White House Internship

<p>i don’t know about you guys but i’m re doing my entire application. anyone who got in have an tips? did you take any risks when writing your essay? for example for the memo did you maybe disagree with one of the presidents positions? i was considering doing it for the fall but i decided against it. any thoughts anyone?</p>

<p>My roommate applied for the fall '09 internship. She has been telling everyone that she got it and is going to dc. Unfortunately, I saw a form rejection email from july 20 telling her that she was not accepted but that it was a very competitive applicant pool and thank you for applying. she started telling people back in may that she was accepted and going in the fall. i imagine that a ton of smart and qualified people applied for each spot, so she shouldn’t feel embarrassed about not getting it. I am worried about her as this is just one of many many compulsive lies she has told. does anyone have any advice about how to confront this dangerous pattern?</p>

<p>Now that the 2010 application is offered, I have a couple questions to ask. I, as an incoming undergrad freshman, have very little notable work/volunteer experience and a pitifully short resume. After looking through this thread, I notice that a lot of people who consider themselves “overqualified” have been accepted - the ones with countless political internships and volunteer experience and etc.</p>

<p>Has anybody figured out what the WH is looking for? Are qualifications the main factor here, or can clever writing get a person in? What about connections? Which session is it easiest/hardest to finagle oneself into?</p>

<p>Personally, I imagine it would be much easier for one such as myself to gather more work/volunteer experience and apply in another year or two, but now my curiosity is piqued, haha…</p>

<p>After being interviewed by 3 different departments, I still received a rejection e-mail back in July. However, I received a phone call and a brief interview a couple days ago because they had a few spots open up. I received an email later that day congratulating me on being accepted. I have submitted all the documentation so I guess now I just have to wait on them to run the background search, etc. </p>

<p>This was my second time applying. I felt that I was very well qualified, but after looking around on this thread, I see that I was just really fortunate to be selected, even if it was as a second-string player.</p>

<p>Hey everyone, </p>

<p>I’ve been lurking around on this thread and decided it was time to post a reply so maybe those applying for Spring 2010 can get a few hints… </p>

<p>I applied this summer and got accepted for the fall. From what I’ve been through and what interviewers have told me it seems that it is a two round process. First, you submit your application as well as your three letters of recommendation. In order to make it to the second round you are phone interviewed by a department that is interested in you (at least that’s how it was for me). Then they contacted all of my references and had lengthy conversations about me over the phone. That’s pretty much how the process went for me, but I’m sure it was different for each applicant depending on what department was interested in you. </p>

<p>As for the application itself I wrote pretty straightforward essays about what I had done public service wise and what issue I’m particularly interested in - health care reform. I’m sure they get the same essays over and over again so I think your resume is the most vital component on your application. I’ve never worked on Capitol Hill before or done any campaigning for Obama, but I was extremely active in student government and other college clubs and organizations. Also, your letters of recommendation are VERY important in your application. Not only do they call each recommender but it seemed to me that those recommendations are what set me apart from other applicants - so make sure you choose people who know you well! For example, they spoke to one of my recommender for over 45 minutes about my character. </p>

<p>Goodluck to all those applying for the spring. I obviously haven’t started the internship yet but if anyone needs advice just shoot me an email!</p>

<p>Jazz: If you’d really like to give us a hand, when you start the internship, find someone responsible for the internship selections and find out what got you in. If not you in particular, find out which area (essays, letters, resume, etc) is more likely to be given decisive weight. Obviously we would all consider this a very high-gravity favor.</p>

<p>ok is this a sick joke? i just got a phone call from the department of homeland security interviewing me. they said they had internships available inside the administration. can someone verify that this ins’t a cruel joke? he asked me a couple questions. if i could get college credit, if i was able to get around d.c. and if i was interested in the internship. he said i’d get an email. HELP</p>

<p>That’s kind of bizarre. What kind of info did they ask you for? I suppose, theoretically, it could be legit. But it also seems like maybe they would have mentioned that they got your info from the White House internship program, and I don’t remember checking or signing anything that said I gave my permission for them to provide me info elsewhere. Not that I’d be that upset, but would they do that without notifying us? Proceed with caution.</p>

<p>the number checked out. its dhs. its the same number on their website except i called back i got some other lady that sounded like a secretary. i got the call at around 11 and he said i’d get an email shortly. the interview or whatever it was went great. i don’t know i’m pretty excited but i’m trying really hard to not get my hopes up</p>

<p>I think it’s very unlikely that this is a “sick joke” and don’t think you should “proceed with caution.” I suspect that you were just sharing your great news with the rest of the board, but you could’ve done it less obliquely. The only way that this could’ve been a “joke” is if someone who knew your phone number AND knew that you were interested in obtaining an internship in DC AND was able to call from the DHS number also thought that it would for some reason be funny to interview you for an internship.</p>

<p>Did anyone apply to the FallVols program? Did anyone hear anything yet?n Anyone get a confirmation email after sumbitting the application? I am in DC so if I get it, I will probably do it.</p>

<p>anyone have any idea when i’ll get an email notifying me if i got it or not based on expirence?</p>

<p>has anyone who applied for the FallVols program heard anything yet?</p>

<p>I havent heard anything yet. Have you ebirje9? Did you get a confirmation email after you submitted your application?</p>

<p>@apatel1 - I haven’t heard anything yet and no I did not get a confirmation email…</p>

<p>Also, I re-read the email that the White House sent out about the FallVols program and I think only the people who are selected are notified. Did you get that out of the email?</p>

<p>Yeah, thats what I was assuming as well. So we didnt get it? It might be too early to tell because we were notified about the White House Internship at about 2 pm, so we should wait until then?</p>

<p>i think we should still wait it out</p>

<p>anything yet?</p>

<p>No. Did you get anything yet?</p>

<p>i haven’t received anything yet</p>