Dozens of applications.

Weeks of waiting. 

One response.

For many DePaul students, the internship search is defined less by rejection and more by silence. 

By the time senior Linnah Stevens had submitted around 30 applications, the process had started to feel routine. Open the job board. Adjust the resume. Rewrite the cover letter. Submit. Repeat.

Then wait.

“I feel like I was applying and just not even hearing a rejection,” said Stevens, a public relations and advertising student. “It felt like, kind of just by chance that I got responded to by one.”

After applying in September, Stevens eventually secured a position in marketing and communications with Make-A-Wish Illinois. She now works about 14-15 hours per week, splitting time between the office and remote work. Because the internship is unpaid, she also maintains a paid job while balancing a full course load. 

She says this balance has been “pretty difficult.”

Her experience reflects a broader, national shift. According to the 2025 Internship Index from Handshake, applications per internship have continued to rise while postings have declined, creating a more competitive landscape for students. As more candidates compete for fewer roles, response rates shrink and the waiting stretches longer. 

Ally Hutchison, another senior majoring in public relations and advertising, described the internship search as a cycle that never really ends. Since her sophomore year, she has consistently looked for internships. Now applying for full-time jobs ahead of graduation, she says the process feels strikingly similar. 

“It’s kind of rare to hear something back every so often, or it’ll be just a rejection. It’s a little bit defeating, but I just get used to it, which is sad,” she said.

Although no one told her explicitly that she needed an internship, Hutchison says the expectation felt implied, particularly among peers attending academically competitive schools such as the University of Michigan. 

“In my mind, it was like if I don’t get one, I’m screwed,” she said. 

That perception — that internships are simply a checklist item — is something Mark Lazio, associate director of internship and career experience support at DePaul’s Career Center, hopes students will reconsider. 

“Make it your own process,” Lazio said. “Figure out what you want to do, not what you have to do.”

Apprehension, he added, is a major barrier. Many students are not sure where to begin or how to ask for help, so they avoid the process altogether. Additionally, many students are already trying to manage classes, extracurriculars and a part-time job. 

Lazio encourages students to start early, even in their first year, by visiting career fairs, exploring online resources or scheduling a coaching appointment. 

Hiring practices are also changing. Lazio pointed to data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, showing that roughly two thirds of employers are moving towards skill-based hiring. Rather than focusing solely on GPA and academics, employers want to know how students have applied knowledge, solved problems, communicated and developed professional skills in other contexts.

“GPAs and experiences still matter, but students can’t rely on them to do the work it used to,” Lazio said. “Employers want to see how you talk about those experiences, how you applied knowledge, used your skills, how you are leveraging that experience and what you developed.”

For some majors, the process looks different.

Ryan Houck, a junior studying exercise science on a pre-physical therapy track, says his senior-year internship is built into his academic plan, but that students are responsible for finding their own placement sites. 

“You have to go out on your own, find a site on your own, establish a line of communication,” Houck said. 

After securing a location, students must submit it for university approval and enroll in internship credits — meaning they pay tuition while independently finding and coordinating their own internship. Houck says this structure is frustrating.

“It kind of made me a little mad,” he said. “They say it’s school-affiliated, but the only affiliation is that you’re getting credits for it.”

For Nora Signore, a junior majoring in environmental science and teaching, the competition is concentrated in research roles. Many internships involve joining faculty research teams, which often only accept a couple of students at a time. 

“When the program sends out internships, they get swooped up really quickly,” she said. 

Signore says the pressure is heightened by job postings that require multiple years of experience, something difficult to accumulate while she is still in school. 

While the process looks different for each individual student, one thing is for sure: internships are getting harder to come by. Dozens of applications, hours of preparation and weeks of waiting have become the new normal. 

The pressure is palpable; it’s a weight that refuses to lift off the shoulders of many. For students like Stevens, Hutchison, Houck and Signore, the journey is a mix of persistence, uncertainty and careful planning. While each path is different, the experience of navigating the internship landscape has become a shared reality at DePaul. One defined as much by the effort it requires as the opportunity it provides.

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