How To Get An Internship In High School

About Our Guest Contributor

25 Awesome Internships for High Schoolers in 2023

What do you want to be when you grow up? If you’re like most high school students, the answer still isn’t crystal clear. That’s all right, and in fact, it’s 100% normal. The good news is that there are plenty of ways—like internships—to explore your interests and various career fields before you take the leap and commit to a certain program or college major. Internships are a great way for high school students to gain work experience, learn about professional opportunities, and network within career and academic fields.

What Is an Internship and How Does It Work?

An internship is essentially an introductory work experience in a professional career field. It is sometimes paid, though usually at the lowest end of the pay scale, and it is sometimes unpaid. The function of an internship is to gain experience and insight into a certain field while also performing some functional work in exchange for the experience.

For example, if you get an internship in a research lab, usually you won’t jump right into hands-on lab work. Instead, you’ll start with things like cleaning the lab and entering data into spreadsheets. While this might sound tedious, it will also give you the opportunity to connect with the people who work there, learn about the day-to-day functioning of the worksite, and give you an idea of whether or not a career in this field might be of interest to you.

Before you commit to an internship, you should always make sure that you are clear on the expectations. Have a good understanding of the time commitment, the length of the internship, the responsibilities, and whether or not you’ll be receiving anything in exchange. Some unpaid internships might offer other perks like free classes at related institutions, travel reimbursement, or even housing. You should also be certain you understand your responsibilities and that you’re comfortable sticking with them.

Internships are a great way to break into difficult career fields. For students who want to gain experience in research, medicine, law, or other professions normally requiring an advanced degree, an internship is a way to gain some insight and experience without the commitment of a degree. You will learn about the field and forge important connections with people who might ultimately write you a recommendation or even offer you a job.

25 Great Internships For High School Students

1. United States Secret Service (USSS) Student Volunteer Program

Application Deadline: Two sessions; February and July 2023

Duration: 1 Semester

Through participation in the USSS Student Volunteer Program, students gain insight into the nature and structure of the Secret Service while gaining valuable personal and professional skills. Students must be at least 16 years old and volunteer at least 12 hours per week. While the position is unpaid, they may receive academic credit.

2. BRAINYAC

Application Deadline: Fall 2023

Duration: January to August 2024

Offered through the Zuckerman Institute’s Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia (BRAINYAC), this internship connects NYC 10th and 11th graders with scientists for intensive summer lab internships including hands-on experience. The program centers around an intensive six-week neuroscience research experience under the supervision of a mentor during the winter and continues into a full-time internship over the summer. The internship sponsors a variety of partner programs and applications and requirements may vary for each one.

3. Air Force Research Library Scholar Program

Application Deadline: January 10, 2023

Duration: At least 12 weeks (Summer 2023)

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars Program offers valuable hands-on experiences working with full-time AFRL scientists and engineers on cutting-edge research and technology. Through four different applications, students can choose from a variety of STEM-related project topics, each of which will give them experience working in a technology-based environment under the supervision of experienced researchers and engineers. The program pays a competitive stipend.

4. Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program

Application Deadline: February 14, 2023

Duration: 8 weeks (Summer 2023)

The Hutton Program is a paid summer internship and mentoring program for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing natural resource and environmental management. Sponsored by the American Fisheries Society (AFS), the program teaches about and encapsulates various fisheries professions among groups that are underrepresented in these fields, additionally providing students with mentors that can become life-long connections.

5. GeoSciences Bridge Program

Application Deadline: TBD 2023

Duration: 6 weeks (Summer 2023)

Offered for high school seniors to apply, the Geosciences Bridge Program is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation and is a 6-week paid internship for graduating high school seniors. Participants study and participate in hands-on activities in marine geology, physical oceanography, atmospheric science, marine biology, marine chemistry, biogeochemistry, and remote sensing/GIS. Students will stay on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore campus, where they will live and learn, working alongside fellow recent high school graduates.

6. Plant Genome Research REU

Application Deadline: March 31, 2023

Duration: 7 weeks (June 27 – August 11)

With these undergraduate and high school summer internships at Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI), Cornell University and the USDA provide an excellent opportunity to gain research experience and explore if a scientific career in plant science research and bioinformatics is a good fit. Students will work to further the BTI’s missions of increasing food security, improving environmental sustainability in agriculture and making basic discoveries that will enhance human life. Students will also receive a competitive stipend paid biweekly throughout the internship.

