internship application essay example

Internship Essay: Example & Complete Writing Guide [2024]

Writing an internship essay is a challenging task that plenty of people have to endure. It is essential for gaining useful experience and learning the ins and outs of a given industry. You have probably heard about the “Why do you want this internship?” essay. However, it’s not the only question that you might have to answer.

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There are two situations in which you might need internship paper examples and tips:

• if you are applying for an internship program;
• if you have already completed one.

In the first case, you will be asked what you expect from this internship. For this, you should write an application essay. In the second, an internship report or a reflection paper.

Our experts will present helpful tips for both cases. Find them and illustrative internship essay examples in the article.

✔️ If You Have Already Completed an Internship Program

Congratulations! This was an essential step towards your career. Now you have a chance to get the job of your dreams. However, right now, you have to write an essay on your internship and talk about yours.

Internship Report Points

Such an end-of-internship essay will include the following points:

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• Place of your internship.
• Responsibilities you had.
• Difficulties you faced during your internship.
• An overall impression of this experience.
• Self-evaluation of your performance.
• Appendix with deliverables you created during your internship.

Internship Report Sample

Check out this short internship essay example:

• As a business administration student at the University of Collegetown, I participated in a three-month summer internship at Internet & More, an IT company based in Collegetown.
• I was interning at the company’s marketing department, and I primarily interacted with the Internet & More’s content creation and social media marketing specialists.
• The main task of my internship was to create a LinkedIn marketing strategy for the company, basing my recommendations on extensive market research and using LinkedIn as a promotional tool for both customers and potential employees.

This brief introduction achieves three goals:

• establishes that this report is an internship experience essay;
• it introduces the company and department where the internship took place;
• it describes the intern’s primary task.

Internship Report: Your Impression

The essay continues like this:

• Overall, the experience proved to be both enjoyable and rewarding. I found the marketing concepts and frameworks that I learned in class to be relevant and useful when working on my practical, real-world assignments.
• I did, however, encounter some difficulties working on the task. Namely, as an undergraduate student , I was used to receiving very detailed, step-by-step instructions, whereas I was given more flexibility and autonomy during my internship.
• Secondly, I needed to take some time to familiarize myself with the world of LinkedIn marketing because we never dealt with it in my university classes.

Internship Report Conclusion

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This part of the internship essay example accomplishes two things. It gives the writer’s overall impression of the internship and discusses its advantages and challenges.

• During my internship, I was able to generate a 5,000-follower base for the company’s LinkedIn page, which allowed the Internet & More to expand their list of prospects significantly.
• Moreover, the company was able to fill two vacant positions within a matter of two days, having received over 400 resumes from highly qualified applicants.
• Thus, I was able to successfully achieve the goals set for me at the beginning of my internship. Attached, you can find the strategy development and implementation report I have created for the Internet & More.

This is the perfect internship essay conclusion!

The student provides a self-evaluation most appropriately: not merely saying that he did a great job, but by demonstrating and even quantifying how he contributed to its goals and development.

Equally crucial, the student offers an opportunity for the reader to examine his work.

Get an originally-written paper according to your instructions!

Not sure whether you can write such an impressive internship reflection essay? Our writers have mastered the art of internship report writing and will be happy to assist you.

🗺️ If You Are Trying to Get an Internship

If you are applying to an internship program, we also have to congratulate you!

You are on the right path to the career of your dreams. An internship will help you gain additional knowledge and skills , and you will also get to know a lot about your future job’s specifics.

But many students feel lost because they don’t know how to write an essay for an internship.

Internship Application: Main Purpose

Writing internship essays is very similar to writing any other application essay. Your primary purpose is to demonstrate your outstanding talents and prove that you deserve this opportunity. Besides, you should state, “Why do you want this internship”? in an essay.

Before you get down to work, find and look through some samples . You can also read our internship essay example below to learn some specific strategies.

Tips for a Succesful Internship Application

Here are more tips on how to write a successful internship essay:

• You may start with a bit of information about yourself , but make sure it relates to the internship.
• Talk about your previous education and experiences. What college did you attend? What was your major? What particular courses did you like the most?
• Describe your future goals and explain how this internship will benefit you in your essay.
• Finally, give reasons why you are the perfect candidate for this program. In this part of the internship essay, you can tell about your talents and positive characteristics.

Essentially, the two most critical questions you need to answer in your internship essay are “Why do you want this internship?” and “What do you hope to gain from this internship experience?”

Internship Application Sample

Let’s check out the internship essay example that helped our example student land his internship at Internet & More:

• I am writing to you regarding the marketing internship opportunity at your company Internet & More. I learned of this opening from your company representatives who attended the job fair at the University of Collegetown.
• I am a third-year student at the University of Collegetown, majoring in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing and Digital Communications.
• My professional interests include content creation and social media marketing and optimization, so this opportunity naturally attracted my attention. I believe that the knowledge I gained from my Marketing Strategy and Social Media Marketing classes will be particularly beneficial for this internship.

This is fantastic:

In a very concise and modest manner , this student explains his interest in the training. He confidently establishes why he makes a great candidate for this position.

What’s next?

Internship Application: Your Career Goals

• My professional goal is to become a social media marketing specialist so I can help businesses grow their online presence. I believe that this internship is the perfect opportunity for me to apply my skills and knowledge to help a company achieve its strategic goals.
• I am also particularly excited to immerse myself in the business world and work alongside leading industry experts.
• My past qualifications and experiences make me a suitable candidate for this position, and I am looking forward to helping the Internet & More grow their LinkedIn presence and visibility.

Don’t you just want to hire this student right away?

He managed to combine professionalism and just the right amount of flattery in his internship application letter. He also did not forget to mention his career goals and objectives. You should say how this internship will benefit you in your essay.

Don’t you feel more confident about your application now that you know how to write an internship essay?

That’s it! Follow these tips, and who knows? Maybe your next internship will be with Google !

Good luck with your internship essay writing! Be sure to check out our blog for more writing wisdom and share the page with your peers.

Further reading:

• How to Make a Resume: Secrets Your Employer Won’t Tell You
• College Grad Job Market: 50+ Employment Statistics
• Top Free Online Courses from the Best Universities
• Tips for Public Speaking: Overcome Public Speaking Anxiety
• The New York Times Guide to Article Writing and Useful Tips
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Thanks for the help, the tips are really helpful.

Thank you so much for the help and mostly samples… I just applied for my first Internship, and I’m having high hopes ,,, thank you once again.

These tips are helpful to make an essay. Thank you for helping to write an essay!

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It is a real talent to include some many helpful tips in such a short article! This is a real help with my essay on internship. Thanks!

