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"Frequently Asked Questions" from Student Applicants

	Applying for Externships
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• What is an externship?
• Where are externships offered?
• What externships are being offered?
• Will I be paid for the work I do?
• What type of work will I do?
• What type of experience do I need to apply?
• How do I apply? And, how many can I apply for?
• Where can I get help writing my resume and cover letters?
• How does the selection process work?
• How do I know if I've been accepted for an externship?
• If I am accepted for an externship in another city, what do I do about housing and transportation?
• What are the guidelines for international students?
• What are the guidelines for graduate students?

What is an externship?
An externship gives students the opportunity to explore a specific career path, gain marketable job experience, and make professional connections, by working with alumni during MIT's Independent Activities Period (IAP) January 5-30, 2009. Students join alumni in their workplace for a week, or the entire length of IAP, depending on the needs of the sponsor and student, and collaborate on various projects.

Where are externships offered?
Externship opportunities are offered by alumni in a wide range of professions primarily in the Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC areas.

What externships are being offered?
The Student/Alumni Externship Program has opportunities in many fields, including financial services, health care and medicine, management consulting, and engineering. For example, you could be doing Cancer/Molecular Biology Research at a large medical center, working in urban planning, spending time on the trading floor of the NYSE, or rolling up your sleeves at a start-up.

Will I be paid for the work I do?
Unless otherwise indicated, an externship is an unpaid position, and students are expected to pay all of their own expenses associated with participating in the program. Last year, approximately half of the alumni sponsors offered some pay, housing, or transportation assistance. Sponsors who are willing to do so will indicate this on their externship listing posted on our Web site.

What type of work will I do?
In the past, students have assisted with research, laboratory work, data analysis, software development, and participated in planning and brainstorming sessions with their sponsor and other members of his or her staff. Some students may spend their externship visiting different departments at a large company and interacting with staff on different levels, while others may be assigned individual projects to complete during the length of their externship.

What type of experience do I need to apply?
All students, whether they have job experience or not, are encouraged to apply for externships of their choice. Some alumni are eager to help freshmen with little or no job experience get that first hands-on experience in the working world, while others may prefer an undergraduate or graduate student with more skills and work experience. Each externship opportunity will include information about the level of experience desired. However, all alumni seek to make the externship a positive and productive learning experience for students.

How many externships can I apply for?
Externship opportunities are posted in early October on the Association's Web site. Students can apply for up to 3 different externship opportunities. The more externships for which a student applies, the better chance he or she has of placement.

How do I apply? And, how many can I apply for?
Students can apply for up to 3 different opportunities on-line in begininng September 24 . The deadline for applications is October 8, 2008 . Students must have an Infinite Connection account to apply.

Where can I get help writing my resume and cover letters?
The MIT Careers Office provides a Tips Guide and Career Counselors to help you write clear and compelling resumes and cover letters.

How does the selection process work?
Alumni sponsors will be granted on-line access to the student applications to alumni sponsors. The sponsor will review them and may choose to meet or speak on the phone with the student applicants before determining the applicants they have interest in. The Alumni Association then matches students with opportunities for which the sponsor believes the students are qualified. Our matching system seeks to maximize the number of student-sponsor matches. In some cases, a match cannot be made, but every attempt will be made to do so. You will be notified of the results in early December.

How do I know if I've been accepted for an externship?
Once a successful student-sponsor match is made, the student is notified by email by the Alumni Association in early December.

If I am accepted for an externship in another city, what do I do about housing and transportation?
It is the student's responsibility to make arrangements for housing and transportation and to cover the costs of both, if they choose to accept an externship in another city. Alumni sponsors are under no obligation to cover these costs and should not be asked to do so by students. In some cases, alumni will offer to make arrangements and cover the cost for housing and transportation, and this will be indicated in the externship posting on our Web site during the application process.

Consider contacting area schools to see about rental opportunities. Use online resources such as craigslist.org and hostels.com, or use your own network of family and friends. Some students have had success by contacting fraternity or sorority brother/sister houses in the city of their externship placement.

What are the guidelines for international students?
Undergraduate international students interested in participating in the Externship must get Optional Practical Training (OPT) approval for their externship from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Only students who have studied in the United States for at least one academic year are eligible for OPT. Please read the information provided by the International Students Office and consult with an International Student Advisor prior to applying to the Externship program. If you do not meet with an International Student Advisor to discuss your participation in the Externship Program, you will not be eligible to participate.

Graduate international students may receive credit for an externship if it is directly related to the research he or she is doing. Additionally, your MIT faculty advisor must write a letter supporting the proposal and specify the course number under which credit will be provided. Please consult with an International Student Advisor and receive approval for participating in the Externship Program from your faculty advisor prior to applying to the Externship program. If you do not meet with an International Student Advisor to discuss your participation in the Externship Program, you will not be eligible to participate.

In most cases, international students are not eligible to receive financial compensation for their externship. Additionally, international students who hold an RA or TA cannot have any other work on or off campus.

What are the guidelines for graduate students?
Graduate students must get approval from their faculty advisor prior to applying for any externship. Graduate students who do not get this approval for participation in the Externship Program will not be eligible to participate.

If you have questions about the Externship Program, please call Katie Casey (617) 452-3372 or email externship@mit.edu.