<p>I received an offer for a Senate internship in Washington D.C from Jan 2010 - May 2010.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I had to turn down the offer because since the interhship is unpaid, I could not afford the living expenses for 5 months without any money coming in.
(Even after taking significant loans, I was unable to come up with sufficient funds.)</p>
<p>The Intern coordinator has hinted that my chances for a Summer internship are pretty good. However, the Summer internship is only 6 weeks long- no exception. </p>
<p>What can I do to make my stay in D.C longer for the summer? I would love to do 6 weeks at the Senate and then do another internship immediately after. </p>
<p>call your congressman’s HR, but you might find that after working in the Senate you won’t like interning in the house (they treat interns differently)…or just call up your other senator…</p>
<p>Thanks for the response; I have exhausted both of these options. I am directed to apply online to the internship programs (which I have already done.)</p>
<p>Is there anything I can do to make my stay in D.C more worthwhile? It sucks going for only 6 weeks unlike the 4 months I was originally accepted for.</p>
<p>Keep in mind six weeks in DC during the summer months feels a lot longer than it is due to the heat and humidity! :)</p>
<p>As an intern you will probably be doing similar tasks while working in either a Senate or House representative’s office. The cost of living in DC for the summer is always a problem and this is why many students end up interning at the district office in their home town instead of the office in DC over the summer. I would not advise you to consider the semester long internships unless you live in DC already or are wanting to do the semester long internship at your local office because they are all unpaid. You will not learn more by being there a semester vs. 6 weeks, trust me ;)</p>
<p>There are plenty of other places to find internships at in dc, just expand your search outside of the US government to other NGO’s, government orgs, think tanks, non-profit’s.</p>
<p>Any other questions? (I work for a Senate member.)</p>
<p>I interned for a Senator (roughly ~2 months) during the summer and it was well worth any expenditures. Good luck and look into think tanks, nonprofs, and businesses on K street for additional opportunities to extend your stay.</p>
<p>Kulakai, I would have to say it must vary by office. My D did a five-month internship with the Senate and got progressively more interesting tasks and responsibility. Part of it is they discovered she could write well, part of it is that she had the DC work ethic down cold and on that score was indistinguishable from permanent staff. She’s now in her second year working for a DC think tank after graduation and I think the internship was invaluable experience.</p>
<p>Fwiw, she’s been on the application review side of the desks in her think tank. For summer, they got over 500 apps for 10 spots. For the spot in her unit, a 3.7 gpa was the minimum to get you into being considered. They had not only undergrads but recent grads and grad students applying for internships. It’s a tough market. But if you don’t play, you don’t win.</p>
<p>TheDad - You are correct in that if you apply for a certain type of internship, say communication intern, then you will be assigned more responsibility with writing correspondence or in some cases even writing statements that might be used on the floor or entered into the record. It is also true if while working the general internship, if they discover your interest is communications and you excel at writing, they might assign you to some related work as they did with your D. So keep that in mind Smullick, there are both specialized internship positions as well as the more general straight internship I was referring to in my last post before this.</p>
<p>I have also noticed that lower ranked house/senate members generally have less people applying for internships so if you are looking for more responsibility, sometimes working for your house rep versus your Senator will provide more opportunities for experience gained.</p>
<p>K, D didn’t apply for a specialized internship, by some mysterious process she was assigned to the media relations unit. As near as I could figure, it was the best internship slot in the office and only two of them at a time were assigned there out of six to eight interns.</p>
<p>She also got inconsequential plums like being the one trusted to give the Senator’s personal friends the Capitol tour. It was gratifying for her to know that she was trusted not to screw up.</p>
<p>On the subject of Hill internships, a couple of things: this isn’t school, where you receive a lot of positive feedback for routine accomplishments. Deal. <em>Everyone</em> is expected to work hard and well, including interns. Unlike paid staff, you may be released from long overtime when crunch times hit, but don’t assume…ask if you can leave. If you have internship-related commitments, like a class or seminar, they will understand.</p>
<p>If you arrive on time, you’re ten minutes late.</p>
<p>Don’t, whatever you do, commit stupidities like discussing staff members while dining in the Senate dining room at lunch…or anywhere else for that matter. You have no idea who around you is listening and who knows who…D was horrified by the lack of judgment and discretion shown by some of her peers. Keeping your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut isn’t a bad philosophy. After a while, you will learn who you can ask delicate questions of as you try to understand the why’s of things.</p>
<p>Don’t view your internship as an excuse to party in DC or to build your resume. You’re wasting a wonderful opportunity if you do. And don’t wonder why others are pulled quietly aside toward the end of their terms and offered recommendations.</p>
<p>Hah, my internship was actually a little far off from what Dad is describing, but perhaps it comes with the territory my senator was from and that he didn’t lead any major committees.</p>
<p>The office was fairly laid back from my experiences. Interns only had to wear blazers/suits when going out of the office area or while the senator was present. During recess we didn’t even have to wear ties.</p>
<p>Anyways, hope it works out for you. Eat some Senate Bean Soup while you’re there, just ask they’ll know what you’re talking about…</p>