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112 Internship Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Internships are a valuable opportunity for students to gain real-world experience in their chosen field and build connections with professionals in the industry. However, one of the biggest challenges of applying for an internship is writing a compelling essay that sets you apart from other candidates. To help you get started, here are 112 internship essay topic ideas and examples that you can use as inspiration for your own application:

• Why I am passionate about [industry/field].
• How my academic background has prepared me for this internship.
• My career goals and how this internship will help me achieve them.
• A project I completed that demonstrates my skills and abilities.
• How I plan to contribute to the company during my internship.
• My experience working in a team and how it has shaped my approach to collaboration.
• A challenge I faced in a previous internship and how I overcame it.
• The most important lesson I have learned from past work experiences.
• How I stay motivated and focused on my goals.
• Why I am interested in working for [company name].
• My strengths and weaknesses as a potential intern.
• How I plan to make the most of this internship opportunity.
• The value of networking in my career development.
• A mentor who has inspired and guided me in my professional journey.
• The impact of technology on the future of [industry/field].
• The importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
• How I handle stress and pressure in a fast-paced environment.
• My approach to problem-solving and decision-making.
• The role of ethics and integrity in my work.
• How I prioritize my time and manage my workload efficiently.
• The benefits of continuous learning and professional development.
• How I adapt to change and embrace new challenges.
• My experience with conflict resolution and communication skills.
• The significance of emotional intelligence in the workplace.
• How I handle feedback and constructive criticism.
• The impact of globalization on business practices.
• The influence of social media on marketing strategies.
• The role of sustainability and corporate social responsibility in modern businesses.
• The future of remote work and digital nomadism.
• The challenges and opportunities of a post-pandemic economy.
• The power of storytelling in branding and marketing.
• The evolution of customer experience in the digital age.
• The rise of artificial intelligence and automation in the workplace.
• The role of data analytics in decision-making and business strategy.
• The importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving.
• The benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce.
• The impact of climate change on industries and businesses.
• The future of renewable energy and sustainability initiatives.
• The challenges and opportunities of a circular economy.
• The role of entrepreneurship in driving economic growth.
• The influence of social media influencers on consumer behavior.
• The power of storytelling in content marketing.
• The impact of influencer marketing on brand partnerships.
• The rise of e-commerce and online shopping trends.
• The challenges and opportunities of a global supply chain.
• The future of artificial intelligence and machine learning in business operations.
• The importance of cybersecurity in protecting sensitive data.
• The impact of virtual reality and augmented reality on customer experiences.
• The role of blockchain technology in revolutionizing industries.
• The benefits of remote work and flexible work arrangements.
• The challenges and opportunities of a gig economy.
• The future of work-life balance in a digital age.
• The importance of mental health and well-being in the workplace.
• The impact of automation on job displacement and reskilling.
• The role of emotional intelligence in effective leadership.
• The benefits of diversity and inclusion in team dynamics.
• The challenges and opportunities of cross-cultural communication.
• The future of hybrid work models in post-pandemic workplaces.
• The importance of continuous learning and upskilling in a fast-changing world.
• The impact of remote collaboration tools on team productivity.
• The role of emotional intelligence in remote leadership.
• The benefits of mindfulness and self-care practices in a digital age.
• The challenges and opportunities of virtual team building.
• The future of virtual events and conferences.
• The importance of resilience and adaptability in uncertain times.
• The impact of digital transformation on business models.
• The role of agile project management in adapting to change.
• The benefits of flexible work schedules and remote work options.
• The challenges and opportunities of a distributed workforce.
• The future of AI-powered chatbots and customer service.
• The importance of data privacy and security in a digital world.
• The impact of social media algorithms on content distribution.
• The role of influencer marketing in brand partnerships.
• The benefits of user-generated content in marketing strategies.
• The challenges and opportunities of a mobile-first approach.
• The future of voice search and conversational AI.
• The importance of video content in engaging audiences.
• The impact of personalized marketing on consumer behavior.
• The role of social listening in brand reputation management.
• The benefits of interactive content in digital marketing campaigns.
• The challenges and opportunities of live streaming events.
• The future of augmented reality and virtual reality experiences.
• The importance of gamification in customer engagement.
• The impact of data analytics on personalization strategies.
• The role of machine learning in predictive analytics.
• The benefits of sentiment analysis in social media monitoring.
• The challenges and opportunities of cross-channel marketing.
• The future of omnichannel customer experiences.
• The importance of customer journey mapping in marketing strategies.
• The impact of voice search optimization on SEO.
• The role of chatbots in customer service automation.
• The benefits of email marketing automation in lead nurturing.
• The challenges and opportunities of programmatic advertising.
• The future of influencer partnerships in brand collaborations.
• The importance of social media ROI tracking in marketing campaigns.
• The impact of content personalization on conversion rates.
• The role of data visualization in storytelling and reporting.
• The benefits of A/B testing in optimizing marketing strategies.
• The challenges and opportunities of social media engagement.
• The future of customer feedback and review management.
• The importance of social media analytics in measuring campaign performance.
• The impact of influencer authenticity on brand credibility.
• The role of micro-influencers in niche marketing strategies.
• The benefits of affiliate marketing in driving sales.
• The challenges and opportunities of social media advertising.
• The future of influencer marketing regulations and transparency.
• The importance of influencer partnerships in brand storytelling.
• The impact of influencer fraud and fake followers on brand reputation.
• The role of influencer marketing platforms in connecting brands and creators.
• The benefits of influencer collaborations in reaching new audiences.
• The challenges and opportunities of influencer marketing campaigns.
• The future of influencer marketing in a post-pandemic world.

By choosing a topic that resonates with your interests and experiences, you can craft a compelling internship essay that showcases your unique perspective and qualifications. Remember to tailor your essay to the specific requirements of the internship program and demonstrate how you can add value to the company. Good luck with your internship application!

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How to Write an Essay for an Internship

Internship: Apply for an Internship to Prepare for College

An internship can provide career-building experience and be a stepping stone to your dream job. In order to get an internship, you may be asked to write an essay with your application. This essay gives you a chance to express your personality beyond what can be gleaned from other aspects of the application. Think of it as a written interview and use it as an opportunity to convey your passion for the field and personal motivations. This type of well-crafted "interview" can separate you from the other candidates by demonstrating your strength in written communication.

Hook Your Reader in the Introduction

Start with an attention-grabbing opening sentence. Whoever is reading your essay will likely be reading many of them, so you need to establish yourself as a special individual by revealing a detail that is relevant but interesting and unique. Your introductory paragraph should be specific and directly related to the internship. For example, if you're applying for a veterinary internship, mention your experience as a pet foster parent or your volunteering experience at a shelter.

Create a Thesis Statement

Conclude your first paragraph with a clear thesis statement. Your thesis will guide the rest of your essay, and should be narrowly focused to the internship you want. For example, your thesis might read, "My volunteer experience working with animals has helped me develop compassion and attention to detail, and an internship will help me hone these skills even further."

Share Your Strengths

Focus on why you would be an asset to the company, business, organization or clinic that you want to intern at. Every applicant will be writing what the internship opportunity will do for them, but you can set yourself apart by highlighting what you will be bringing to the internship. Think about the most important qualities you will bring to the table, and make sure to thread these details throughout the entire essay, which should be about a page long unless otherwise noted on the application.

Discuss Your Experience

Relate relevant experience. Remember that experience can be anything from a leadership position on a sports team to a babysitting job. If you are including your resume and/or transcript, don't restate their contents. Instead, use the essay to elaborate on the skills and qualifications you have that make you a good candidate.