7. Cincinnati Museum Center Internships

Application Deadline: Varies

Duration: 10 weeks (Summer: June-August 2023; Fall: September-November 2023; Spring: January-March 2023)

This is a fantastic opportunity for just-graduated high schoolers to start gaining professional experience and building networks before attending their first college class. Assignments vary, however, the perks—which include free admission to permanent CMC exhibits, access to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and invitations to select exhibit previews/special events/lectures—are the same for all interns. Students can also apply for programs in the winter, summer, or fall.

8. Student Research Internship Program at the Scripps Translational Science Institute

Application Deadline: March 28, 2023

Duration: 10 weeks (June 5-August 11, 2023 or June 19-August 25, 2023)

The Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) offers a Student Research Internship Program for highly motivated high school students. Interns work with and learn from a multi-disciplinary team of scientists who include internationally renowned investigators in the areas of genomics, bioinformatics, and digital medicine. Students will work within the program to complete a research project encapsulating in a final presentation to Faculty. While the internship is unpaid, it is a great opportunity for students to get hands-on research experience before entering college.

9. New-York Historical Society’s Student Historian Program

Application Deadline: September 25th, 2023

Duration: 8 months (October 26, 2023 – June 7, 2024)

Interns use the resources of the New York Historical Society to conduct exciting research and share their scholarship through creative projects. Interns meet with professional staff to learn about careers in the museum, library, and history fields; work collaboratively with fellow students to develop their public speaking and leadership skills; and engage in hands-on work to deepen their understanding of American history and art. For most students, the internship will be unpaid, however, students attending a Title 1 school or are eligible for free or reduced lunch will be offered a stipend for participation.

10. Microsoft High School Program

Application Deadline: March 14th, 2023

Duration: 4 weeks (July 11 – August 5)

In Microsoft’s high school internship program, students will learn a lot about the world of computer science and programming. Microsoft internships are geared toward STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students, and will expose students to a variety to STEM-related professions at Microsoft and beyond.

11. The Expanding Horizons Internship

Application Deadline: January 31, 2023

Duration: 4 months (April 4 – August 4, 2023)

Offered through the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Expanding Horizons Internship provides first-generation, college-bound high school students attending Title 1 schools in the Los Angeles area with an intensive experience of skill development and personal growth that prepares them for college, career, and civic life. The EHI program begins with interactive seminars in the spring and concludes with a paid summer internship at a prestigious law firm, corporation, government agency, or non-profit organization.

12. Smithsonian High School Internships

Application Deadline: Varies

Duration: Varies

The Smithsonian offers a wide variety of internship opportunities ranging from centrally funded opportunities that place interns throughout the Smithsonian to specific opportunities available at each of the Smithsonian’s various museums, research centers, and other units. Participants can find roles in art history, business and administration, museum conservation, and much more, for which they will receive a competitive stipend.

13. The Library of Congress Internship

Application Deadline: April 28th, 2023

Duration: 4 weeks (June 26 – July 20, 2023)

Offered through the Office of the Librarian, this internship is an unpaid opportunity for students interested in history and government to learn about the Library of Congress and its responsibilities as well as helping curate a new learning space for youth and families. The internship is currently offered in a hybrid format, with the option for in-person opportunities for those applicable. The internship also offers up to 60 community service hours for those interested.

14. KP LAUNCH Program

Application Deadline: December 23rd

Duration: 7 weeks (June 19 – August 4, 2023)

This full-time internship is designed to introduce underrepresented and low-income high school and undergraduates to careers in health, Kaiser Permanente’s KP LAUNCH program provides paid opportunities in Oakland and across Northern California. Through the program, interns build professional and community leadership skills, as well as the practical skills needed for employment in health professions. Students will make minimum wage depending on their city.

15. Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Sciences (JHIBS)

Application Deadline: March 1, 2023

Duration: 8 weeks (in-person, June – August 2023) or 5 weeks (virtual, July – August 2023)

This summer program exposes Baltimore-area high school students from underrepresented backgrounds to careers in the neurological sciences. Participants receive hands-on research experience under the supervision of a mentor and are given educational resources and encouragement for pursuing a pathway to a profession as a researcher or clinician scientist at the highest level. Students can choose to apply to the nationwide virtual research opportunity or the in-person internship if they’re local to Baltimore, and both opportunities will compensate students accordingly.

