r/DCInterns

Basically what the title says, really want to explore the city and don’t know a lot of folks here to do it with!

Just bought a black suit and worried that it might seem like I’m going to a funeral or something 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Interning for the Department of Commerce this summer, what should be the daily attire for a male? I know congressional internships demand business professional, is there a different expectation for federal internships? Will I be fine rotating between 4-5 suits?

i’m mostly reaching out to other past cohorts of UCDC (university of california washington center) people since they are the most likely to have experienced this situation, but i still don’t have an internship secured and i’m pretty sure if i don’t have one by move in weekend, ill still be heading to dc.

my main question is for those in past cohorts or those in similiar situations that didn’t get an internship until after they moved in:
- did you/the person like the internship you/they managed to be placed at with assistance from on-site advisors?
- did being in dc make it easier to secure internships last minute?
- what’s the probability of ending up somewhere that aligns with your goals, etc.?

im super thrilled in general to be going to dc as part of the ucdc cohort, and of course not landing the internships i wanted in the first place definitely sucks but i just want to be prepared when worst comes to worst! thank you in advance!

Hey, I am a 20 yr old sophomore at UC Santa Cruz planning to move to D.C. in persuit of a NPF internship! I am looking for a place to stay from June 8 to August 7. Is anyone looking for a roomate or have any advice! PM me!

Any group chats out there for hill interns? Wanna see if I can connect with anyone else working in the Capitol! I’ll be interning in the senate.

this will be my first summer interning in a foreign city. i'm thinking of printing out business cards that I can hand out to people at networking events but i wanted to know if that was common practice in DC. additionally, should i have my intern title on them (but not company branding) or just 'student @ xyz university'? thank you!

Has anyone received a FJO yet for a summer internship? I received mine and will start in June.

I’m starting a senate internship and senate will be out of session when I start, I was told to wear khakis, and a polo or stuff like that when senate is out of session, but I don’t want to be too dressed down or over dressed if I still wear a suit on my first day. Need some opinions on this if anyone can put some input in

Sort of disheartened because I was rejected from every DC office. Let's see tho, maybe I can secure a role in this district office.

Did anyone hear back from CSIS internships?

Interning in Congress this Summer, first day attire says “business professional.” Should this be full suit (blazer and dress pants) for women too or would a dress be appropriate?

Hey all. so I'm stressing out about this like crazy right now. I'm not going to name any names just in case, but I'm going to be part of an internship matching program this summer in DC. I accepted an unpaid position about a month ago, it seems really cool but it's not as aligned with what I wanted for my career goals when first applying for internships. I'm really open minded though, so this doesn't really matter to me. However, a few days ago I got an official offer from one of my top internship choices. It's paid and is actually aligned with my career interests. It might have a bit less name recognition and has seemed a little more disorganized? but overall, under different circumstances, it would be a no-brainer for me to reneg the current one for this new one.

The problem is, my program has really strong policies against reneging. It's a conduct violation and I would be put on probation for the entire summer. I've done my best to look into what 'probation' actually entails, and as far as I can tell, it's sort of like a "first strike," where things would just escalate much faster if something else were to happen? And I'm typically super responsible, so I doubt anything else would. I'm also on a scholarship from my university, and my liaison met with somebody from the program. They told him that it would probably be fine, and I'd just need to tread carefully from there. I'm still just nervous because, when *I* emailed them, I got a pretty threatening email in response, outlining why I shouldn't reneg and that I'd be put on probation, etc etc. The program director was copied on the email too, and I had a meeting scheduled for next week but he might join the meeting now. I HATE conflict and even though my liaison is backing me up and probation doesn't actually seem too bad, I just hate the feeling of being in trouble, and can't help worry that *what if the consequences actually end up being worse than I think?*

I know reneging is controversial in its own right, but also, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. I've been supporting myself through college and the prospect of working without pay this summer has been giving me so much anxiety; but now, getting in trouble with my program is also giving me anxiety. I think both opportunities are generally good, and I do really want to accept this paid one, but I'm just not sure if it's worth the risk. Or if there really is a substantial risk. (if anyone has been in a similar-sounding program, without naming names, let me know haha.) Will reneging this offer really follow me around DC if I decide to come back here someday? From what I've outlined here, what would you all do?

I hope this is enough context but let me know if you'd like more. Any advice is appreciated; I'm so bad at making big decisions on my own!

Hi! I just got accepted to an internship in DC, but am struggling finding central housing downtown. I was wondering if anyone knows here to find housing for around 1500 a month?

I just got accepted to internship in dc and starting in june but housing search is already giving me anxiety. University housing boards are either full or cost more than my entire stipend. Facebook groups full of people subletting at insane markups because they know interns are desperate

Stipend is about 3500 a month, after taxes maybe 2800. Most "intern friendly" housing I'm finding is 1500+ for a shared room which leaves almost nothing for food and metro. Anyone who interned in dc recently have actual suggestions that aren't "ask your parents"?

i’m so desperate i keep on getting rejected

Has anyone received their GWU Summer housing assignment? In an earlier email they said that housing assignments would be sent out the first week of May, but I haven't seen anything yet. Was curious if anyone else has heard back. Also how are you supposed to pay? I can't figure out where in the portal to pay.

I was dead set on a hill internship for 3 cycles straight. The first cycle was summer and I was really confident that it would be easy to get because of my previous congressional district internship. I ended up getting rejected from every hill office I applied to.

For Fall and Winter, I got interviews for many top offices but ultimately got rejected from all of them. I ended up doing governmental relations work and it was the best work I have ever done. It was so amazing that it changed my career trajectory. I truly think that if I did not pursue the internship, I would not have made the connections that I made with individuals which included my hill interviewers and hill staffers from both senate and house. I also ended up having coffee chats with interviewers who rejected me and most of the time, the selection was based on something out of the applicant's control.

What I am trying to say is, try something new if hill internships do not go your way. It may give you more opportunities to meet with people on the hill. Do not let a no stop you.

Hey y’all!

I have an internship this summer with the DGA and was worried about making friends up in D.C. so I made this discord server!

https://discord.gg/Zrn93VKMW

All interns in DC are welcome to join, no matter if you’re a hilltern or a private sector or not even in politics!

Cant wait to meet you guys!