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This is a blog written by our Intern Queen Campus Ambassador, Bianca, who attends Belmont University in Nashville, TN.

Did you find your perfect internship to learn that it’s only available for college credit? With the Fall semester quickly coming to a close, it’s time to start planning for a Spring internship. Many companies require interns to receive college credit for legal reasons and as a means of compensation. It’s important to research and learn about your school’s procedures regarding for-credit internships, because every university handles internships in a different way. Read below to find out seven things you need to know when planning for your credited internship!

1. Who’s your internship coordinator?
If there’s one person at your university that can answer all of your internship questions, it’s going to be your internship coordinator. Many universities have specific internship coordinators within the different schools, especially for specialized degree programs. As soon as you begin to consider doing an internship for credit, make sure to find the contact information for your internship coordinator. I recommend meeting with your internship coordinator as early into your college career as possible, because they can provide you with a lot of helpful tips and tricks that can help you maximize your internship experience.

2. Your university’s prerequisites
Every university has different prerequisites and requirements students must meet before interning for credit. For example, I’m a dual-major in music business and marketing, and because the two majors are in two different departments, they each have their separate set of rules and requirements. Technically, my marketing major has no requirements, and I could’ve interned for credit my first semester in college. On the other hand, my music business department has several prerequisite courses, an internship training lab, and collegiate seminar requirements that must be met before you can intern for credit. Many schools will not allow internships before your junior year, and you often have to meet a certain GPA standard. With every school taking a different approach to internships, make sure you find out the specific protocol for your school.
3. How much credit can I receive?

Every school takes a different approach to the credit rewarded for your internship. My school, for example, gives credit on a sliding scale in accordance with the number of hours you work at your internship each week. The more you intern, the more credit you receive. However, this is not always the case at every school. Make sure to ask your internship coordinator about the credits rewarded for an internship. Another important question to ask is the maximum number of credits you can be granted through internships. Universities will typically cap off the number of hours you can earn in internships, because they want you to have a balance with classes and experiential learning. My school will only allow you to receive a total of 6 credit hours for internships during your entire college career, so I suggest you save your internship credits and allocate them wisely!
4. Internship criteria and approval process

Depending on the type of internship you’re interested in, it’s important to find out if your school has certain criteria that the company of interest must meet. As a music business student, my music business internships must be at companies with a significant tie to the entertainment industry, and if I try to intern for credit at a company that’s not entertainment related, I can’t receive credit. Your school may require you to get your internship approved, but if not, make sure that the company meets the college’s criteria to ensure you get your credit at the end of the semester! When in doubt, ask your internship coordinator.

5. How do you register for credit?

Credited internships often require registration, because you are receiving credit just as you would for a class. You may have to register for a special section specifically for internships when you go in and register for all of your classes. Depending on your school’s rules, you may have to receive an override or consult your coordinator before you can register. Either way, make sure you have done all you need to register for your internship before registration rolls around. Many universities will only let you register for a credited internship within the first few weeks of the semester, or until the drop/add period.
6. Once I start my internship, when do I need to provide proof?

Some companies are very strict about students providing proof of credit. Don’t be surprised if you have to provide a letter from your university within the first week of your internship. These guidelines will typically be found in the internship job description, so you’re expected to handle this requirement in a timely manner. When you start your internship, come armed with the necessary documentation in hand!
7. Once I’ve finished my internship, what do I need to do?

After you finish your internship, does your school have any closing procedures you must go through? Some universities require students to write a reflection or closing statement in regards to their internship experience, while other schools may not have any requirements. Try to find out the ending procedures at the beginning of the semester, so you are well aware of what’s in store.

This blog is written by SUNY Plattsburgh campus ambassador and Intern Queen intern Alyssa, who will graduate this December with a Bachelor’s in Business Management!

As I get prepared to graduate this fall there are a few things I look back on during my college career. A little background on my college career. I was a Culinary Student at SUNY Cobleskill and graduated with an AOS in 2009. Decided that I did not want to do that after two years of school, so I transferred to SUNY Plattsburgh where I switched my major to Business Management.

First off when I got on campus and settled into the new lifestyle as a college student, I wish someone, anyone would of told me how important it is was to join a club, organization or have been involved in on campus activities. Looking back now as a senior, it’s a total regret and something I want every Freshmen to know. It’s not nerdy, nor uncool to be apart of something.

I was a transfer student going into my Junior year only knowing one person on the entire campus of over 6,000 people. You quickly realized most people that far into their college career had their established friends from the two previous years. It was hard to adapt to a new area and campus where you barely knew anyone, had no involvement with anything, and always heard the latest scoop during classes.