16. NASA High School Internships

Application Deadline: Varies

Duration: Varies

NASA offers a multitude of internship opportunities for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors over 16 years of age. Internships are designed to increase the capabilities and diversity of the nation’s STEM workforce and provide participants with the opportunity to perform research under the guidance of a mentor at a NASA facility. Learn more about the NASA internship and how to apply in our blog post.

17. Met High School Internship Program

Application Deadline: March 31st, 2023

Duration: 7 weeks (June 24 – August 11, 2023)

Rising juniors and seniors from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut can connect with professionals in the fields of art, museum, and creativity at one of the world’s finest museums—The Metropolitan Museum of Art—with this awesome in-person paid internship. Over the course of this program, students will develop professional skills, build a network, and gain work experience in various departments of the museum. The internship will be primarily about 10-20 hours a week.

18. Adler Planetarium Summer High School Internship

Application Deadline: March 2023

Duration: 7 weeks (Summer 2023)

This eye-opening internship allows Chicago high schoolers to engage with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) fields while preparing for a variety of careers. Participants are given space for personal growth and scientific experimentation while connecting with peers from around the city. Students will work in various museum roles and help develop research and engineering projects in this paid in-person opportunity.

19. Bank of America Student Leader Program

Application Deadline: January 13, 2023

Duration: 8 weeks (Summer 2023)

This paid internship connects a diverse group of socially concerned high school juniors and seniors with non-profits to serve their communities and build leadership. Participants leave the program with a firsthand look at how non-profits, governments, and businesses collaborate to meet local needs and the skills needed to bring about positive change. The program includes a one-week in-person summit in Washington D.C. where students will congregate and continue to develop their skills. The internship is about 35 hours a week.

20. Indiana University Cancer Center Summer Research Program

Application Deadline: February 2023

Duration: 8 weeks (Summer 2023)

This awesome internship opportunity offers exposure in biomedicine and behavioral science to students from underrepresented populations. Participants in the program will undertake projects with a mentor, such as laboratory-based research, computer-based database research, or clinical research. On Indiana University’s campus, students will learn from faculty, fellow students, and researchers to gain experience and knowledge in biomedicine and behavioral science and begin their path toward a career in these fields. The internship is 40 hours a week and students will receive a paid stipend for their work.

21. Virtual NGO & Social Support Internship out of India

Application Deadline: N/A

Duration: Varies

High school students 16 years of age or older can participate in this internship and provide front-line support for social issues in India, without having to leave the comfort of their home. There is a wide range of internship opportunities and students are paired where there’s the greatest mutual benefit for locals and for them. Interns can expect to help with everything from writing reports to fundraising to creating content for social media. Participation in the program requires a fee, but students can be compensated with course credit and experience in a global professional environment.

22. Stanford Compression Forum Summer Internship

Application Deadline: February 24, 2023

Duration: 8 weeks (June 26 – August 13, 2023)

Stanford Compression Forum interns are given the chance to pursue research projects over the summer under the mentorship of students, faculty, and staff of the Stanford Compression Forum. Project themes are numerous and include the science of information and communication, engineering, the arts, linguistics, psychology, biology, neuroscience, computer science, technology, philosophy, and design. The goal of the program is to provide students with early exposure to STEM-based research in both collegiate and professional environments, and while students won’t be paid during their time, they will receive invaluable experience that will help guide them through their early careers. The format of the internship is currently virtual with some possibility for in-person elements, and students should expect to participate around 30-40 hours a week.

23. Carnegie Museums Internships

Application Deadline: Varies

Duration: Varies

Unpaid in-person internships are available at all four Carnegie Museums—Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum—allowing high schoolers to either work in public-facing or behind-the-scenes positions. No matter where interns are employed, they’ll leave with an incredible work experience, a host of skills, and a bolstered professional network.

24. Washington Performing Arts Internship

Application Deadline: Varies (Fall October 16, 2023 for Spring)

Duration: 12 weeks (Fall 2023 or Spring 2024)

This internship for students with an interest or background in the performing arts helps participants build professional skills and gain an understanding of arts management. Interns will receive a small stipend for their time, working about 15 hours over a 12 week span, and interns are also invited to attend many Washington Performing Arts performances for free.

