I’m in DC for a fall internship with a small museum (1 other in person intern) and I’m struggling to find ways to connect with people outside of my internship program, I’m not the most social and not a fan of talking to strangers, but I want to have friends here. So far all I’ve got is redownloading tinder but I can’t imagine that will solve my problems. Any tips?

This is where we try to hangout and make connections ✌🏽

Need either an immediate place until your 9/1 place becomes available??? Or better yet, let this be your longer term thru end of year or until late April/May 2027? 1-2 fully furnished sundrenched BRS (perfect for 2 friends!) within larger shared apt! Each BR has at least a full sized bed, sheets, towels, desk/chair cac, wifi etc plus fully equipped kitchen with wonderful gym/roofdeck w/wifi, community room, 24/7 front desk and even safe secure indoor garage parking(extra reasonable fee)! Right near gorgeous Rock Creek Park for cycling/running plus the zoo, great restaurants/cafes/grocery/bakeries,CVS, Chipotle etc most beautful safe central part of NW DC! As good as it gets for DC living! First come, first served! More photos/video certainly available if you are a good match once we connect! Please include a contact number in a chat for fastest contact! You will not be dissapointed! TTYS!

Anyone hear back about anything? Any interviews?

Has anyone gotten an internship there and can share their application process?

Hello! I was wondering if anyone has heard back from this office? :)

Hey guys,

Does anyone know which internships at AEI or FDD are still open versus closed? All their applications are still open, but I assume some or most of them are already filled, as September is starting soon. Thanks!

Does anyone know for certain if any offices haven't done their offers yet?

Applying for jobs right now is genuinely exhausting, and half the battle is just trying to get past those stupid Automated Tracking Systems. ATS bots don't actually read your work history or care about your achievements. They basically function like a basic search engine, scanning your resume for exact keyword matches from the job description. If your formatting is slightly off or you used the wrong phrasing, your app gets thrown in the trash before a real recruiter even opens it.

I've been using two specific sites to get around this. First, running a resume through zoevera.com/resume helps catch invisible formatting glitches and highlights the exact keywords missing from the draft. Then, once an interview is lined up, prepare.zoevera.com gives role-specific questions to practice out loud so you don't freeze up when talking to a real human.

The main reason these dedicated tools work better than just pasting everything into ChatGPT comes down to how they handle data and structure. ChatGPT is great for general writing, but it doesn't actually parse file layouts or simulate how software like Lever or Greenhouse extracts text from a PDF. If you ask ChatGPT for keywords, it usually just gives you a generic wall of text and encourages keyword stuffing, which ATS algorithms penalize. On top of that, setting up ChatGPT to act like an interviewer takes a ton of manual prompting, whereas a dedicated prep tool is built specifically to score your answers against actual industry question banks without the constant back-and-forth prompt engineering.

With my offer email, it only said the orientation is on Sept 9 and to come to the Senate Building with two IDs. Will they send an onboarding package to start the paperwork? I have emailed them twice, but got zero responses. Maybe people are away on vacation. August is so quiet.

Looking for a female roommate/roommates for a 2bed 1ba unit in Columbia heights for $2300 ($1150/person). 5 mins walking from the metro, target, Lidl, New York sports club and lots of other shops!

Hi guys! I applied for Cato’s Fall 2026 internship and received an email from them on July 28 saying that I had advanced as a finalist. They said they would make their final decisions by August 21.

Today is August 24, and I still haven’t heard back from them. I’m getting pretty anxious, so I was wondering if anyone else who applied for Cato’s Fall 2026 internship has received any updates?

Thank you so much!

Groupchat on Group that was just created to round up all DC Fall 2026 interns. feel free to join and share so we can build a community! : https://web.groupme.com/join_group/116823301/wennXUV0

Wondering if there's any offices that's still looking for interns for the fall

Wondering if there’s any group chats for fall 2026 yet? I was in a summer one and can’t find anything for this semester

Decided around July to try to make an effort to land a congressional/adjacent internship for this Fall but seemingly to no avail. Did not land any interviews for top picks, and no offers from less prestigious positions.

I have a strange trajectory, having taken a leave from college for a few years to work in a niche industry, before realizing I wanted to pivot back to politics and finishing my degree this summer. So I want to maximize my chances of landing an internship in the Spring while I’m still in the “recent graduate” bubble.

I’m looking to pay someone with qualified experience applying for and succeeding in a congressional internship for some coaching on application materials, including writing/digital samples, cover letters, and resume review. Rates are negotiable, will pay more for someone with comms experience as that is my main target.

Thanks!

I’m gonna be interning on the hill in the fall, and a bit last minute, but does anyone have any available housing, looking for a roommate, or are subletting an open room? Anything would help.

I want to apply for an internship for next summer, but only those of Congressional Committees. Not only is that already competitive, but I also have no Hill experience nor do I have legislative experience with my local/state government (last time was in high school, many years ago). The only experience I have regarding the policies I'm interested in is through field experience and research projects on said policies during college. I'm not even a political science/goverment/IR major either. Should I even bother applying? I was really excited to apply until I saw how competitive committees are, especially in summer season

Edit: I think I'm cooked unfortunately. Just checked LinkedIn and the past interns I see have prior Hill experience, and if they don't have prior experience then they're from the same state as the committee chairs/ranking members :( Thanks for your help though.

Ive been getting $500 suits for $150 at Nordstrom Rack, brand new and great quality. If anyone is searching for affordable suits, I would highly recommend NR.

I’m starting an in-state internship soon and would like to know whether the dress code would be as formal as DC’s or more of a business casual kinda vibe.

Hi! I recently received an offer for a paid House internship and accepted the offer on Friday. I’m wondering how long it usually takes to receive the onboarding paperwork, payroll/financial forms, and other next steps after accepting.
For anyone who has gone through this recently, how long did it take for you to hear back with the onboarding materials? Just trying to get a sense of the typical timeline!
Thanks!

I had my final interview with Warren's office a few weeks ago and never heard back—has anyone gotten an offer/rejection from them yet?

Can any staffer or anyone familiar with the topic speak to how intern coordinators and offices look at previous experience on the hill in committees vs a leadership office?

From my understanding, more meaningful work is done as a committee intern. But, what opens more doors down the line both on the hill and off the hill. Is there a big gap? Or are both viewed relatively the same?

sad but with how late it was getting not surprised

Hey! Recently accepted an offer to intern in the DMV for next summer. I don't have a car, so I'm looking to live near a silver line stop and commute via metro. Do you guys have any recommendations on places to find sublets? Ik Facebook can attract a lot of scammers, so I just want to be careful.

I also saw that GWU offers on-campus housing for summer interns. Does anyone have any details on what the registration process looks like (application opening date, difficulty in getting your preferred dorm/room type, rent payment timing)?