Demonstrate Your Work Ethic

Prove you will treat the internship like a job. Whether or not you will be getting paid or working full time, show that you understand an internship is a meaningful professional opportunity and not a “job lite.” You can do this by adopting a mature and professional tone in the essay.

Avoid Stating the Obvious

Avoid cliches or stating the obvious by being as specific as possible. There is no need to say, for example, that you are applying for the internship to gain experience since that’s typically one of the main goals of any internship. Instead, talk about the specific skills you hope to learn and how you will use them in your career.

Follow the Guidelines

Stick to the guidelines. If there are published word limits, writing far more or far less will show that you do not know how to follow directions. If the application does not specify how long the paper should be, use your judgment and try to stick to 400-500 words.

• Personalize the essay. You do not want the reader to think you wrote a form essay, but that you have done the research on their company and can point to reasons you will be a good fit for the internship.
• Have someone read over the essay to catch any grammatical or spelling errors you may have missed.

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Based in the Washington, D.C. metro area, Sarah Nyako has been writing professionally since 2008. Her area of expertise is health, fitness and the pharmaceutical industry. She is currently working towards a master's degree in medical writing.

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How to write an internship application essay step by step, carla johnson.

• October 12, 2023
• How to Guides

Securing an internship in the competitive field of nursing can be a pivotal step towards your dream career. However, to stand out in a sea of applicants, you need to present a compelling internship application essay. This essay serves as your opportunity to showcase your passion, skills, and dedication to the field. In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss how to write an internship application essay for nursing students. From structuring your essay to nailing the content, we’ve got you covered.

What You'll Learn

I. Understand the Purpose of the Internship Essay

Before you dive into writing, it’s crucial to understand the purpose of the internship application essay. This essay is your chance to convey to the selection committee why you are a suitable candidate for the internship position . It should highlight your qualifications, aspirations, and the specific contributions you can make to the institution. Keep in mind that your essay is your voice, so make it compelling and unique.

II. Research the Institution

To write a standout internship application essay, it’s essential to thoroughly research the institution where you’re applying. Start by visiting the institution’s website, reading about their mission and values, and exploring any specific programs or initiatives they are known for. This knowledge will enable you to tailor your essay to align with their goals, making it clear that you are genuinely interested in joining their team.

III. The Structure of the Internship Application Essay

• Introduction: Begin your essay with a captivating opening that grabs the reader’s attention. State your purpose for applying and briefly introduce yourself. Highlight your enthusiasm for nursing and the internship opportunity.
• Personal Background: Share relevant details about your academic background , any prior healthcare experience, and your motivation to become a nurse. Be concise and focus on aspects that directly relate to your qualifications for the internship.
• Why This Institution: Explain why you are drawn to the specific institution and how it aligns with your nursing career goals. Mention any unique qualities or programs that resonate with your aspirations.
• Skills and Abilities: This section is your chance to showcase your nursing-related skills and attributes. Discuss your clinical skills, technical knowledge, and interpersonal skills that make you an excellent candidate for the internship.
• Experiences and Achievements: Describe your past experiences, internships, or academic achievements that highlight your dedication to the field of nursing. Provide examples of challenges you’ve overcome and how these experiences have prepared you for this internship.
• Professional Goals : Share your long-term career goals and how this internship will help you achieve them. Discuss how your objectives align with the institution’s mission and values.
• Conclusion: Summarize the key points of your essay, emphasizing your passion for nursing and your readiness to contribute to the institution. End with a strong closing statement that leaves a lasting impression.

A well-structured essay is easier to follow and more appealing to the reader. Here’s a breakdown of the essential elements to include:

IV. Dos and Don’ts for Writing the Content

When it comes to the content of your internship application essay, there are some essential dos and don’ts to keep in mind:

• Be Authentic: Be yourself and let your genuine passion for nursing shine through. Avoid using clichés or overly formal language.
• Be Specific: Provide concrete examples and specific details to support your claims. Show, don’t tell.
• Proofread: Carefully proofread your essay to eliminate grammatical errors and typos. Consider seeking feedback from professors or peers.
• Highlight Relevant Experiences: Focus on experiences and skills that directly relate to nursing and the internship position.
• Address Any Weaknesses: If you have any gaps or weaknesses in your application, such as lower grades in certain courses, address them honestly and explain how you’ve worked to overcome them.

Don’ts:

• Plagiarize: Never copy content from other sources. Originality is key, and plagiarism can lead to rejection.
• Exaggerate: Be truthful in your essay. Don’t exaggerate your accomplishments or experiences.
• Ramble: Keep your essay concise and on-topic. Avoid unnecessary details or unrelated anecdotes.
• Disregard Guidelines: Follow any word limits and formatting guidelines provided by the institution. Failure to do so may result in your essay being disregarded.

Your internship application essay plays a vital role in determining whether you secure the opportunity you desire. By understanding the purpose of the essay, researching the institution, structuring your content effectively, and following the dos and don’ts, you can craft a compelling essay that stands out.

If you find the task of writing an internship application essay daunting, or if you’re seeking to improve your chances of success, consider our professional writing services. Our team of experienced writers can assist you in creating a powerful and persuasive internship application essay that reflects your unique qualities and aspirations. Contact us today to take the next step toward your dream nursing internship. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to shine in a competitive field—let us help you make your application truly outstanding.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• How do you start an internship essay? To begin an internship essay, start with a captivating introduction that clearly states your purpose for applying, and briefly introduce yourself. Engage the reader by expressing your enthusiasm for the internship opportunity.
• How do I write an internship application form? To complete an internship application form, carefully read and follow the instructions provided. Be thorough and accurate when filling in personal and academic details, and provide comprehensive responses to any essay questions or prompts.
• How do you write a good personal statement for an internship? To craft an effective personal statement for an internship, focus on your unique qualities, skills, and experiences that make you a suitable candidate. Be concise, specific, and show how your background aligns with the internship’s goals.
• How do you start an internship statement of purpose? To initiate an internship statement of purpose, open with a strong and engaging introduction. Clearly state your objectives, discuss your aspirations, and express your dedication to the field or institution you’re applying to.

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How To Write An Internship Essay: Detailed Instruction

An internship essay expresses the writer’s personality past what a reader can glean from other application aspects. It is like a written interview that allows the author to convey their passion for a field or personal motivations. When you know how to write an internship essay, you can stand out from the other candidates by showing your communication strength.

But, what is the purpose of an internship application essay? The primary purpose of this essay is to demonstrate the applicant’s outstanding talents while proving they deserve the opportunity. Essentially, you state why you want the internship in the paper.

Apart from providing a career-building experience, an internship can be the stepping stone to your job. Most internship programs require applicants to write an essay and submit it alongside their applications. Writing an internship application essay is like drafting any other paper. This article provides a step-by-step guide for writing this essay and tips to make the task easier.

What is an Intern Essay?

How to write an internship application essay, how to write an essay for an internship using a simple structure, types of internship essays, tips for writing an intern essay.

