There’s no substitute for experience. College admissions officers know that one of the best ways to demonstrate intellectual vitality and explore a career interest is to participate in an internship program, either in-person or remote (both are valuable). But not all internships are created equal. The best internships are the ones that provide opportunities to do meaningful work and make significant contributions to an organization, rather than relegate you to busy-work. Helping to file papers, fetch lunch or simply answer phones can certainly teach responsibility and professionalism. But it’s not going to challenge you intellectually or stimulate your curiosity, and it’s certainly not going to lead to a professional reference letter that makes colleges sit up and take notice of your accomplishments.
Ivy Scholars offers select high school students the opportunity to intern (either remotely or in-person) at a variety of hand-picked, cutting-edge startup companies that provide the student with the rare opportunity to engage with senior-level staff and conduct meaningful work. From the heart of Silicon Valley to the East Coast, exciting opportunities abound for ambitious students who are hungry for a challenge. Students might be assigned to perform data analysis, create infographics and Powerpoint presentations, draft a plan for revenue expansion, or build the company’s social network platform from scratch. The possibilities are endless, and they’re all based in real-world applications, happening in real time.
These are not simulations or theory. This is you joining a small team of highly-educated professionals who are all bright, ambitious business innovators. Many of them obtained their undergraduate and graduate degrees from the same schools you’re hoping to attend. In success, you will gain enormous insight and experience into the business world, and ideally, you will earn a glowing reference letter from a senior member of the company, if not the founder personally. As mentors, we will match you with an appropriate internship, track your progress and contributions, and learn feedback from your employer to maximize the benefits of your experience. We will also assist you in obtaining a world-class reference letter that underscores your unique skills, personal traits and contributions, and adds impact to your college application.
Student 1 approached us with a keen interest in machine learning. With a strong desire to learn more about the field, as well as some experience in programming, this was the perfect role for him. However, he was looking specifically to implement his ML interest in a field where he would be able to write a meaningful essay about community service in the field of education. We found him an internship with a United Nations-backed startup founded by UC Berkeley and the University of Waterloo alumni. They accelerate the learning process for youths in developing regions through a gamified adaptive-learning interface, and have won numerous awards.
Student 1 is working directly with the CTO of the firm to gain mentoring on the technical side, learning about ML while developing a project that will directly impact 1000s of underprivileged students in Indonesia.
Student 2 approached us looking to learn more about either the worlds of either finance or medical technology – two of his primary interests. Rather than settling for one or the other, we sourced him a role with a private equity and venture capital investment firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which would allow him to explore both fields by working with industry experts in leveraged buyouts and MedTech SAAS acquisitions. By combining his interests in an interdisciplinary manner, Student 2 can learn more about two of the most prestigious industries to break into. He is likely one of just a handful of high schoolers with real work experience at a private equity firm. Not only will his work be used to evaluate investment decisions in the order of seven figures, but he is on track to obtain a fantastic letter of recommendation that will allow him to stand out in any finance-related role he may apply to in the future, beyond just his college applications.
Ivy Scholars is dedicated to the goal of helping students achieve their educational dreams, and we are hardly the only organization doing so. To help reach this mutual goal, Ivy Scholars has partnered with several other organizations.
Ivy Scholars is the leading educational consultant in Sugar Land, Texas, providing admissions coaching, test prep, and more to help students enroll at top tier schools.
Call us now: +1 (281) 215-5148
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