Make sure you take your class work serious. Getting a C or D in that basic psychology class as a Freshmen, may come back to haunt you. Not realizing that one day down the road as a senior or even graduate student that either it’s hurting your GPA or you have to retake the class because you either can’t graduate or not get accepted into a Masters program.

Lastly, the importance of an internship. There was not a single person my Freshmen or Sophomore year that mentioned one thing about an internship to me. At this point in time in your college career you should have at least one or working on a second internship. Even if you are unsure what you want to do, do things that interest you. After getting hands on experience from actually doing what you think you like you will soon realize you either one love it or hate it. Best way to help you figure out what you might want to be when you grow up.

Just remember these 3 things:

1- Stay involved on campus
2- Take school seriously
3- Get an Internship or several

This blog is written by Jenna, our Campus Ambassador at Chico State. She is a junior journalism major and just finished an internship with a magazine in the Bay Area.

“If you can deal with us for another summer, we’d love to have you back next year.”

Two weeks before my summer internship ended, my supervisor casually threw this in at the end of an email. I was absolutely thrilled with the thought, and I became increasingly excited about my future options. Here are some things I did that I believe made them want me back.

Connect with everyone. Talk to everyone in the office. Create relationships with them and continuously ask if they need help with anything. This way, if your supervisor asks around to see who would be happy with having you around for a while longer, everyone will be familiar with you and associate you with being a helping hand.

Learn what people like. There are certain ways people like things done. Pay close attention to the details and it will be appreciated. I noticed that one of the editors in the office wanted me to use paper clips instead of staples when compiling files for her, so she could later keep them in a binder. Also, my supervisor was huge on communication, so I made sure to forward her many of the emails I sent.

Send daily updates. I found that sending an email to my supervisor that included a list of what I accomplished at the end of each day was really helpful. She loved the organization and it was also easier for me to check things off my list. Don’t flood their email inbox – just try it out one day and see how they respond. Some people may receive too many emails already and would prefer to only talk about your day in person.

Go above and beyond. Step out of your comfort zone and make your daily goal to make someone in the office say, “Wow.” Let them know you’re dedicated and ask a ton of questions. I once had the assignment of interviewing someone and writing a short bio. She told me she could only speak with me at 8 p.m. that night or the following week. If I waited, I would miss my deadline. I then took initiative and “worked” after leaving the office. It paid off.

I am not entirely sure of my plans for next summer just yet, but I had some other Campus Ambassadors weigh in – to intern with one company twice as long or move on and gain experience from multiple?

“I interned at the same company twice and now I have a full time position there!” Cat from University of South Florida

“My Work Experience teacher at school told me you should only stay at an internship if you are going to continue learning new things.” – Vanessa from San Diego Mesa College

“I interned at the same company three times but I always did something different.” – Sarah from University of Missouri

This blog is written by Catherine O. our campus ambassador from Barton College.

I’m not one to have many pet peeves but one that really bothers me is when people are late. I have always been taught that it is very important to be punctual. It’s not good to hold people up or cause any inconvenience for them. I will offer a few quick tips to help with you become more punctual.

At the beginning of the day (or the night before), make a list of things to do and set your priorities. This can help you become clutter-brain free throughout the day.

Take time to plan each activity and give yourself ample time to complete each task before starting on the next. This will also eliminate any mistakes or setbacks to your schedule.

If you have planned an activity, meeting, dinner, event, etc. in advance, make sure to schedule less important things around it. Don’t plan anything around the time of any big event! For example, don’t plan a nail/hair appointment at 1pm and be scheduled to attend a friend’s wedding at 2pm. Who knows what could happen within that time frame that could cause you to miss or be late to your friend’s wedding.

Last but not least, if something unexpected happens that may cause you to be late, make sure to call the person with whom you are meeting with to inform them of your possible tardiness.

I hope these tips help you all!

This blog is written by Kate, our Campus Ambassador for University of California, Davis.

As students, it is a must to maximize all available resources. Google has many online products
that are free to use with a Google account. I use most of them on a daily basis. Since Google
is on the web, I do not have to worry about finding a typo in my essay without my file at hand,
I can simply edit and print on campus. All Google products are neatly organized at http://
www.google.com/intl/en/about/products/.

Here are a few products that every intern and student must know!

Google Docs – This is the one product that everyone should consume. My favorite
feature is that you are able to share documents in that everyone can edit and leave
comments without the hassle of emailing different versions back and forth.

Google Scholar – Scholarly papers accessible online, convenient as a resource for a
research paper or a senior thesis

Google Books – Books online! Save the hassle of going out to buy a book and have it
as paperweight, they always have new titles too. Google Books also have the classics
available to read for free.

Google Reader – Condense your favorite blogs on one location! With Google Reader,
you can save the hassle of visiting multiple blogs and read them all together (or not, up
to you!)