be a huge benefit that this student has an international internship for business when he would like to major for business? Some thing could be applied to all majors. Major specific internships?
Such internships can be very competitive for college students, depending on the type of internship. It would be far less common for a high school student to get such a thing on his/her own merit, since most high school students have insufficient skills compared to college students.
High school students don’t get internships with “large responsibilities” unless they are handed to them by a family member or connection. Even then, not sure how much responsibility a 16 year old could get.
Right. Lots of hs kids think they could operate on a par with seasoned professionals, but based on what? You said internship, not hired.
It’s just one experience in an app that should be full of proofs.
@RayWg11 : describe YOUR situation. What are you thinking of/could be doing?