DiscoveryInterns

JFVollegirl27 - Thank you for your opinion. To your first point, I have to strongly disagree. Perhaps you didn't read one of my previous posts. I'll excerpt the most relevant part:

You don't need to specify on your college applications how you acquired your internship experience. Would a student that lined up an internship through his or her parents specify on their college application that they got the internship through mom or dad? I don't think so. We don't tell our participants to put Discovery Internships on their college application - we tell them to put their specific internship. After all, they're the one who successfully completed the internship; we just helped them get it. I suppose, for most high school students, the tendency is to focus on "getting in," whether to a college, an internship, a club, or whatever. But in the real world, no one really cares about whether you got into a particular school or job - they only care about what you did there.

To your second point, that is a valid concern. Educational inequity is a serious problem in the US and we are committed to leveling the playing field where we can through our philanthropy (see Scholarships : Discovery Internships). However, I think it's largely inaccurate to state that we are "taking away those internships from deserving students from low-income backgrounds." Many companies choose to work with us because we add significant value to their internship programs, but that doesn't preclude those companies from also working with interns on an ad hoc basis. The issue here is not one of privilege so much as it is one of access and knowledge. The majority of high school students do not have the know-how, resources, time, or commitment needed to acquire an internship on their own. To that end, we're happy to help. We encourage all students to check out our internship tips and resources here: Get Our Free Internship Tips : Discovery Internships

ccornelia

We are in our second week with the program and it seemed great BUT then the intern placement decided they did not need an intern any more and "fired" my daughter for coming in 1 hour late. We paid a large amount of money for the program and are disappointed that Discovery did not really check closely that the people wanted a high school intern. The manager even said to my daughter on the first day- I don't have time for this program. I do really want an intern.

Be sure to ask about this problerm if is should occur weather you will get a refund.

JFVollegirl27

That is a very weak argument and I highly disagree. The fact that you tell students NOT to list Discovery Internships on their resume proves that no one thinks highly of your organization. You are exploiting desperate high school kids––that's what I think. Competition for internships should be based off of a person's experience, grades, and character. Not how much mommy and daddy are willing to pay for little Jeremy to have a "fake" addition to their college application and boost to their ego that was unearned. My parents would never have bought me an internship spot.

spotlessmind07

Let me start by saying the Summer Discovery/Summer Internships/Musiker "Family" is made up of a bunch of money hungry greedy people. I personally enrolled and experienced one of their internships and even though I had fun and somewhat gained knowledge, I cannot tell you how much I loathed the program itself. The internship they promised me was NOT AT ALL what it was in reality. They abused their employees/interns and the Discovery Internships team simply looked the other way. I tried changing my internship the first week of the program and they could not be any more impassionate and selfish. This meant I had to endure the horrible internship I was so looking forward to for 4 weeks. I thought after the ridiculous amount of money I had paid, they'd have to care. On another note, I really felt ripped off from all the promised "meals" that ended up being cold Papa John's after I got home from my internship and nothing in between. I thought maybe being in another country and such a diverse metropolitan city, we'd be able to experience different foods and activities. Well, I was wrong. All the restaurants we went to were American (Hard Rock Cafe, Pizza Hut, Subway, etc.) and the activities ranged from Bowling, going to the movies, going out for ice cream, etc. And the worst part was that it was all MANDATORY. Basically, if you want an authentic, enriching experience with a program who even slightly cares about your affairs, DO NOT ENGAGE WITH DISCOVERY INTERNSHIPS/SUMMER DISCOVERY.

unsaidpromises

I actually participated in Summer Discovery last summer... I actually really enjoyed it. The classes were interesting, although you have to have the motivation to actually listen in class. A lot of people just end up sleeping in class, but my classes were actually pretty interesting. The people at camp were amazing. I made a lot of friends, and I still talk to them today! I really, really miss them. We got a lot of freedom, which really helped me with my independence. I guess you just have to have the motivation to listen in class yourself. But people should stop bashing on Summer Discovery/ Discovery Internships. I had a couple friends that were doing internships and they all really enjoyed their internships. I had a really good experience with Summer Discovery. It didn't only teach me in-class knowledge, but it also taught me how to live on my own. I feel like this is just as important. People put so much emphasis on getting the best grades and what looks good on a resume, that they don't even think about what is actually important in life anymore. Who cares if something looks good on a resume or not? Do it because you want to and you're interested in it.

laurab1220

I thought internships meant being paid..not paying. Is the cost of Discovery Internships for housing and food?
Using google I found some of the companies/universities through which Discovery Internships has affiliations can be applied to by anyone.