<p>I have been considering applying to the State Dept.'s Summer Clerical Program in the past few days - I'm REALLY interested - and now that I'm looking over the application materials, I've been wondering, how selective is it?</p>
<p>I suppose, if anyone has done it/knows of someone who has participated, what are they looking for, GPA/school wise? Also, does anyone know how many positions are available? The website is pretty vague in this respect.</p>
<p>Thanks for any information you have!</p>
<p>Hey! I’m applying as well!</p>
<p>I’ve heard that it was very selective, except the criteria they use to judge you is vague/strange. I know some amazing people with fantastic GPAs and ECs that were rejected, and some mediocre people who were accepted so it depends. I also heard that some of the state department interns are the first buffer for applications, as in they weed out ones they think are not qualified and send the rest to the panel. So again, it really depends on who sees your application.</p>
<p>Ah, best of luck to you!</p>
<p>I really want to get this - it looks so awesome.</p>
<p>But I’ve heard the same things - I guess we’ll just have to hope for the best!</p>
<p>Oh hey I’m applying too–just have to get my transcript uploaded.</p>
<p>I have no idea either what they’re looking for, so I’m not expecting much.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>I’m applying as well but for the high school version, which I assume is not alloted as many spots. Good luck to both of you!</p>
<p>The Summer Clerical Program is more selective than the general internship program, but not because it’s a more prestigious program or anything, just that it is a paid position while most internships are not. Funding is limited for student programs in gov’t.</p>
<p>At my orientation for last year’s SCP they said 250 (or 450, can’t remember) were selected out of several thousand applicants. The internship program had a much higher acceptance rate. </p>
<p>Also, the jobs are pretty much the same (some might find the internship more fulfilling, actually).</p>
<p>My GPA was good (between 3.0-3.5) at a 2nd tier private university, but I have solid work experience since high school and into college.</p>
<p>When did you find out if you were accepted? They said late January, but still haven’t heard anything</p>
<p>I applied to this as well, haven’t heard anything yet either. Hmm…</p>
<p>Same here. Haven’t heard a peep.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard from lurking on facebook discussions, notification should go out by this week. One person speculated that the situation in Egypt could be occupying much of their time. Perhaps next week then? </p>
<p>Calling/Emailing HR could also bring about some answers… I just haven’t had the time. </p>
<p>Good luck to all!</p>
<p>pokm12 - wow! from scanning forum’s about last year, I’d figured I’d get notification by the end of February. So that news is exciting to me! And I feel like even though the State Dept.'s pretty hectic right now… HR is just doing it’s own stuff, so the notification should be on time.</p>
<p>@ trekker5211,
From what I’ve read on other forums (mainly facebook), the state dept. is trying to get the results out “much earlier” than they have in previous years. So hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll have answers.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity… are you a high school or college applicant?</p>
<p>High school :)</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> i just need to get accepted somewhere so I can stop feeling so depressed about summer :(</p>
<p>I heard they like younger people so they can mold you into a “state dept” mindset, but not sure if that is true. They got over 11,000 applications for the summer, don’t know how many they took (I didn’t get it, but thankfully I have an excellent offer from elsewhere).</p>
<p>You have heard back?</p>
<p>I think that what I did at the State Department 30 years ago on summer and winter breaks from college and into my first year of law school must have been the same program. I watched Iran fall from the vantage point of a 24-hour operations center, worked in a war room where we tried to unite families separated by the US departure from Vietnam, and had many other extraordinary experiences that have shaped my life. Anyone interested should definitely consider this - it shaped my view of the world for life.</p>
<p>Wow! What do you do now 32578233?</p>
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<p>Actually, it might not be the same for the clerical program… I applied to WHA and INR, but this is the email I got:</p>
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<p>Came on Feb 10th.</p>
<p>Yeah the two are different - the Summer Clerical I believe is aimed more at those coming out of 11th and 12th grades, or freshman year of college… the internship program is for those studying IR in college. And I believe Summer Clerical has a smaller applicant pool than 11,000.</p>
<p>And I haven’t gotten ANYTHING whatsoever about the Summer Clerical program yet… :/</p>