25. Princeton University’s Laboratory Learning Program

Application Deadline: February 15, 2023

Duration: 5-6 weeks (Summer 2023)

Princeton University offers a full-time research experience for students looking to enter STEM fields such as engineering and natural sciences. Faculty and staff will incorporate interns into ongoing research projects where they will gain hands-on exposure to research in an intensive environment. The internship is highly selective and encourages students to be local. It does not offer any compensation.

How Do Internships Impact Your College Chances?

Extracurricular activities play a considerable role in the college admissions process and are an excellent opportunity for applicants to stand apart from a field of academically equal candidates.

In general, any internship is beneficial to your application, but some are more influential than others. For example, the more high-profile and selective the opportunity, the better it looks to a prospective school. Similarly, the more responsibility and leadership a student demonstrates in an internship position, the more likely it is to catch the eye of an admissions office.

CollegeVine’s free chancing engine is an easy way to learn the strength of an extracurricular activity and gain a better understanding of your odds of admission at hundreds of schools across the country. Give it a try to get a jumpstart on your college strategy!

How to Find Internships for High School Students

Everything you need to know about high school internships, including how to cold email for an internship

The following is a guest article. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect policies or positions of Shemmassian Academic Consulting.

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Why high school students should pursue internships

Part 3: 8 places to find internships for high school students

Part 4: How to ask for an internship

Part 5: Frequently asked questions

Part 1: Introduction

The bar for getting into elite universities keeps getting higher and higher. It used to be that high ACT or SAT scores , a high GPA, and a well-rounded assortment of extracurricular activities were enough to ensure admission into your child’s dream school.

These days, however, universities are inundated with record numbers of applications from high-achieving, well-rounded students. Therefore, your child needs to do more in order to stand out. They need to specialize and demonstrate a deep commitment to one or two extracurricular activities instead of trying to do every activity possible.

There are plenty of ways for your child to stand out on the Common App Activities section , but one of the best strategies is one that many parents and students overlook: internships.

Below, we’ll explain how to get an internship in high school that will help your child explore potential careers, put theory into practice, and stand out amongst other competitive college applicants.

Part 2: Why high school students should pursue internships

As a parent, it’s understandable to be surprised that your high school student should already be looking at internships. You probably associate internships with something that undergraduate students pursue over the summer, or something that recent college graduates do in order to get their foot in the door at a prestigious company.

The idea of your child (who may not even have their driver’s license) interning can thus seem like overkill. Shouldn’t they just focus on the extracurricular activities that their school already offers? Why do an internship?

While we certainly encourage your child to explore the extracurricular activities at their school, internships offer opportunities that schools simply can’t provide.

When your child does an internship, they get a glimpse at the professional world, one that many students don’t even receive until college. This provides fertile material for a Common App essay that will stand out from all the rest.

Furthermore, internships can help high school students explore career paths even before they’re in college. This can be very helpful when your child is trying to choose a major, as it lets them see real-world applications of an academic discipline.

For instance, if your child has excelled in their high school chemistry courses, then interning at a local manufacturing facility could help them see what working chemists do each day. They might find out that they love the work and want to pursue it at the university level in order to prepare for a career in the field.

On the other hand, they might realize that they find the work mind-numbingly boring and would rather explore another area. Either way, your child has learned a valuable lesson that can help inform their academic and career decisions once they enter college.

Finally, pursuing an internship in high school is an excellent way for your child to find a professional mentor and begin growing their professional network. The right mentor can serve as an asset to your child in a variety of ways, and there’s no better way to gain a mentor’s respect than offering to help them with their work.

The mentor can write a letter of recommendation for your child when they apply to college, and they may even be able to leverage their network to help your child get into the college of their choice. Not to mention, building a professional connection while still in high school will become immensely useful when your child is applying for college internships or even jobs post-college.

But how exactly can your child go about finding an internship? It’s not as difficult as you might imagine, especially if you follow the tips in the next couple sections. So to start, let’s look at some of the best places high school students can look for internship opportunities.