An internship application essay is a paper that reflects the author’s interest in a specific institution, their abilities and interests as a student, and who they are in academics. It’s what do you hope to gain from this internship essay, telling the readers your goals for applying.

You may require this essay even when applying for a temporary job or an entry-level position in a company. When reading your paper, the selection panel or employer should see your ability to communicate your desires or cravings in writing.

Since this essay presents more profundity than a CV and application structure, it provides a business or employer with concise knowledge of your character. Thus, an all-around, well-written piece can separate you from the other applicants and give you a better chance of securing an internship.

Writing an internship application paper becomes challenging when you don’t know what to include. Here’s a quick guide on how to write this essay.

• Preparation Start by researching the institution to which you’re applying for an internship. Familiarize yourself with the institution’s ongoing projects, initiatives, and mission. Also, determine how you can help or support the projects or institution. After preparation, proceed to write the essay.
• Hook the Readers Start the internship application essay with an attention-grabbing hook. Remember, the selection panel will most likely have many application essays. Therefore, start your paper with an opening sentence that grabs their attention. Reveal details that present you as a relevant, engaging, and unique individual. Also, make your introduction pertinent to the internship and specific. For instance, you can mention your experience during a volunteering session at another company.
• Develop a Thesis Statement Include a clear thesis statement towards the end of the first paragraph to guide your entire paper. Also, narrow the focus of your thesis statement to the internship you’re applying for and ensure that this section makes your piece come out like an internship goals essay by telling the readers how the opportunity will help you.
• Disclose Your Strengths Tell the readers why choosing you will benefit their organization by sharing your strengths. This section should show how the business, company, or organization that allows you to intern with them will help it. While your paper should also tell the readers how the internship will benefit you, stand out by explaining what you will bring to the organization. To achieve this, highlight your qualities or strengths and spread them throughout your paper. Unless otherwise stated, your essay should be around a page long.
• Explain Your Experiences Share relevant experiences with the readers. Your experience could be about a leadership position you once held at a sports team or a babysitting job. However, don’t restate your transcript or resume content if you will include them in your application. Instead, please elaborate on your qualifications and skills while demonstrating how they make you a perfect fit.
• Show Your Work Ethic Whether you will work full-time or get a salary, demonstrate that you understand that an internship is a relevant professional opportunity. Therefore, show the readers that you will take your interning like a job. Therefore, adopt a professional and mature tone in the paper.
• Conclude Your Essay Write a brief conclusion summarizing your reasons for applying for an internship and the hope that the selection board will choose you. Also, show your appreciation for the opportunity to apply for the intern program.
• Polish the Paper Read the essay to ensure that you have indicated your skills and interest. Ensure that your paper tells the readers how you will use your skills and experience to help the organization. Also, check for organization, grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

If even the step-by-step guide doesn’t inspire your mind, you shouldn’t worry! We have a team of expert helpers, who will gladly write an essay for money to save you some time and nerves.

Following the above guidelines will help you write a winning essay. But, how do you organize your content? Here’s a format that you can follow to write this essay.

• Introduction Introduce yourself and your reasons for applying for an internship. Check the institution’s vision and mission and how you can be part of it. Also, use the institution’s language and ensure that your readers know how you will contribute to the organization.
• Conclusion End the essay with a conclusion of around three sentences. Summarize your reasons for applying for an internship with your target institution.

There are two types of internship essays. These are:

Application essay : This is the paper you write when applying for an internship program. In this paper, you explain your expectations from the internship. Internship Reflection Paper : As the name suggests, this essay is an internship report or a reflection. Also known as an end-of-internship essay, this piece includes details of the internship place, responsibilities, the challenges you experienced, and your overall impression.

In some cases, educators ask students to write an internship experience essay. They expect learners to write a reflection or report explaining their internship experience.

An internship program may require a student to submit an essay during the application, while another may require it upon completion. The following tips could help you depending on what the educator or the institution you apply for an internship with requires you to do.

• Read an internship essay example : This article might have explained what the educator or the institution expects in your essay, but you may need an example to understand it better. Therefore, read a good example to know what to include in your paper.
• Include relevant content : Your essay will include information about your personality. However, ensure that only the most pertinent information features in your paper. Ideally, have information that relates to your internship.
• Disclose your experiences and education : Tell the readers about your experiences and educational background, like you would when writing a job application letter. For instance, which college or university did you attend? Which program did you pursue?
• Share your goals : Tell the readers about your plans and how the internship will help you accomplish them. Explain why the interning will benefit your studies and future career path.
• Explain why you’re the best fit : Tell the audience what makes you a perfect fit for the internship program. This part should explain your positive characteristics and talents.
• Customize your essay : Personalize the paper to suit the internship. That means highlighting your academic, personal, and relevant work experiences according to the program and the required skills. Therefore, use the keywords in the internship listing and include them in your paper to personalize it.
• Proofread your paper : You may write a winning essay, but minor errors could ruin it. Therefore, take the time to proofread your piece before submitting it. If you don’t have the time to do that, hire experts to proofread or edit the essay.

This advice should help you write a winning paper. But the most important tip is to read a well-written intern essay before writing yours. Perhaps, this internship essay sample will help you.

Get Professional Internship Essay Writing Help

Maybe you want to write a high-quality essay when applying for or after an internship but don’t have the time to compose it. Perhaps, you need professional essay help to complete this task without breaking a sweat. Also, writing this paper can be difficult if English is not your first language.

Luckily, our expert writers can help you regardless of your situation. Whether your professor asked you to write an end-of-internship essay or the program requires you to write one when applying, our writers have the necessary expertise to write a unique, high-quality piece for you.

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4 Ways to Turn Your Summer Internship into an Amazing College Essay

In order to make the most of your internship, it’s important to observe everything going on around you. If you’re like most humans, you won’t remember all of that valuable information unless you make a conscious effort to record it. So, keep a notebook (or notebook app) with you at all times. Just in case you don’t know what to focus on, we put together this guide to show you how to take your notes to the next level.

1. Keep Track of Your Responsibilities

You will likely know the basic expectations for your internship before you even begin, but what you’ll realize when you arrive is that your responsibilities grow and change over time as you become more confident and your superiors come to trust your ability to do good work. So make sure to note how your work changes from week to week (or even day to day) and any new skills you acquire as you go. What can you do during week three of your internship that you couldn’t do during week one? What do you know now? Do you take on any additional special projects or tasks? Tracking your growth over the course of your internship is the perfect first step to formulating a compelling and personal narrative for your college essay.

2. Pay Attention to Professional Conversations

Take note of how professionals who have already established a place for themselves in the workplace act when talking to other professionals. Pay attention to their mannerisms, the language they use, the amount of eye contact they make, and how they address the other person. What interpersonal skills do people in this field seem to cultivate? How do they relate to your own gifts? Will you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone to succeed or are you a perfect fit? Allowing your internship to be a springboard for this kind of self reflection will give you a personal angle for your application essay, not to mention a clearer sense of what you might want to be when you grow up.

