Top Competitive Internships to Apply For

Many college programs require that students have internships — and for good reason. The benefits of these opportunities are numerous and include learning more about a field, gaining hands-on, practical experience, and making sure your educational and career paths are truly what you want. Prestige is another advantage with some internships. They are competitive, with only the best of the best landing spots. Quite a few employers stand up and take notice of anyone who has done one of the following internships. 1. White House Location: Washington, D.C. Paid/Unpaid: Unpaid Application deadline: Exact dates vary; expect a January date for the summer term, an April deadline for the fall semester and a September date for the spring semester. Specific internship application requirements vary with each presidential administration. However, you should expect to submit a resume, cover letter or essay, and letters of recommendation, among other materials. To see if applications are open, click here. 2. AppleLocation: Santa Clara Valley, California; Austin, Texas Paid/Unpaid: Paid Application deadline: Deadlines change based on the position. The best practice is to submit your application materials as soon as an internship is posted. Interns are well compensated and may be paid almost $7,000 a month (not considering overtime), according to some reports. To boost your chances of landing an internship here, you should already have some internship experience. In fact, many internships are available for bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate students. To review internship postings, click here. 3. Boston Consulting GroupLocation: Boston, Chicago, D.C. and select other U.S. cities. International opportunities are available, too. Paid/Unpaid: Paid Application deadline: Expect to submit your application by January for a summer internship. BCG consults with businesses to solve their problems. The internships require good effort on your part; two rounds of interviews with several interviewers each round are the norm. Prepare for case-style conversations, as well as data-driven questions. BCG encourages students from all types of fields to apply. Interested? Click hereto begin your application. 4. MoMaLocation: New York City Paid/Unpaid: Paid Application deadline: Varies depending on term chosen; MoMa offers fall, spring and summer internships, as well as 12-month opportunities. (Previous seasonal interns may apply for a 12-month internship.) MoMa, or the Museum of Modern Art, is perhaps the most well-known museum in New York City. Its internships are highly selective, with only about 10 interns hired for the 12-month terms, and 25 to 30 for the seasonal intervals. Students must have completed at least two years of college by the time their internship begins; no internships in the finance and general counsel departments are available. Administrative work is part of all internships, with other duties depending on specific needs. Want to try for an internship at MoMa? Start here. 5. DisneyLocation: All over the world (internships include positions at The Walt Disney Studios, Disney Parks, The Walt Disney Company, Marvel and others). Paid/Unpaid: Paid Application deadline: Positions are posted throughout the year, so deadlines vary. Students in any discipline qualify for Disney internships. For example, 2017-2018 internship titles include buying intern, marketing intern, IT intern, finance intern, research intern and animation intern. Perks include events exclusive to interns, as well as various Disney discounts. Relocation and housing assistance are available in some cases. Check out the list of open internships here. There is no time like now to consider your career possibilities, and of course, the internships listed here are just the tip of the iceberg. Many competitive internships are out there; consider factors such as whether they are paid, where they are and how well they align with your interests and with your career goals.