<p>Is there a specific criteria?</p>
<p>I really have no idea.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>From what I understand (and as far as most people use it on college apps) an internship is a loosely defined work position. For example, some people may work for 10 hours on a political campaign and be “interns”, although others may perform 100+ hours of research for the same title. Personally, I don’t think that the term should be used in such a vague way, but there you have it.</p>
<p>So you don’t need some fancy paperwork stating that you are an intern? Or something?</p>
<p>I’m planning on asking my guidance counselor about this… but I thought I’d ask around here first. :P</p>
<p>I’m not 100% certain… I’d be interested in seeing what everyone else has to say :D</p>
<p>From what I understand/have done, an internship is something where you have TANGIBLE evidence of completion. For example, I did a neurology internship at a practice last summer for 70 hours; I completed this through my school, had to prepare a project, and a final grade goes on my transcript, so it’s legit.
If you don’t have that option, try getting something published. Anything to show that whatever you did during your internship had some meaningful outcome.
Colleges HATE when someone says, “I did a 100 hour internship with a newspaper company” and that’s it. There’s no way to find out if that’s legit or not.
So technically, you need the paperwork. Just not the fancy kind you’re referring to like a contract or something lol</p>
<p>I don’t like your “finished it” definition though golfer. I currently work a 40 hr/wk internship with an engineering firm. I’m employed as an “intern” and that is my job title. I have no projects to finish or any thing I have to do to complete I just get to work it until my freshman year of college and we part our ways. Then again I can without a doubt prove I’ve had the job and am 100% sure it is an internship.</p>
<p>Ask your boss/leader and see what they say. If they say yes it’s an internship I say take that as what you need. I think internships are more specialized then just normal jobs. I wouldn’t classify a bag boy as an intern but a hospital worker like the previous poster definitely classifies.</p>
<p>@therzor302: That’s also completely fine. My point was that you can’t say, “I did an internship at … for 100 hours” and leave it at that. If you are at a legit company/firm/place of business, with complete contact info, then your good to go. I was just referring to what I’ve done and what I recommend the OP not do.</p>
<p>I have a lot of friends who have put on their apps that they did an internship all summer at an orphanage in India to beef it up, and some were true, but how would an adcom know if there’s no tangible evidence/contact information?</p>
<p>I would say an internship is unpaid or very low paid position at a company or non profit that is designed so that the intern gains experience and training in a specific field.</p>
<p>Example: working with a defense firm on a new UAV. your responsibilities could be testing and debugging code or building documentation.</p>
<p>Making a report on the Rwandan genocide and the impact of Rwandan women on Rwanda’s future and how a non profit’s education programs could help is another example.</p>
<p>I don’t think its necessary to put down EVERYTHING you did but maybe company name, accomplishments and maybe the name and phone number of your supervisor would be good.</p>
<p>Well, i did an internship this summer at a telecommunications company. I actually worked on a project regarding database management, that the company will actually use. I also, made a project report and everything.</p>
<p>So how much of an impact will it have on my college application?</p>
<p>The most valuable internships are the ones that can generate great letters of recommendation - from a professional supervisor or mentor who really knows you and can list specific accomplishments that YOU achieved during the internship.</p>
<p>Would having recommendations from my team leader and the President of the company be good?</p>