Part 3: 8 places to find internships for high school students

Finding a high school internship can feel like an impossible task. This is understandable, given that most organizations who hire interns don’t even have high school students on their radar.

While this can seem like a disadvantage, it actually isn’t. Because if your child does take the initiative to reach out to a local business or other organization about an internship, the person reading their inquiry is going to be impressed.

Most high school students are so caught up in the world of grades, extracurriculars, and peers that they wouldn’t even think to take steps to prepare themselves for the professional world. To find a student that looks beyond all of that will certainly make an impression.

But where should your child get started when searching for an internship? The first thing we’ll say is that your child should not apply for internships posted on job boards or other similar sites. While it is possible to get an internship this way, your child will often be competing with undergraduates who are more experienced and qualified.

This isn’t to diminish all that your child has accomplished, but the fact is that most companies would rather choose the college student. They’re likely to view them as more mature and competent simply because they’re in college.

Furthermore, if your child can take the initiative to create their own internship, it will look far more impressive to an admissions committee than if they just applied for an internship that was available on a public job board. They’ll also likely be able to have more input in shaping what they do during the internship, which can lead to a richer experience overall.

Now that we’ve covered where not to look for an internship, here are some of the best places your child can get started:

1. Family members

It’s possible that the person who could help get your child an internship is someone you see every year at your family reunion. Many students (and parents) might overlook family members as a way to find an internship, but they can actually be a very useful resource.

To start, they already have a personal connection with your child. This can make it much easier to connect than if your child were reaching out to a stranger. Also, because they’re family, they’ll be invested in your child’s success from the start.

Our only caveat here is that your child should avoid reaching out in a way that makes them seem entitled. Your son’s uncle who works at Dow might have some great connections in the world of chemistry, but that doesn’t mean they owe your child an internship.

Your child still needs to demonstrate that they’re passionate about the field and can bring something to the table in the internship (see the next section for tips on how to demonstrate this).

2. Family friends

Moving outward from core family, there are family friends. We use this category because, more than likely, your child isn’t personal friends with anyone who can help them get an internship. It is likely, however, that you have friends who might be able to help.

This is another area where you need to be careful in your approach. It’s fine to say something like, “My daughter is very interested in [FIELD YOUR FRIEND WORKS IN] and was curious if they could reach out to you to learn more.”

But you should still let your child take the initiative in making contact. Don’t do all the work for them. Not only does this rob your child of valuable experience, but it also gives the impression that you’re the one interested in the internship, not your child.

3. High school teachers

You might not think to look here unless your child is actually interested in being a teacher. But this overlooks the fact that your child’s teacher likely has a large network of friends and former classmates who just might work in a field that would be perfect for your child’s internship.

For instance, if your child is interested in journalism, they might ask their English teacher if they know anyone in the field. If they do, your child can ask their teacher to make an introduction via email and let your child take the conversation from there.

4. Guidance counselors

This might be the most obvious resource on this list, but it’s easy for your child to forget that, in addition to helping them through the college application process, their guidance counselors are also there to help them clarify their career interests.

Many counselors will help students in this area by giving them career aptitude tests or other general advice. Your child needs to encourage them to go deeper, however. They should tell the counselor that they’re interested in getting experience in a particular field and ask if the counselor can connect them with any relevant people or organizations in the community.

Remember: it’s the guidance counselor’s job to be a resource for your child, so they shouldn’t hesitate to make sure that the counselor is doing that job to the fullest.

5. Other high school staff

This category encompasses anyone at school that your child deals with outside of class. Coaches or club moderators are the most obvious people here, but this could even include other staff such as librarians or people who work on the administrative side of the school.

There are a couple approaches your child can take when finding internships this way. The first is to find a staff member who works in the field that your child is interested in. This could be useful, for instance, if your child is interested in library science. In this case, talking to the school librarian is the clear move.

The other approach is to consider who the staff member might know. For instance, your child’s coach may be in charge of basketball, but they likely also know people in a variety of other fields. It never hurts for your child to ask, as that staff member might just know someone with serious industry connections.

6. Local universities

So far, we’ve focused on what we would classify as “warm” connections—people you or your child already know who can provide an introduction to a potential internship opportunity. While we encourage your child to start with these connections, they may sometimes need to go beyond this immediate circle and reach out to unfamiliar people in the broader community.

