University of Dreams offers internship support at a price
Peter Bundy
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: News
At the University of Dreams, students can get the internship they have always wanted. The company helps place the student in the industry, city and job of his or her choice. The company can even secure lodging, meal plans and transportation to and from the internship. That is, not to mention the one-on-one coaching and planned excursions on the weekends.
There is only one catch - the $6,000 to $9,000 price tag.
An increasing number of students have turned to third parties to help them secure the internships they want. Eric Lochtefeld, CEO of University of Dreams, said the promise of a "guaranteed internship" has led to 1,000 percent growth at the company in the past five years and $10 million in revenue.
Enrollment numbers have been exploding at non-profit organizations too. Joe Starrs, director of the Institute on Political Journalism at the Fund for American Studies, said a student can find an internship on Capitol Hill in journalism, public relations, or government work, earn credit hours through Georgetown University, be assigned a professional mentor and be plugged immediately into a large network of working alumni.
"I do feel a student needs to have an internship under his or her belt when entering the workplace," Starrs said. "It gives that competitive edge over peers who did not secure an internship or do as many internships."
However, those benefits also come with a $6,200 fee.
Lochtefeld said there is often tremendous pressure of landing a job after graduation. This means putting up money for an expensive internship or an intermediary is sometimes necessary.
Marianne Green, assistant director for the experiential programs at the Career Services Center, said she feels paying for internship placement is unnecessary.
"If you have a ton of money and want to throw it away, fine," Green said. "I'm just saying you can do it on your own, and you can do it through Career Services practically for free."
She said the key to entering the job market after graduation is job experience, not necessarily internships. For fields such as counseling, teaching and psychology, volunteer work might be just as beneficial.
There is only one catch - the $6,000 to $9,000 price tag.
An increasing number of students have turned to third parties to help them secure the internships they want. Eric Lochtefeld, CEO of University of Dreams, said the promise of a "guaranteed internship" has led to 1,000 percent growth at the company in the past five years and $10 million in revenue.
Enrollment numbers have been exploding at non-profit organizations too. Joe Starrs, director of the Institute on Political Journalism at the Fund for American Studies, said a student can find an internship on Capitol Hill in journalism, public relations, or government work, earn credit hours through Georgetown University, be assigned a professional mentor and be plugged immediately into a large network of working alumni.
"I do feel a student needs to have an internship under his or her belt when entering the workplace," Starrs said. "It gives that competitive edge over peers who did not secure an internship or do as many internships."
However, those benefits also come with a $6,200 fee.
Lochtefeld said there is often tremendous pressure of landing a job after graduation. This means putting up money for an expensive internship or an intermediary is sometimes necessary.
Marianne Green, assistant director for the experiential programs at the Career Services Center, said she feels paying for internship placement is unnecessary.
"If you have a ton of money and want to throw it away, fine," Green said. "I'm just saying you can do it on your own, and you can do it through Career Services practically for free."
She said the key to entering the job market after graduation is job experience, not necessarily internships. For fields such as counseling, teaching and psychology, volunteer work might be just as beneficial.
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