3. Write Down (and ask) Questions

As you start to delve into assigned tasks and get into the groove of your internship, you’ll probably have a lot of questions. Write them down. No question is a stupid question! Decide who will best answer your question, then ask it . Once you have the answer, write that down too! Not only will you gain information this way, but you may also form meaningful connections with colleagues who will begin to support and trust you as you gain more competence and comfort with their profession. Keeping track of questions and their answers will also serve as a good record of your learning over the course of your internship.

4. Get Contact Information

You mean to say your coworker is a Brown University Alum and that just so happens to be your top choice school? Get their contact information! Write it down! Ask this person questions about Brown. Write that down too! Even if this person isn’t an alum of your top school, you still can gain valuable insight from anyone in the professional world. You’ll know what kinds of programs can help you on your journey to your ideal career, and also what kinds of people and values those programs cultivate. With all of this personal information in hand, you will be able to tailor any personal statement you want to showcase your most relevant qualities and experiences.

Though it may not seem like the most glamorous summer, having an internship is a privilege and it’s your opportunity to get your feet wet in the sea of professionalism. So, make observations, ask questions, and take notes. Good luck and we really hope you don’t end up being one of those interns that just make coffee!

About Thea Hogarth

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Written by Thea Hogarth

Category: Essay Tips , Resume Help

Tags: college admissions , college applications , college essay , senior year , summer internship

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How to Write Essay or Motivation Letter for Internship

Essay or motivation letter gives you a chance to express your desire to work as an intern for specific company, school, or university. It’s a perfect opportunity to give an employer a brief insight into applicant’s personality because it has more depth than application form and CV. In fact, well-crafted essay can separate you from other applicants, intrigue the internship provider and increase your chances of getting that position.

Although a wide array of internship applications requires an essay submission, others require it upon the completion of the internship. In the latter case, your aim is to compose an internship report to reflect your time as an intern, evaluate advantages, and analyze its effect on personal, professional, and academic aspects of your life.

The most common personal statement topics for internships include:

• Please explain how participating in our internship program fits your academic and/or career goals
• What skills, knowledge, classes you have taken or what experience you have that would make you a perfect candidate for this program
• Provide an example of at least one situation wherein the end was a success because you took an initiative to solve the problem

In most cases, internship essays revolve around elaborating reasons that make you a good candidate for that program.

Internship Essay Tips

Personal statements for internships don’t differ too much from other application essays. Your primary goal is to show what makes you competent for that program while informing the employer about your work ethics, achievements, and other useful information. Below, you can see useful tips to compose internship essay.

Start off your essay with attention-grabbing first sentence or a paragraph. Always bear in mind the introduction should intrigue the reader and make him or her want to read more without feeling forced to do so.

After all, that same person is likely to read a lot of other essays and making yours stand out from the very beginning is always useful. For example, if you’re applying for a teaching internship then start off by pointing out your experience when you had a teaching role.

Make sure you conclude the first paragraph (introduction) with a clear and strong thesis statement. It’s important because the thesis statement guides direction of the rest of your essay. That’s why it should be focused on the internship program you are applying for. Let’s say you’re about to apply for a veterinary internship, in this case your thesis statement should read: “Due to my volunteer experience working with animals and strong desire to care for animal welfare, I have developed compassion and attention to detail. This internship program will help me develop these important skills even further.”

Instead of focusing only on advantages you will get with that internship, write a few sentences about things you “bring to the table”. Describe what makes you a good asset to that company, university, school etc.

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Most applicants make a mistake by restating skills mentioned in CV and application form. While it’s recommended to discuss your skills in the essay, you should elaborate them in order to demonstrate your true potential.

Regardless of type of internship, full-time or part time, paid or unpaid, you should still use the essay to prove you will treat the internship like a job and do your best to perform your tasks, learn more, and finish the program successfully. It is important to show that internship is a serious and professional opportunity to kick-start your career and achieve academic success.

Ideally, you should avoid clichés or stating the obvious. Instead of claiming you are applying to gain more experience, you should go into detail and mention specific set of skills you would like to develop during internship.

Always stick to guidelines; most internship providers or employers have clear instructions when it comes to essays and your job is to follow them. They have specific font requirements, spacing, margins, and word counts. Compose your essay in the way it will meet the word count and make sure you don’t go overboard. If the word count isn’t stated, then writing 400 – 500 is enough.

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• How to Create an Outline for Narrative Essay
• Six Essay Writing Tips to Impress Your Professor
• After the Degree: What Journalism Students Can Do

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How to Ace Your Internship Essays

If you are a clinical, counseling, or school psychology doc student and you’re at bat for the internship application process this fall, you naturally want to knock your AAPIC essays out of the park. Great — we’re here to help!

Set aside 25 minutes and watch this narrated friendly-professor webisode from Dr. Mitch Prinstein, co-author of the APAGS internship workbook Internships in Psychology .   Hot on the heels of our annual Internship Workshop at  APA Convention , this video will walk you through the DO’s and DON’Ts for each of your four essays.

Also, be sure to see #internship on this blog for more videos, articles, and other resources.

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Self Reflection — Reflecting on My Internship Experience: Lessons Learned

Reflecting on My Internship Experience: Lessons Learned

• Categories: Internship Self Reflection

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Published: Feb 7, 2024

Words: 628 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, overview of the internship, goals and expectations, learning and professional growth, challenges and lessons learned, interactions and networking, application of classroom knowledge, ethical considerations.

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Application Essay

Whether you are going to college, applying for a scholarship, or going through your internship with the course you chose, there will always be an application essay . The reason for this is because you are writing to apply to either a school, a fund or a practice job. Your employer, the committee, or the institution would want to get to know even a bit about you. This happens through the application essay. Listed below are 10+ Application Essay Examples you can choose and download from. As well as tips to writing an application essay to wow the right people.

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Define Essay

An essay is a type of literary writing that is written to persuade someone to do or to believe in something or to give facts to an audience over a topic.

Uses for an Essay

To use words to make it easier to understand and discuss topics in a manner that is easier for people.

Uses for an Application Essay

There are a lot of uses for an application essay. Here are some below:

• Scholarship:  Scholarship committees often ask their applicants for an application essay. This is to see if the applicant fits the criteria for the scholarship. To know this, they read your application essay.
• Job Interviews:  Future employers like to use application essays to view a future employee. Often than not, they prefer to read what you have to say in the application essay more than the interview. It is easy to explain through talking, but it is often difficult to write down why you wish to apply for this job. This is where they test to see if you are fit for the company.
• High School 

Tips to Write a Good Application Essay

You can ask anyone on how they did their application essay and they would tell you it takes time and practice. But what if you have no time to practice, what are you going to do? So here are some tips to help you on how and what to write in an application essay.

• State your purpose: State the reason of your applying. May it be for internship, scholarship, for high school or university. When writing the application, do not forget to add some details as to why you believe you are a good fit. State some of the criteria they are stating and place some you believe you have. Be honest in your reasons.
• Make a draft: Before starting with the final application, start with drafting one . This helps with formulating your thoughts. What to add and what to avoid.
• Length and word count: Keep your application essay not too short nor too long. Watch the word count as well. You usually find the directions on top before you are able to write the application essay. As long as your word count is not below 300 nor above the maximum word count that is instructed, you’re fine.
• Tone:  Keep your tone at a professional level. Do not be too hasty with your writing nor too proud and state you are the best. Chances are, they would not appreciate this and your application may be void.
• Review your work: Before passing your essay, review it . Check your grammar, spelling and your punctuation marks. This can also affect your chance as most people are very particular about this.

