<p>And here’s where I feel compelled to insert my rant about the inequity of the internship system. Only the affluent can afford to both spend money on expensive summer accommodations in DC AND forego any summer earnings, yet an unpaid summer internship is a prized resume item. My D sought a spring semester internship with a DC organization that tied in beautifully with her interests and goals. They had no spring openings, but instead offered her an unpaid summer position. Since she uses her summer earnings to cover her personal expenses the rest of the year, and had no funds for summer housing in DC, she had to decline. The whole system is absurd. When I was in college, internships didn’t exist. Somehow we all managed to find success, and the organizations managed to muddle through without free labor. The current system benefits only the affluent, and now lawsuits are revealing that the whole system is rife with corruption, as employers regularly violate the labor laws–and contribute to the unemployment rate–by using unpaid interns to do work that requires a minimum wage. I’d like to see unpaid internships become a thing of the past.</p>
<p>MommaJ, I am with you on that one. If S2 lands an unpaid internship in his field, at least it’ll likely be in the DC area so he can live at home. Even so, Metro costs a chunk of change. S’s summer earnings go towards his school year expenses, too, so he would definitely feel the pinch (which will happen this summer if he does a summer language program for his major). He know he’ll need to take out more Stafford next year to cover the gap.</p>
<p>A lot of newspaper internships were unpaid when I was in college, which limited my access to them, too. DH was an accounting/CS major, so he was able to get paid gigs.</p>
<p>S2 has brought home a couple of friends who were in town to do research and needed short-term crash space. We were glad to have company.</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more, MommaJ.</p>
<p>My daughter did three DC internships, only one of which was paid. We live in an outer suburb of DC, which made commuting possible for the two unpaid ones, but it still cost a chunk of money for transportation, and the commute was horrible. Even in the year that she did the paid internship, she only broke even because of the housing costs.</p>
<p>For students who need to earn money in the summer, this sort of thing is not a realistic option.</p>
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<p>This was a painful lesson for us this year - the unpaid internship, that is. Unpaid internships are great if you can afford them. D is an engineering major interested in policy. Applied for a paid internship through the federal government - was offered an unpaid one. We tried to figure out how it could work as it is a great opportunity - but the reality is it just couldn’t, even if she received every grant she was in the process of preparing applications for. So, she’ll be working for pay in D.C. this summer. In a somewhat ironic twist- she attended a dinner earlier this week where a speaker from State stressed the need for engineering majors in policy and in government. Well, start by paying your interns.</p>
<p>And in a possibly more helpful vein to the OP, check for Facebook groups. State Department Interns is one that has people in the DC area posting sublets.</p>
<p>I’m still waiting to hear if I actually got any of the DC internships that I applied for, but I’ve reserved housing with GW (fully refundable by April 15th) so that I have a place if I get accepted. Here are the options I looked at (prices are generally for cheapest rooms):
American U- $277 a week, from May 13-August 11th, Floor kitchenette, wireless, cable, fitness center, free parking
GWU- $245/week, dates depend, kitchens available, fitness center, cable wireless
George Mason- $203/week, 5/27-8/6ish, kitchens available, cable, internet and laundry included
Washington Intern Housing Network- $3580 for session, 5/26-8/18, Internet, Cable
WISH- Super expensive, but looks to be very well organized.
I also looked at homestays, which may be cheaper, but a bit more sketchy. </p>
<p>I’m a grad student, so my priorities were having a kitchen available and not being too regulated (no curfews etc.). </p>
<p>Hope this helps. I’m not sure how many of those are still available now. I signed up for the GW housing in February.</p>
<p>On a different note with unpaid internships. I only applied for paid internships in DC, which are a bit (only a bit!) easier to find as a grad student. I will only do a DC internship if it is paid or for a very, very well known organization in my field that will be a huge resume builder. Otherwise, I’ll either go home to LA for the summer and get an unpaid internship while living at home, or stay in Delaware and find an unpaid internship nearby where housing is cheap. That is the cost calculation I made comparing it to my future plans, as I’ll be graduating in a year and need to intern somewhere that may possibly offer me a job.</p>
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<p>That’s a very good point, Nikara. D will be graduating in 2013 and is definitely looking for intern options that may lead to post-grad employment.</p>
<p>Even with internships, my D spend last summer in DC and took 2 jobs, thinking one would cover the rent/living and the other would go in the bank for fall spending/expenses. Did not quite work out as she planned. One job ended up requiring everyone to take some unpaid days off to cut their expenses so she brought in much less $$ than she hoped. She is coming home this summer, but would prefer to have the luxury of gaining experience in her field as a resume builder.</p>
<p>Check if there are housing boards at the law schools in D.C. Many moons ago, I spent 2 summers in D.C. during undergrad. We were able to sublet a place that the law school kids had vacated for the summer.</p>
<p>One of the reasons my D chose a college in DC was the ability to do unpaid internships during the school year and something else to make money in the summer. GW and American make it easy to do this. It is definitely an advantage. I know several students who found sublets on craig’s list.</p>
<p>For students who attend college in DC, there’s the opportunity of working in the res halls over the summer to get free housing + $8/hr part time job. Not applicable to everyone, but a good perk for students who go to college around DC.</p>
<p>My kid knew from her senior year in high school that it was likely that she would want to take a summer unpaid internship in DC as part of preparing to get a job post-graduation in her field. She also knew that she was on the hook for the cost herself. All I covered was some food costs (essentially what she would have added to my grocery bill at home). </p>
<p>She saved up from her high school work savings, worked extra hours on her campus job, and took paying jobs the other summers to prepare for this expense. She was able to cover what we expected from her in all four of her regular years in college, plus cover her internship expenses. There certainly were interns with a lot more money who often wanted to go out as a group to happy hour; she didn’t join them often, since it was her own money. But she was able to do this on her own with planning ahead.</p>
<p>The unpaid internship in DC isn’t going anywhere, especially as paid positions are being cut in the federal government. I will say that what she learned that summer in DC is what branch of government she does NOT want to be employed in. She says that was okay, since she wasn’t sure ahead of time and it helped define her direction (she also had a semester in DC with an unpaid internship in a different area through a program at her college, and that was a great experience).</p>
<p>I agree that unpaid internships can be crappy, but if the employers are forced to pay, then there is a chance instead of creating paid internships, they will just cut the intern positions they have. That is not beneficial to anyone. Even most internships at places like FBI, State, DHS, and DOD are unpaid. Almost everything on the Hill and in the think tank world is unpaid as well.</p>