While some of you were spending your summer rioting in London or swimming with manatees, many Mississippi State University students, myself included, were working as interns.
Now, being an intern does have its perks: you get out of the classroom, you gain professional experience and you get really good at making coffee and taking lunch orders. 
Although these are great skills to obtain, there is one part about interning which I detest: registering for the internship class through your department.
These “classes” vary by major but enable you to obtain credit for your internship, something many major companies require in order for you to intern. 
These types of classes initially sound God-sent. They entail little interaction with a professor and you rarely have anything to turn in but just wait until you get your tuition bill.
Please picture my face as I logged on to view my bill and see for the internship class in which neither student nor teacher does much of anything, I was charged over $2,100. Now, I am a graduate student and originate from Illinois, so I am used to having to pay more, but I could not believe my eyes.
The university wanted big money for doing practically nothing. I was Vanna White doing all the work (while looking fabulous) and the university was Pat Sajak.
Upon seeing the highly inflated invoice, I called account services and the office of the registrar and was told the same thing: “Sorry.”
Elton John was right. It is the hardest word.
To add salt to the wound, you do not even receive an “A” for your hard work but an “S”. I will let you guess what the “S” stands for after you empty your bank account to pay for it. 
Because I had no choice, I paid the bill. I was fortunate enough to be paid for the internship, but I know many of my colleagues were not as lucky and had a similar bill to pay.  Not only did they have to pay living expenses in perhaps some big city, they also had to pay MSU to garner that prestigious letter grade. This is wrong.
I am all for paying for a quality education, but if the university wants compensation for these classes without appearing like a Kardashian then it should do more in regards to internships. 
The university needs an office thats sole responsibility is to seek out these positions and find residential opportunities for students who are interning. 
For example, while I was interning in New York, the University of Missouri students were all able to secure cheaper housing because the school located a building in which they all could live.
Now, you may be reading this and believe we are all adults who need to search for our own work. I can support this sentiment, but let’s not scam students into paying for relatively nothing. I will gladly find my own internship if that means paying a reduced rate for credit.
If we must pay the big bucks to work somewhere else, then MSU must do something more to support each of us trying to better our chances of employment upon graduation.
Mississippi State needs to be lobbying companies near and far about the talent pool present in Starkville. The leaders of this university are very well connected.
It’s time we put those networks to good use and watch more students earn prestigious internships.
The university should not be a barrier in us wanting to intern, but a source of encouragement and assistance when we briefly head into the real world.
All gloom and doom aside, I may have found a remedy for future MSU interns while doing research for this piece.
If you want to intern but the company requires school credit, contact the MSU Cooperative Education office first. Unlike your department which will charge you like you’re taking an actual class, Co-op may be able to have your internship go through its office for only $25.
Sadly, this fee is not retroactive.
If your department requires the internship then you are probably stuck paying the big bill like me. But if you are doing the internship for pure experience, be sure to look into this option first and maybe save yourself the financial stress. 
Why do the departments refrain from sharing this information with students? I wish I had an answer, but no one I spoke to knew the Co-op option existed.
Do yourself a favor and look into it; you may want to kiss me after saving all that money.
I won’t object, but buy me some gummy bears first. I am classy like that.
 
Patrick Young is a graduate student in public policy and administration. He can be contacted at [email protected].