How important is it to write an application essay?

Whether you are a student applying for a scholarship , applying to go to high school or college, or even an intern, application essays are everywhere. This is where people in charge would see if you fit the criteria they are looking for. This is basically where you talk about yourself and your achievements.

What are the important details to add in an application essay?

Your reason. It may depend on why you are writing the application essay but the most important is your reason for it.

I want to apply for a scholarship but I do not know what to write in my application essay, what can I do?

Make a draft. This way, you are able to write down your thoughts. This is an easier way to train yourself to think what to write about. You are able to let your thoughts flow and add or delete what you think is no longer necessary.

Application essays can be difficult especially when you are told to write on the spot. But this problem can be solved. Drafting something first before making the final piece can help you with writing what you should write to impress them. Think and draft. Breathe as well. Application essays are basically a way for your audience to see even a glimpse of the person you are and see if you are the perfect fit for what you are applying for. Good luck on that essay.

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Describe in an application essay a community service experience and its impact on you.

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Internship Experience, Essay Example

Pages: 2

Words: 526

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Participating in the internship program expanded my knowledge of working in an office, gaining an international perspective from the foreign visitors or guests in the United States. During my internship, I was able to network with the council members as well as Board members; I was also able to be involved in the international affairs although not directly. This internship improved my organizational skills by learning on how to prioritize and even multitask.

Working in the office helped me to gain a lot of experience on various office activities. I was able to do various tasks in the office which I had never done before. During my internship, my colleagues and the directors in the office were very helpful in the office; they understood and accepted my learning disabilities and therefore they guided me in anything that I needed help.

The aspect that was most fulfilling in the internship was the relation and interaction I got with the international guests and visitors. I was able to get international perspective from the guests especially from the U.S. I was escorting some of the visitors to their places of appointment and meetings within the organization. Many visitors left me with a complete new understanding and perspective of the international countries.

I did not only understand about the international countries from the international guests, but I was also able to be involved in and kept current about the international affairs. In the office, my colleagues and the council members were also involved very much with the international affairs, hence I was in a better position to follow and know exactly what was happening on the international affairs. I was able to integrate the theoretical concepts that were related to the international affairs and politics and moreover to the realm of the international organizations.

In my internship, I was able to interact with the council and board members who enabled me to know and learn a lot in various areas. This was mainly due to bountiful experience they have and their willingness to assist me to learn and know more as a young person. They were cooperative and committed to their work, this gave me morale to be a committed person in my work later in life and furthermore to respect others, be focused and be a team maker.

I did not only get firsthand experience of working in an office, but I was able to improve my organizational skills by being able to learn on how to prioritize on various activities that I encountered during my internship. I was also to multi task due to encounter of various activities that needed to be accomplished immediately and almost the same time, thus my skills were sharply improved and I cannot regret having worked as an intern in that office. I was able to accomplish those objectives by fully interacting with those who had wealth of experience and international visitors and even to dedicate myself fully towards the internship. I was able to acquire valuable experience and skills from the tasks I undertook throughout the internship period in the organization. These experiences are very crucial to my career life and my studies that I am pursuing.

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Opinion Guest Essay

This Is Peak College Admissions Insanity

Credit... Illustrations by Pete Gamlen

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By Daniel Currell

Mr. Currell, a lawyer and consultant, was a deputy under secretary and senior adviser at the Department of Education from 2018 to 2021. He is a trustee of Gustavus Adolphus College.

• May 1, 2024

Selective college admissions have been a vortex of anxiety and stress for what seems like forever, inducing panic in more top high school seniors each year. But the 2023-24 admissions season was not just an incremental increase in the frantic posturing and high-pressure guesswork that make this annual ritual seem like academic Hunger Games. This year was different. A number of factors — some widely discussed, some little noticed — combined to push the process into a new realm in which the old rules didn’t apply and even the gatekeepers seemed not to know what the new rules were.

It happened, as these things often do, first gradually and then all at once.

It started with a precipitous rise in the number of people clamoring to get in. The so-called Ivy-Plus schools — the eight members of the Ivy League plus M.I.T., Duke, Chicago and Stanford — collectively received about 175,000 applications in 2002. In 2022, the most recent year for which totals are available, they got more than 590,000, with only a few thousand more available spots.

The quality of the applicants has risen also. In 2002, the nation produced 134 perfect ACT scores ; in 2023 there were 2,542 . Over the same period, the United States — and beyond it, the world — welcomed a great many more families into the ranks of the wealthy, who are by far the most likely to attend an elite college. Something had to give.

The first cracks appeared around the rules that had long governed the process and kept it civilized, obligating colleges to operate on the same calendar and to give students time to consider all offers before committing. A legal challenge swept the rules away, freeing the most powerful schools to do pretty much whatever they wanted.

One clear result was a drastic escalation in the formerly niche admissions practice known as early decision.

Then Covid swept through, forcing colleges to let students apply without standardized test scores — which, as the university consultant Ben Kennedy says, “tripled the number of kids who said to themselves, ‘Hey, I’ve got a shot at admission there.’” More applications, more market power for the schools and, for the students, an ever smaller chance of getting in.

Last year, the Supreme Court’s historic decision ending race-based affirmative action left colleges scrambling for new ways to preserve diversity and students groping in the dark to figure out what schools wanted.

Finally, this year the whole financial aid system exploded into spectacular disarray. Now, a month after most schools sent out the final round of acceptances, many students still don’t have the information they need to determine if they can afford college. Some will delay attending, and some will forgo it entirely, an outcome that will have lasting implications for them and, down the line, for the economy as a whole.

These disparate changes had one crucial thing in common: Almost all of them strengthened the hand of highly selective colleges, allowing them to push applicants into more constricted choices with less information and less leverage. The result is that elite admissions offices, which have always tried to reduce the uncertainty in each new year’s decisions, are now using their market power to all but eliminate it. This means taking no chances in pursuit of a high yield, the status-bestowing percentage of admitted students who enroll. But low uncertainty for elite colleges means the opposite for applicants — especially if they can’t pay the full tuition rate.

Canh Oxelson, the executive director of college counseling at the Horace Mann School in New York, says: “This is as much uncertainty as we’ve ever seen. Affirmative action, the FAFSA debacle, test-optionality — it has shown itself in this one particular year. Colleges want certainty, and they are getting more. Families want certainty and they are getting less.”

In 2024, the only applicants who could be certain of an advantage were those whose parents had taken the wise precaution of being rich.

The Early Bird Gets the Dorm

For Ivy Wydler, an elite college seemed like an obvious destination, and many of her classmates at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., were headed along the same trajectory. After her sophomore year of high school, she took the ACT and got a perfect score — on her first try, a true rarity. Her grades were stellar. So she set her sights high, favoring “medium to big schools, and not too cold.”

