A college internship is not just a requirement you have to finish to graduate. It also provides substance to your graduate school application. This is because admissions committees of different graduate schools (especially the top-ranked ones) like to see candidates who have previously shown interest in the field they are applying for.
An internship gives you a glimpse of the future
When still in college, you must already display a healthy interest in a particular field for further studies. Through your college internship, the admissions committee is able to see that your interest is not triggered by an impulse or by a whim; you prove that you have been genuinely interested in the field for years and you are willing to do go beyond the confines of the school to get information and exposure to your chosen field. Having internship experience means that you are goal-oriented. It proves that you have thought of your future and have chosen to act on it.
An internship shows that you are a responsible candidate for admission
Preparing early on for your graduate school degree shows a level of responsibility. With your college internship, admissions committees will judge you as a person who knows what he or she is doing and you appear to them as someone who sets priorities. When you are able to complete requirements of the internship, this communicates a message to the admissions committees that you also have what it takes to finish the requirements of a graduate degree. These include research papers, investigative work, and field work.
An internship makes your resume stand out
A college internship also strengthens your resume, by providing a related working experience from when you were still in school. If you are looking for a part-time job to support your schooling, the college internship will prove to be even more helpful. Indirectly, your college internship supports the financial aspect of graduate school.
An internship provides you with invaluable work experience
Work experience given by college internship does not only translate to the details in your resume but also prepares you for the more practical side of your academic discipline. While theory makes you understand concepts, an internship will show you how to work in the real world – how the theory is put in practice.
So, if you are still in college, take advantage of that college internship. If you’re still not sure if an internship will be worth your while, then just think about how the internship will help you land a slot in top-ranked graduate schools. If you do decide to intern, perform your best and get all the learnings that you can absorb, for it will be a worthwhile experience.
Photo Credit : J Wynia
You may be telling the truth, but having a good back-up is always advantageous especially in your plans to enter graduate school. Even if you have submitted the most impressive graduate admission essay and transcript, somebody else has to vouch for your capability and also for your personality.
Why are recommendation letters a must?
The admissions committee does not really know what methods you were using when you got those grades. These numbers do not reflect your attitude and your interpersonal skills (how you deal with your classmates, study group members, and teachers). For example, maybe you were ruthlessly aiming for excellent grades so that you were never interested in anything else such as helping out a classmate. A good reference will be able to show the admissions committee that not only were you a good student, but you were also a good classmate or a good worker – a great person inside and out. If you’ve already written about it in your graduate admission essay, then the recommendation letter validates what you’ve stated.
People to approach
Not everyone can write your recommendation letter. When you are choosing among the professors and instructors in college, put distinguished people who know your work well on top of your list. College instructors or organization advisers will make great references. Make sure that you have a good grade with the particular college instructor you have chosen, and that you have displayed a great attitude with the adviser of your choice.
Narrowing down your list
You cannot choose every college instructor or adviser who has given you a high grade. Again, you have to choose someone who has seen you at your very best – as a realiable leader or member of a research group, as a consistent worker, and as a generally well-rounded student. Make sure that the reference knows you well enough to answer questions graduate schools may pose. The reference must also be known for being articulate – you do not want any mixed messages coming through. He or she must know your goals and must understand your motivations.
The element of trust
It is important that you know your reference, and he or she also knows you well, preferably on a first-name basis. The reference must know you enough to write about you positively but honestly. You must in turn know your reference well for you to anticipate what sort of recommendation he or she will write, without you having to unfairly influence him or her. You must then be able to trust your references enough to submit their sealed letters as part of your application, partnered of course by an excellent graduate admission essay.
Photo Credit : Orin Optiglot
