Summer options for freshman?

mangocorn
Wed, 19 Jan 2011 07:17:16 +0000

Yes, other people have asked the same question, but just hoping to have some answers for my particular case.
A little about me - freshman at Cornell, undecided A&S but possibly Econ + psych or Econ+soc major, good grades so far, been to some clubs but not really involved as in positions-wise, one past summer internship experience but otherwise never had a real job, interested in business-related fields, haven’t really connected with the professors yet so don’t know how I’m going to get good recs/reference letters

As many have said, internships for freshmen are hard to get but possible. Here are my options for this summer. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated:

Cornell AEM Business Management Summer program ([Courses : Cornell/AEM Business Management Certificate : Cornell Summer Session](Summer Session - Courses & Programs - Courses for Credit)) - 7.5 week / 9 credit - I think it’s a good intro to business. Needs reference letter, which will be difficult for me, I think.

Summer in Washington ([Cornell in Washington](http://www.ciw.cornell.edu/ciw_ld.cfm?site=1)) - 7.5 week / 6 or 8 credits, internship placement - the SIW program has a database of past internships so I guess it’ll be easier to find one this way, plus taking some classes. The thing is, it’s not competitive - apparently all you need is to submit an enrollment form so I’m not sure how good the program is. Nobody’s shed any light on this program either on CC

My other options are to study Japanese in Tokyo for 6 weeks, or to take classes at Cornell Summer Sessions and apply to be an RA during the summer, or to apply for an independent internship (I have found a few that seem interesting)

Sorry for the myriad of information but any help would be greatly appreciated.

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