Touring campuses, she was dazzled by how great and exciting it all seemed. Then she visited Duke, and something clicked. She applied in the binding early decision round.

It’s a consequential choice. Students can do so at only one college, and they have to promise to attend if accepted, before knowing what the school’s financial aid offer will be. That means there is at least a chance an applicant will be on the hook for the full cost, which at Duke is $86,886 for the 2024-25 year. Students couldn’t be legally compelled to attend if they couldn’t afford it, but by the time they got the news, they would have already had to withdraw their other applications.

If full tuition isn’t a deal killer, as it wouldn’t be for Ivy’s family, the rewards are considerable. This year, just over 54,000 high school seniors vied to be one of only 1,750 members of Duke’s incoming class. The 6,000 who applied in the early decision round were three times as likely to get in as the 48,000 who applied later.

Until recently, early decision was a narrow pathway — an outlier governed, like the rest of this annual academic mating season, by a set of mandatory practices laid out by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which is made up of college admissions officers and high school counselors. Those rules said, for example, that colleges couldn’t recruit a student who was already committed to another school or actively encourage someone to transfer. Crucially, the rules said that colleges needed to give students until May 1 to decide among offers (noting early decision, which begins and ends in the fall, as a “recognized exception”).

The Justice Department thought those rules ran afoul of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which bars powerful industries from colluding to restrain competition. At the end of 2019, NACAC agreed to a settlement mandating that the organization “promptly abolish” several of the rules and downgrade the rest to voluntary guidelines. Now, if they chose to, colleges had license to lure students with special offers or benefits, to aggressively poach students at other schools and to tear up the traditional admissions calendar.

At that point, nothing restrained colleges from going all in on early decision, a strategy that allows them to lock in students early without making any particular commitments about financial aid. Of the 735 first-year students that Middlebury College enrolled last year, for example, 516 were admitted via binding early decision. Some schools have a second round of early decision, and even what amounts to an unofficial third round — along with an array of other application pathways, each with its own terms and conditions.

With the rules now abandoned, colleges got a whole new bag of tricks. For example, a school might call — at any time in the process — with a one-time offer of admission if you can commit on the spot to attend and let go of all other prospects. Hesitate and it’s gone, along with your chances in subsequent rounds. “We hear about colleges that are putting pressure on high school seniors to send in a deposit sooner to get better courses or housing options,” says Sara Harberson, the founder of Application Nation, a college advising service.

To inform these maneuvers, colleges lean on consultants who analyze applicant demographics, qualifications, financial status and more, using econometric models. High school seniors think this is checkers, but the schools know it’s chess. This has all become terrifying for students, who are first-time players in a game their opponents invented.

Application season can be particularly intimidating for students who, unlike Ivy, did not grow up on the elite college conveyor belt. When Rania Khan, a senior in Gorton High School in Yonkers, N.Y., was in middle school, she and her mother spent two years in a shelter near Times Square. Since then she and her younger brother have been in the foster system. Despite these challenges, she has been a superb student. In ninth grade, Rania got an internship at Google and joined a research team at Regeneron, a biotechnology company. She won a national award for her study of how sewage treatment chemicals affect river ecosystems. Looking at colleges, she saw that her scores and credentials matched with those of students at the very top schools in the country.

One of the schools she was most drawn to was Barnard. “I like that it’s both a small college and” — because it’s part of Columbia — “a big university. There are a lot of resources, and it’s a positive environment for women,” she said. And it would keep her close to her little brother.

Barnard now fills around 60 percent of its incoming class in the early decision round, giving those students a massive admissions advantage. It would have been an obvious option for Rania, but she can’t take any chances financially. She applied via the general decision pool, when instead of having a one in three chance, her odds were one in 20.

Officially, anyone can apply for early decision. In practice it’s priority boarding for first-class passengers.

Unstandardized Testing

When selective colleges suspended the requirement for standardized testing, it didn’t really seem like a choice; because of the pandemic, a great many students simply couldn’t take the tests. The implications, however, went far beyond mere plague-year logistics.

The SAT was rolled out in 1926 as an objective measure of students’ ability, absent the cultural biases that had so strongly informed college admissions before then. It’s been the subject of debate almost ever since. In 1980, Ralph Nader published a study alleging that the standardized testing regimen actually reinforced racial and gender bias and favored people who could afford expensive test prep. Many educators have come back around to regarding the tests as a good predictor of academic success, but the matter is far from settled.

Remarkably, students still take the exams in the same numbers as before the pandemic, but far fewer disclose what they got. Cindy Zarzuela, an adviser with the nonprofit Yonkers Partners in Education who works with Rania and about 90 other students, said all her students took the SAT this year. None of them sent their scores to colleges.

These days, Cornell, for example, admits roughly 40 percent of its incoming class without a test score. At schools like the University of Wisconsin or the University of Connecticut , the percentage is even higher. In California, schools rarely accept scores at all, being in many cases not only test-optional, but also “test-blind.”

The high-water mark of test-optionality, however, was also its undoing.

Applicants tended to submit their scores only if they were above the school’s reported median, a pattern that causes that median to be recalibrated higher and higher each year. When Cornell went test-optional, its 25th percentile score on the math SAT jumped from 720 to 750. Then it went to 760. The ceiling is 800, so standardized tests had begun to morph from a system of gradients into a yes/no question: Did you get a perfect score? If not, don’t mention it.

The irony, however, was that in the search for a diverse student body, many elite colleges view strong-but-not-stellar test scores as proof that a student from an underprivileged background could do well despite lacking the advantages of the kids from big suburban high schools and fancy prep schools. Without those scores, it might be harder to make the case .

Multiply that across the board, and the result was that test-optional policies made admission to an elite school less likely for some diverse or disadvantaged applicants. Georgetown and M.I.T. were first to reinstate test score requirements, and so far this year Harvard, Yale, Brown, Caltech, Dartmouth and Cornell have announced that they will follow. There may be more to come.

The Power of No

On Dec. 14, Ivy got an answer from Duke: She was rejected.

She was in extremely good company. It’s been a while since top students could assume they’d get into top schools, but today they get rejected more often than not. It even happens at places like Northeastern, a school now ranked 53rd in the nation by U.S. News & World Report — and not long ago, more than 100 slots lower than that. It spends less per student on instruction than the Boston public schools .

“There’s no target school anymore and no safety school,” says Stef Mauler , a private admissions coach in Texas. “You have to have a strategy for every school you apply to.”

Northeastern was one of the 18 other schools Ivy applied to, carefully sifting through various deadlines and conditions, mapping out her strategy. With Duke out of the picture, her thoughts kept returning to one of them in particular: Dartmouth, her father’s alma mater. “My mom said, ‘Ivy, you love New Hampshire. Look at Dartmouth.’ She was right.” She had wanted to go someplace warm, but the idea of cold weather seemed to be bothering her less and less.

Meanwhile Rania watched as early decision day came and went, and thousands of high school seniors across the country got the best news of their lives. For Rania, it was just another Friday.

