NextGen Advising says internships are becoming the new admissions race

NextGen Advising co-founders Rachel Blankstein and Caroline Sheu told New York clients that college internship recruiting now requires the same kind of early, sustained preparation families associate with selective admissions. Their comments come as data show stronger internship-to-job conversion rates, rising employer demand, and more AI-related requirements in hiring.

Why it matters: - College internships are now a major gateway to entry-level jobs, which makes early planning more valuable for students and families. - Employers are using internships as a primary hiring pipeline, so students who wait until junior or senior year may miss key opportunities. - AI skills are showing up in internship and full-time postings, adding another layer of preparation for students entering the market.

What happened: - NextGen Advising co-founders Rachel Blankstein and Caroline Sheu presented "Why College Internships Are Now the New Admissions Race" on Oct. 6, 2026, at a bulge-bracket investment bank's headquarters in New York City. - The presentation took place during an event for clients of the firm's Private Client team. - The session focused on internship recruiting, AI in hiring and early career planning for college students. - The discussion compared internship recruiting to selective college admissions, with both requiring early and sustained preparation.

The details: - The presentation urged students to begin career planning as early as freshman year, not when graduation gets close. - Blankstein and Sheu described a process that starts with exploring possible career paths and continues with building professional skills for a competitive job market. - National Association of Colleges and Employers data showed employers converted 63.1% of their 2024-25 interns into full-time hires, the highest conversion rate in five years. - NACE also found employers expected to hire 3.9% more interns in 2025-26 than in the prior year. - NACE's 2026 Student Survey found 55% of graduating seniors in the Class of 2026 who completed paid internships and applied for jobs received at least one offer. - Paid interns with job offers received an average starting salary offer of $69,521, compared with $61,747 overall. - Caroline Sheu said employers increasingly value candidates who can show how they have applied skills in real-world settings. - Sheu said paid internships help students build practical experience, professional confidence and the skills employers want in early-career talent. - Handshake's Class of 2026 Graduation Report showed that, as of March 2026, more than 10% of active internship postings on the platform mentioned AI-related keywords. - The same report found 4.2% of full-time job postings mentioned AI-related keywords. - Rachel Blankstein said many families still assume career planning begins in junior or senior year, but that assumption no longer matches how internship recruiting works. - Blankstein said companies with formal internship programs expect relevant experiences on students' resumes. - NextGen Advising said internships can help students test interests, gain industry exposure, build relationships and learn whether a field is a fit. - Freshman-year internships and other early experiences can give students more time to explore before the most competitive recruiting cycles begin.

Between the lines: - The message reflects a shift in how college students compete for jobs: internships are no longer just résumé builders, but a central hiring benchmark. - The AI-related keyword data suggests employers are folding new technical expectations into both internship and entry-level recruiting. - The emphasis on freshman-year preparation points to a longer runway for students who want access to top internship programs.

What's next: - NextGen Advising is likely to keep building programs around career readiness, internships and AI-era job preparation. - The New York event followed two other recent NextGen Advising programs on career readiness. - On Sept. 15, 2026, Caroline Sheu led a half-day Early Career Workshop for summer interns in GROW, an internship program run by the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine. - On Sept. 27, 2026, NextGen Advising presented "Positioning Students for Career Success in the AI Economy" to members of the National Charity League's Sand Hill chapter in Menlo Park, California. - NextGen Advising said it works with students as early as freshman year on career exploration, professional skill development and preparation for competitive internships and first jobs. - More information is available on NextGen Advising's website.

The bottom line: - Internships have become a high-stakes entry point to full-time employment, and NextGen Advising is urging students to start preparing much earlier than many families expect.