Welcome to one-minute Briefing. This summer, landing an internship felt more like winning a lottery. Handshake reports a 15 percent drop in listings from 2023 to 2025. Companies, squeezed by funding cuts and economic uncertainty, offered fewer slots and asked for more experience than ever.

Take Paige Lorbiecki, a University of Florida junior. She documented on TikTok how she applied to over 100 marketing internships before a late-May yes—and admits, “It’s like a pit in your gut” waiting for replies. Northwestern senior Kelly Rappaport calls the “Easy Apply” button “as good as throwing your résumé in the garbage,” after 300 sincere applications and zero interviews. Stanford’s Skyley Mitchell says writing cover letters felt “like a dating app” where endless rejections drained her passion.

Even with top-tier schools and stacked résumés, students scrambled, applied everywhere, and learned that persistence—and connection—often mattered more than qualifications. For many, this summer was a stark lesson in a hypercompetitive entry-level market.
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