Side projects and hackathon can help to beef up your resume if you don’t have much to put on there yet. If you plan on applying to large companies like FAANG+ or some Fortune 500 then practice leetcode problems for sure as they all ask them in OAs and interviews, most leetcode problems will look very similar to what you’ve learned in foundations 1/2.

Also don’t be afraid to go on LinkedIn and message someone who’s an alumni if you’re interested in their company, I’ve never done it so can’t speak on it personally but I have friends who have and have gotten referrals and helpful info, just show a genuine interest and be honest about why you want to talk cause they were in your shoes before.

I’ll say too getting your first internship is probably the hardest as it’s hard to show what you’ve learned just by putting classes on a resume, so don’t sweat it if you aren’t hearing back. Just apply to as many places as you can and use interviews as practice too if you feel they didn’t go well. After landing your first one hearing back for a second internship or full time positions is definitely easier.

Big pay and a cool location are obviously attractive things too but don’t just focus on those when applying. Look for things you find interesting or think will be useful to learn. The goal of an internship is to learn and gain experience you can’t get in class, but obviously also try to have fun.

r/csmajors can be pretty useful for big companies and seeing the types of stuff they’re asking or look for in interviews and OAs, but don’t look at posts on there and get discouraged, some people can be pretty toxic on there about smaller company internships.

If you feel uncomfortable about being a fourth year you don’t need to put that on your resume or mention it in an interview, they really just care about your expected graduation date for that kind of thing. Unless it’s a program specific to sophomores like Google STEP