Sheryl Swingley
Ball State University
Question: Will my internship employer provide housing or find housing for me?
Answer: Few internship employers provide or arrange housing. A few do, e.g., U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colo. Usually, though, it's your responsibility to find a place to live prior to arriving for your internship.
But, and this is a BIG BUT, never let your worries about finding a place to live stop you from applying for your dream internship or one in an expensive city.
I have students who come to my office and tell me they can't do this or that internship. Oftentimes it's because the internship is in a big city. Among the excuses are "I don't know where I would live."
My basic response is "How can you tell me you can't do this internship when you haven't been offered it yet?" You have to get the internship before you tell me or anyone else that you can't do it.
My advice is "Get the internship. Worry later about where you are going to live AND how you are going to pay for it. I've never had a homeless intern." One of my interns who went to Los Angeles threatened to sleep in his truck, but he didn't. Somehow he found an apartment that he could afford.
For some ideas of how to find an affordable place to live during your internship, here are some suggestions.
1. Oftentimes students will search for internships in communities where relatives or friends live. I'm sure a relative or friend will let you sleep on the couch, an inflatable mattress or guest room for 10 or 12 weeks.
2. Ask your contact at the place you will do your internship if he or she knows where any of their other interns have stayed. Although the business you work with doesn't usually find you housing, employees at your internship site oftentimes know where previous interns have found a place to live. You might inquire if any of the company's employees has an extra bedroom for rent.
3. Another idea is to ask for the names of the other interns you'll be working with. Contact them, or if the company is cautious about releasing the names of its other interns, ask that your name be given out so you can be contacted about sharing an apartment and sharing expenses.
4. If you're going to a university town, check with the local university or college to see if it rents residence hall rooms to students from other institutions. The university or college also might be able to direct you to area students interested in subleasing an apartment.
5. In New York City, contact New York University about housing it might have for interns coming to the city. A couple of other places interns I have worked with have stayed are The Riverside Terrace (upper West Side, 88th Street) and The Webster, which houses only women coming to the city for internships. Three other places to check in New York City are http://www.studenthousing.org, Plimpton Hall at http://www.barnard.edu/reslife/residencehalls/plimpton.html and http://www.rent-direct.com.
If you're not going to New York, enter student housing and the name of the city you're going to in Google to discover possible housing leads.
6. Most communities have services that will help you find an apartment. Use them, but before you sign a lease, make sure you understand what is required. You want a short-term lease, e.g., three months, for the time period you'll be in your temporary community for your internship. Short-term leases also cost a little more per month than year-long leases.
7. Try www.craigslist.org. Go to Google and enter craigslist seattle, for example. There will be a category for apartments and houses for rent.
8. One resourceful student contacted his religious community in the city he was going to do his internship. He found a place to stay as a result of an announcement in a religious bulletin.
I hope this helps alleviate some uneasiness about finding a place to live during an internship. Again, get the great opportunity first, and then worry about where you'll live.