Students submit an application with their career and geographic interests, which is then run through a database. Students are responsible for contacting alumni once a match has been made. Shadowing can last anywhere from two hours to two days. About 65 to 70 percent of students get matched. Almost 50 students were matched last spring through the Extern Program, which began in the early 1990s and has more than 5,000 alumni advisers.
Many students consider summer a prime time for making money.
According to an e-mail survey sent by University Career Services to more than 3,000 UNC sophomores, juniors and seniors, about 55 percent of the nearly 180 students who replied said their internships were paid. The size of the salary varies depending on the industry and demand for internships, Graham says. In public policy, Nichols says, paid and unpaid internships are split about evenly. The most highly ranked internships don't pay because they don't have to. To help PUPA students in their search, Nichols' newsletter includes a list of Web sites.