A Free Market in Financial Aid

In 2003, a consortium of about 20 elite colleges agreed to follow a shared formula for financial aid, to ensure that they were competing for students on the merits, not on mere dollars and cents. It sounds civilized, but pricing agreements are generally illegal for commercial ventures. (Imagine if car companies agreed not to underbid each other.) The colleges believed they were exempt from that prohibition, however, because they practiced “ need-blind ” admissions, meaning they don’t discriminate based on a student’s ability to pay.

In 2022, nine current and former students from an array of prestigious colleges filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit — later backed by the Justice Department — arguing that the consortium’s gentlemanly agreement was depriving applicants of the benefits of a free market. And to defang the defense, they produced a brilliant argument: No, these wealthy colleges didn’t discriminate against students who were poor, but they sure did discriminate in favor of students who were rich. They favored the children of alumni and devoted whole development offices to luring the kinds of ultrarich families that affix their names to shiny new buildings. It worked: Early this year, Brown, Columbia, Duke, Emory and Yale joined the University of Chicago in conceding , and paying out a nine-figure settlement. (They deny any wrongdoing.) Several other schools are playing on, but the consortium and its rules have evaporated.

This set schools free to undercut one another on price in order to get their preferred students. It also gave the schools a further incentive to push for early decision, when students don’t have the ability to compare offers.

For almost anyone seeking financial aid, from the most sought-after first-round pick to the kid who just slid under the wire, the first step remained the same: They had to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, or FAFSA.

As anyone knows who’s been through it — or looked into the glassy eyes of someone else who has — applying for financial aid can be torture at the best of times. This year was the worst of times, because FAFSA was broken. The form, used by the government to determine who qualifies for federal grants or student loans, and by many colleges to determine their in-house financial aid, had gotten a much-needed overhaul. But the new version didn’t work , causing endless frustration for many families, and convincing many others not even to bother. At mid-April, finished FAFSA applications were down 29 percent compared with last year.

“The FAFSA catastrophe is bigger than people realize,” says Casey Sacks , a former U.S. Department of Education official and now the president of BridgeValley Community and Technical College in West Virginia, where 70 percent of students receive federal funds.

Abigail Garcia , Rania’s classmate and the 2024 valedictorian of their school, applied to in-state public colleges as well as Ivies. She couldn’t complete the FAFSA, however, because it rejected her parents’ information, the most common glitch. She has financial aid offers from elite schools, all of which use a private alternative to the government form, but she can’t weigh them against the public institutions, because they are so severely delayed.

For most students, 2024’s FAFSA crisis looks set to take the uncertainty that began last fall and drag it into the summer or beyond. “That’s going to reduce the work force in two to four years.” Ms. Sacks says. “FAFSA completions are a pretty good leading indicator of how many people will be able to start doing the kinds of jobs that are in highest demand — registered nurses, manufacturing engineers, those kinds of jobs.”

As the FAFSA problem rolls on, it could be that for the system as a whole, the worst is still to come.

Can Any of This Be Fixed?

On the numbers, elite college applicants’ problems are a footnote to the story of college access. The Ivy-Plus schools enroll less than 1 percent of America’s roughly 15 million undergraduates . If you expand the pool to include all colleges that are selective enough to accept less than a quarter of applicants, we’re still talking about only 6 percent of undergraduates. The easiest way to alleviate the traffic jam at the top is to shift our cultural focus toward the hundreds of schools that offer an excellent education but are not luxury brands.

Luxury brand schools, however, have real power. In 2023, 15 of 32 Rhodes scholars came from the Ivies, nine from Harvard alone. Twenty of this year’s 38 Supreme Court clerks came from Harvard or Yale. If elite colleges’ selection process is broken, what should we do to fix it?

Here’s what we can’t do: Let them go off and agree on their own solution. Antitrust law exists to prevent dominant players from setting their own rules to the detriment of consumers and competitors.

Here’s what we won’t do: Legislate national rules that govern admissions. Our systems are decentralized and it would take a miracle for Congress not to make things worse.

But here’s what we can do: Hold the schools accountable for their processes and their decisions.

Institutions that receive federal funds — which include all elite colleges — should be required to clearly state their admissions criteria. Admissions as currently practiced are designed to let schools whose budgets run on billions of taxpayers dollars do whatever they want. Consider Stanford’s guidance to applicants: “In a holistic review, we seek to understand how you, as a whole person, would grow, contribute and thrive at Stanford, and how Stanford would, in turn, be changed by you.” This perfectly encapsulates the current system, because it is meaningless.

Colleges should also not be allowed to make anyone decide whether to attend without knowing what it will actually cost, and they should not be allowed to offer better odds to those who forgo that information. They should not offer admissions pathways tilted to favor the rich, any more than they should offer pathways favoring people who are white.

It just shouldn’t be this hard. Really.

The Envelope Please …

Ivy has the highest academic qualifications available inside the conventional system, and her family can pay full tuition. Once upon a time, she would have had her pick of top colleges. Not this year.

Over the course of the whole crazy admissions season, the school she had come to care about most was Dartmouth.

Along with the other seven Ivies, Dartmouth released this year’s admissions decisions online on March 28, at 7 p.m. Eastern. Ivy was traveling that day, and as the moment approached, she said, “I was on the bed in my hotel room, just repeating, ‘People love me for who I am, not what I do. People love me for who I am, not what I do.’”

She was rejected by Duke, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Southern California, where Operation Varsity Blues shenanigans could once guarantee acceptance but, as Ivy discovered, a perfect score on the ACT will not. She landed on the wait list at Northeastern. She was accepted by Michigan and Johns Hopkins. And Ivy was accepted at both her parents’ alma maters: the University of Virginia and Dartmouth, where she will start in September.

For Rania, the star student with an extraordinary story of personal resilience, the news was not so good. At Barnard, she was remanded to the wait list. Last year only 4 percent of students in that position were eventually let in. N.Y.U. and the City University of New York’s medical college put her on the wait list, too.

A spot on a wait list tells applicants that they were good enough to get in. By the time Rania applied to these schools, there just wasn’t any room. “It was definitely a shock,” she said. “What was I missing? They just ran out of space — there are so many people trying to get into these places. It took two weeks to adjust to it.”

She did get lots of other good news, a sheaf of acceptances from schools like Fordham and the University at Albany. But then came the hardest question of all: How to pay for them? Some offered her a financial aid package that would leave her on the hook for more money than undergraduates are allowed to take out in federal student loans. Even now, some colleges haven’t been able to provide her with financial aid information at all.

Rania had all but settled on Hunter College, part of the City University system. It’s an excellent school, but a world away from the elite colleges she was thinking about when she started her search. Then at almost the last moment, Wesleyan came through with a full ride and even threw in some extra for expenses. Rania accepted, gratefully.

For Rania, the whole painful roller coaster of a year was over. For so many other high school seniors, the year of broken college admissions continues.

Daniel Currell, a lawyer and consultant, was a deputy under secretary and senior adviser at the Department of Education from 2018 to 2021. He is a trustee of Gustavus Adolphus College.

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