Hi, I’m new to College Confidential! I’m a sophomore in college and was hoping to get some advice from my fellow college students, parents, or alumni. I’ve begun looking for internships abroad for next summer but was having a bit of trouble deciding which internship finding program I would choose.
So far, I’ve gotten into three programs that promise to guarantee me a Business Development Internship abroad. The programs all work in the same way: I apply to the program, make a deposit (usually 400 to 1000 dollars) to secure my spot, and wait for the program to set me up with interviews for international companies that would be interested in offering me an unpaid internship for the summer. I’m guaranteed an internship for the industry (business development), but there’s no guarantee that I’ll end up in a particular company. What type of company I end up with depends on my resume and how well I do in my interviews. Where I end up can range from start-ups to large multinational corporations.
The programs I got into are Global Experiences, Asia Internship Program, and Absolute Internship. To my knowledge, they are all legitimate programs. I would, however, appreciate any additional information on them. They’re all around the same price range (6000-8000 dollars, including the deposit), which covers housing, mentorship meetings, evening activities, contacting the companies, etc. The only things not covered would be airfare, transportation, and personal expenses (food mostly). Money itself is not really a huge problem for me, and ai don’t mind that the internships are unpaid. What differentiates the three programs would most likely be where I would be interning. For Global Experiences, I would be working in Barcelona and get a chance to practice my Spanish. For the Asia Internship Program, I would be going to Hong Kong, Bangkok, or Singapore. And finally, Absolute Internship would place me in Hong Kong.
I’m a little split on which program I should go into. On one hand, going to Barcelona would help my Spanish skills and help me to develop my fluency in the language (I’m a Spanish minor). On the other hand, I feel like the fast-paced (and perhaps more reputable) companies in Asia might be more beneficial in developing the business section of my resume. As an International Relations major, I think interning abroad would be a good use of my major.
I was hoping to hear from people who have either worked with one of these programs or interned abroad (preferrably in one of the locations I’m considering) at some point in college. I’d be particularly interested in reading about your experiences working with these programs and working abroad in general.
I know this was a long post, and I appreciate your time and patience. Thank you in advance for your advice, and I hope to hear from you all soon!