My school, Penn State, has something called the Washington Program. You apply to the program, then the program coordinator makes calls on your behalf to his personal network of Penn State alumni and other internship sponsors from the DC area. The quality of these internships was incredible: students worked on Capitol Hill, for big name media outlets, and for public affairs firms.<p>The program works so well because each year it can deliver students who have the "Penn State Washington Program seal of approval", so to speak. To an internship sponsor, the value proposition is simple: "Liked last year's intern? Well here's another."<p>It's definitely good that a site like InternMatch exists, but I think the best way for students to land a competitive internship is through some sort of social validation. The Penn State Washington Program provided this validation to students who otherwise might not have any connections in D.C.<p>Perhaps there is some business opportunity here: provide social validation for potential interns just like the Washington Program, but at scale (think Monster.com vs. TheLadders). Or maybe this is something best left to universities and their alumni associations.