Let’s say you’re 16, tired of group projects where one person (you) does all the work, and you’re starting to think maybe you’d like to become a doctor, or an architect, or someone who at least wears shoes that click loudly in an office. Enter: the internship.
An internship is a (usually short) period of time where you step into the real world, try on a professional role like a costume, and see what fits. Sometimes they pay you (which is glorious), sometimes they don’t (which is still character-building), but either way, you’ll come out of it with something far more valuable than pocket change: clarity.
Why Admissions Officers Love Internships (Almost as Much as You Love Sleep)
Colleges aren’t just looking for students—they’re looking for humans who are curious, motivated, and a little gutsy. Internships say:
- “Look, I cared enough to step outside my comfort zone.”
- “I’ve seen the real world, and I still want to make it better.”
- “I can wake up before 9 AM. Sometimes.”
They give your application weight—real stories, real choices, real moments where you stood in a lab, or a courtroom, or a newsroom and thought, this might be it for me. (Or, just as usefully: this definitely isn’t.)
The Bottom Line?
An internship is a rehearsal for the life you’re building—and sometimes, it’s where you find the spark that lights everything up.
So go ahead. Say yes. Step into a world that isn’t built for teenagers and find your place in it anyway.
To access LSA’s Internship opportunities list, please reach out to your academic counselor.