One of the best places to start when taking this approach is a local university. Universities exist to provide education, after all, so they’re likely to be interested when a local student reaches out to them asking for a way to further their education outside the classroom.

When reaching out to a local university, we recommend your child go to the source. That is, if they’re interested in interning with a particular professor or department, they should contact them directly. Contacting the university’s general email or admissions department is unlikely to yield results.

They should also avoid reaching out to undergraduates (at least regarding internship opportunities). For while this can help with getting the attention of a professor, the faculty are the ones that actually have the power to get your child an internship.

7. Local businesses

If your child wants to get experience in the professional world, the most direct way to do it is to reach out to someone at an actual business. This can be a nerve-wracking process, but remember this: most business leaders rarely hear from high school students who want to help them out. At the very least, this level of initiative will intrigue them.

In terms of which businesses to contact, this all depends on what interests your child. Encourage them to do some Google searches on businesses related to their preferred field, and don’t be afraid to mention any relevant businesses you know of.

As with reaching out to universities, your child will increase their odds of success here if they reach out to someone in the organization who has decision-making power. Sending a general inquiry is likely to result in a message that either goes unanswered or receives a generic form response.

Instead, they should do their best to get the contact information for the head of the department that interests them or (if it’s a small company) the founder/head of the organization.

8. Local charities and religious organizations

Our final suggestion for finding high school internships is one that your child may not have considered. After all, isn’t it better to get experience at businesses, not nonprofits?

This is absolutely not the case. Working with charities and religious organizations can provide a whole range of experiences that your child couldn’t get elsewhere. At the same time, working with these organizations can still provide relevant professional experiences that can help inform both college major and career decisions.

One advantage of reaching out to groups in this category is that, because they’re not for profit, they almost always need extra help.

Part 4: How to ask for an internship

You should now have a better understanding of all the places your child can look for an internship, but what about when it comes time to actually reach out? This is a critical part of the process, as your child needs to convince someone to bring them on as an intern.

The first thing to understand here is that many organizations view high school interns as a risk. To start, they have to comply with a host of additional legal requirements when dealing with minors. Furthermore, they’re likely to be skeptical that a high school student has the knowledge or work ethic necessary to be a real asset to their organization.

When reaching out, your child needs to keep all of these potential objections in mind and write an inquiry that addresses them. That being said, your child also has some advantages as a high school student that other people do not.

There is persuasive power in the phrase “I’m a student.” While just saying that you’re a student isn’t very persuasive by itself (in fact, it could work against your child), your child can use their student status to frame their interest in a particular field.

When a business leader hears from a student who already wants to get professional experience, two things will happen. First, as we already discussed, they’re likely to be impressed that someone so young is taking so much initiative.

But second, hearing from a student is likely to remind them of their student days, a time that’s nostalgic for adults caught up in the hustle of professional life. Bringing on someone that young can, by extension, make the other person feel young again, which is quite appealing.

So how does your child write an internship inquiry email that both demonstrates their competence and capitalizes on the fact that they’re an eager student looking to gain experience? We’ll start with some general tips, and then we’ll conclude with an example that your child can adapt for their purposes:

1. Keep it brief

This is critical. The person your child is reaching out to is likely busy and has little time for extra emails. The ideal internship inquiry email should get straight to the point and be formatted in a way that makes it easy to skim.

2. Do your research

This is important in all cases, but especially if your child is emailing someone with whom they don’t have a preexisting connection. Before drafting an email, your child should research what the person they’re contacting does and make sure that they understand it.

Then, when they write the email, they should include a couple sentences that show that they’re interested in the specific things that the person does. When the person they’re contacting reads this, it will be both flattering (people love to be reminded of their accomplishments) and impressive.

3. Offer clear value

One of the biggest mistakes students make when reaching out regarding internships is to presume that the company will just “find something for them to do.” While your child should certainly remain open-minded and seek to serve the organization, they should also explain upfront what they can offer.

For instance, if your child is seeking an internship at a local non-profit that helps natural disaster victims, they could mention that they could put their writing skills to work writing social media posts asking for donations. This is far more compelling than just saying, “I’d like to help any way I can.”

