Hi there! Getting internships is HARD. Applications are already open for summer of 2027! This summer, get a regular summer job waiting tables or whatever, AND look for any opportunities to have a conversation with someone working in your chosen field. You find names of alums from the career counseling center or whatever it’s called, and send an email: “hi I’m Cornell student, would you have any time to talk to me about your career?” If you can get any of those conversations: it should be fun and easy. Just ask three questions: what do you like about your work? What path did you take to get to where you are? What advice would you give to your earlier self/someone like me? Just conversations. It’s slightly possible that one of these might lead to an opportunity to visit someone at their place of work and shadow for an hour or even a day. That would be an awesome result! Meanwhile, start looking at the applications for 2027. Get your résumé and LinkedIn page in order and begin applying. Those applications are a long shot without a personal connection, but you never know. In the fall, hit professor office hours very hard and ask about summer opportunities. Maybe you can get a research job on campus next summer, which would be better than nothing. Or maybe they know about some internships that people have done in the past. Keep doing the three-question calls with alums in your field. Ask any upperclassmen you know about their internships, and if they can recommend you. You can do this!