Managing Money :: Would-be interns pay thousands for coveted spot

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Released: August 30, 2010

Would-be interns pay thousands for coveted spot

Source: Jenna Johnson, Washington Post (Free Registration)

Each year, thousands of college students descend on Washington for unpaid internships. It can be a nerve-racking process: sending out résumés, trying to make contacts, interviewing again and again.

Increasingly, many of them are finding an alternative: paying thousands of dollars to a placement company for a guaranteed spot.

For their money—often funded with taxpayer-subsidized loans—students get an internship, housing, night classes, tours of Washington and college credit. But most say they sign up for the work experience.

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