Dartmouth ranked third in the country for percentage of graduates who secured internships during their undergraduate careers, according to a U.S. News & World Report list announced on Sept. 27. American University led the list with 85 percent, followed by the Colorado School of Mines with 81 percent, U.S. News reported.
Of the 1,067 graduates of the Class of 2010, 72 percent held internship positions during their time at the College, according to the report. This percentage is nearly twice the nationwide average of 37.6 percent, compiled from data provided by 416 schools, according to the report.
Dartmouth the only Ivy League school to place in the top 10 is the university with the highest overall U.S. News ranking to make the internship ranking list, according to the report. U.S. News recently ranked the College 11th in its annual "Best Colleges" ranking.
Students interviewed by The Dartmouth cited the D-Plan as a major factor in pushing the College to its high ranking, with opportunities spread throughout the year instead of limited to Summer term.
"On a semester schedule you might be forced to choose between an internship or studying abroad," Gordon Vermeer '12 said. "With the D-Plan, you can play around and do all of the above."
Sarah Aziz '12 said she was not surprised about the high ranking given the "competitive nature of Dartmouth students."
"Most students feel that the more internship experience they have before graduating, the more likely they'll be able to land a job offer right out of school, not to mention that relevant internship experience also looks attractive on graduate and professional school applications," Aziz said in an email to The Dartmouth.
Involvement in extracurricular activities on campus might be another reason for students' motivation to seek internships, Aziz said.
"It could be that students are so accustomed to being involved in events, projects or sports that having a less dynamic off-term may not be as pleasant as having a more structured and productive off-term spent taking an engaging internship," she said.
This mindset seems unique to the Dartmouth campus, Hannah Kattermann '12 said.
"My friends from home don't understand because they don't have that drive or self-imposed pressure to find internships somewhere," Kattermann said. "I think students here put a lot of pressure on themselves to find internships, but in reality I don't think anyone would look down on someone who goes home and babysits or waitresses, for example."
Kelly McGlinchey '12 who interned at the Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute in the Bahamas last winter said she agrees that students' own determination factors into their success at landing internships.
"We have an active student body, and students are very driven and proactive," McGlinchey said. "Everyone's ready to go out and get hands-on experience."
Vermeer who interned at a small economic consulting company this spring said his experience was "huge" in determining his career path and that he was offered a job for next year, he said.
"For a long time, I didn't know if I wanted to do consulting, but I liked the small environment," Vermeer said. "I liked the type of work. It gave me an idea of where else to look for jobs."
There is a national trend towards companies offering long-term employment to former interns who perform well, according to Monica Wilson, acting co-director of Career Services.
Employers will continue offering internships despite the economy's slow rebound, Wilson said.
"Internships are an economical way for employers to evaluate entry-level hires, so they're unlikely to stop offering internships, as long as there is meaningful work for students," Wilson said.
Vermeer said both students and employers benefit from an early job offer.
"It's given me more latitude of taking the pressure off [of finding a job]," he said. "I have the option of looking for other stuff, but I also have something to fall back on."
While McGlinchey found her internship on Idealist.org, a job and internship aggregate search site, many other students turn to Career Services during their job search, according to several students interviewed by The Dartmouth.
"My sense is that Dartmouth makes it absurdly easy and accessible to apply to jobs," Vermeer said.
Career Services has a large array of resources to aid students, including membership in the Nationwide Internship Consortium, which shares information with 17 other schools and gives access to over 6,000 internships, according to Wilson.
Kattermann said that although Career Services is a good option, it's not "the only one,"
"It's students' own motivation to find internships, to look on their own and network," Kattermann said. "Alumni are helpful to everyone, and you can also go through parents' friends."
Wilson said internships are instrumental in preparing students for graduation.
"They're getting practical work experience in addition to a liberal arts education," Wilson said.