4. Don’t be afraid to follow up

As all busy professionals know, you’re far more likely to not answer an email because it got buried in your inbox than because you don’t want to answer it. Recognizing this, your child shouldn’t be afraid to send a quick follow-up reply to their original email if a couple weeks have passed without a response.

Most likely, the person they emailed will appreciate a reminder of something they’ve been meaning to do but had to put off due to more urgent matters.

How to cold email for an internship

With that general advice in mind, let’s take a look at an internship inquiry email example.

We encourage your child to modify this template as necessary, since every case and person are unique.

But this will give your child an idea of where to start and help them overcome the intimidation of sending what may well be their first professional correspondence.

Internship inquiry email example

Dear [NAME OF PERSON YOUR CHILD IS CONTACTING],

I am a student at McGavock High School with a deep interest in graphic design (portfolio attached). Recently, I came across the work of your firm. I was particularly interested in how you blended classic typography with contemporary flat design in your recent project for Stanfeld Industries.

I’m writing to discuss the possibility of interning at your firm this summer. While I’ve explored graphic design in my high school art classes, I’d love to learn more about how the graphic design process works in the real world.

As your intern, I’d be able to assist with the following:

1. Answering the phone and other correspondence
2. Printing and formatting client samples
3. Anything else I can do to free up your time

If you don’t have space for interns, would you be able to recommend any resources for aspiring graphic designers to learn more about the field?

Please let me know if I can provide any additional information. I look forward to hearing from you.

Here’s a follow-up email sample:

Dear [NAME OF PERSON YOUR CHILD IS CONTACTING],

I hope this message finds you well. I recognize you’re incredibly busy but I’m writing to float my previous email to the top of your inbox.

If your child still doesn’t receive a response, that’s OK! Some organizations may not have the ability to take on a high school intern, so your child should move on and look for another opportunity elsewhere.

Part 5: Frequently asked questions

Should my child take an unpaid internship?

Absolutely. In fact, your child should never expect compensation for an internship they do during high school. Money is not the point; experience and professional connections are. If an internship does pay, that’s a nice bonus, but it’s uncommon.

Don’t worry: universities don’t care if the internship was paid or not. They’ll be far more impressed that your child has done an internship at all, especially if it helps support the broader narrative in your child’s college application.

What’s the difference between an internship vs volunteer work?

The main differences tend to be the amount of time your child spends on the activity and the level of responsibility they have. For instance, volunteering at a soup kitchen might mean just spending a couple hours a week ladling soup, while interning at one would more likely involve helping to find and coordinate other volunteers.

Should my child spend their summer pursuing an internship or working a part-time job?

This is a difficult decision, particularly if your child is working out of necessity to help pay for college or even to help you pay the bills. It also depends on the nature of the job. Working at a fast food restaurant won’t provide the same kind of relevant career experience as helping file papers at a law firm, for instance.

That said, part-time jobs (even if they are unglamorous) can provide interesting talking points in your child’s admissions interview and could even be the subject of their personal statement. It all depends on how your child is able to frame it.

Given the choice, however, we recommend that your child pursue summer internships that are relevant to their interests.

What if my child doesn’t know what field or career interests them?

One of the main benefits of doing an internship is that your child can learn more about what does (and doesn’t) interest them as a future career. If your child is truly unsure, however, then they should first do some brainstorming and research to figure out what interests them and how that might apply to a future profession.

Does my child need to intern somewhere prestigious?

Many parents think that prestigious experiences will help their children stand out to admissions committees. The reality, however, is that admissions officers care far less about prestige and name dropping and far more about what your child got out of the internship experience.

For instance, a child who’s interested in developmental psychology would do far better to intern at a preschool than a law firm, even if the preschool internship sounds less “serious” than the law firm one.

When should my child start applying for internships?

Every child’s situation is different, but we think it’s never too early. For instance, if your child leaves their freshman biology class fascinated with the subject, they could try to find a summer internship that begins after the completion of freshman year.

That being said, it’s fine if your child leaves their freshman year still unsure of what they want to intern in. However, we recommend doing an internship either during their sophomore year or the summer after it, as that will give them plenty of time to think about how to incorporate the experience into their college application.

About Our Guest Contributor

Ransom Patterson is the editor in chief at College Info Geek, a site that helps students study more effectively, become more productive, and get great jobs after graduation. You can learn more about how College Info Geek helps students here .