Students are seeking internships in unprecedented numbers this season, but many companies are slowing down hiring in order to cut costs.
The gloomy economy has resulted in a shrinking pool of opportunities for summer employment and paid internships, which in turn has contributed to increased competition among Tufts students for funded internships and grants.
At the same time, rising unemployment has increased the size of the pool of qualified candidates for internships. Undergraduate seniors and recent college graduates who would normally enter the workforce are more often seeking internships due to the low availability of full-time positions.
Interest in funding has become more widespread, according to Laura Doane, the program director for advising and scholarships in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Education.
"There's more interest on the Tufts campus, and nationally, the competition has increased exponentially," she said.
Tufts offers opportunities for summer funding, all of which are feeling the effects of the tight economy.
The Tufts Summer Scholars Program reduced its available opportunities to 42 this year, down from its regular 50 slots, due to funding concerns, according to Doane.
Summer Scholars offers students a $3,500 stipend and $1,000 grant to research with Tufts faculty over the summer.
Career Services expects its summer internship grants to be in greater demand this year. By offering 25 grants of $3,500 for public-sector internships and, specifically for undergraduates with financial need, six private-sector internships, Career Services aims to make internships equally accessible to students of all financial backgrounds.
"Basically, we don't want students making decisions about what they're doing for the summer based solely on available funding," Doane said. "That's just not right."
Meanwhile, the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service's Active Citizenship Summer (ACS) program, which links current students with alumni in the Boston area, Washington, D.C., and abroad, has benefited from increased funding this year and added five additional positions.
But ACS opportunities, which offer stipends of $3,000 and $3,500, are proving to be more sought-after than in recent years.
ACS Program Coordinator Rachel Szyman said that there was a "healthy and balanced increase" in applicants among most of the internships offered.
"I think what is very true," Szyman said, "is that students are ... realizing more and more how important internships are to [their] experience as a college student."
This summer marks a particular challenge for undergraduates, as internships are rapidly becoming a necessity for any college student's résumé, according to Eric Normington, chief marketing officer for the internship placement firm University of Dreams.
"For a lot of industries, in order to get your foot into the door, it's almost a prerequisite that you have an internship," Normington told the Daily.
According to Normington, the fashion, advertising and publishing industries in particular require students to pursue unpaid internships for which they receive academic credit.
Though internships are generally unpaid, Normington said that companies are particularly cautious to bring on students because of the resources required to train interns.
"There's nothing that is free or cheap," he said. "Employers understand that investing to bring in an intern is a responsibility for them. It does cost them time and money."
In order to get ahead, students are increasingly shelling out large sums to pay firms to find them internships.
University of Dreams, based in California, runs a comprehensive internship program in which placement in an internship, housing, meals and transportation are provided for a set tuition.
The most expensive program, Normington said, is in London where students pay over $9,000 for a seven-week stay. Programs in New York and Los Angeles run close to $8,000, he said.
University of Dreams has seen interest on the rise this year. Enrollment is up 30 percent and Web site traffic has doubled since last year, according to Normington.
Fast Track Internships, which writes and sends out a students' résumés to hundreds of companies for $800 to $1,000, has also seen unprecedented interest.
The Texas-based firm saw a 25 percent jump in customers, according to owner and senior partner Steve Rodems.
In the face of rising unemployment, Rodems told the Daily that the company is maintaining a 90 percent success rate in landing internships for students.
"If an internship is important to you, should you gamble on going through all the time and effort of doing it yourself?" Rodems said. "If you fail, you've got nothing to show for it."
Still, Doane said that these programs raise questions about whether students from less affluent families have equal access to summer internships.
"It's not a small amount of money, really, for anyone," she said.
Szyman, the ACS program coordinator, added that the resources provided by Tufts are sufficient for internship-seeking students.
"It's a tough reality," she said, "but I think the advantage is that Tufts students are such a proactive and engaged group that they generally know that they can take care of the situation."
