Is it worth the price?

Intern Madrid is a terrific springboard into a summer of exploration and professional experience. Like any extended time abroad, you will find yourself falling in love with a foreign place and all of its hidden gems. From orientation to airport pickup to consistent and reliable contact, Intern Madrid has your back. Led by the wonderful Thalassa, the program is tightly run and structured. I leave with nothing but good memories --which, in Spain, are hard not to make!

But, as is the case with any summer program for pre-professionals, there are flaws. These misgivings (some bigger than others) weren’t enough to keep me from enjoying my time there, but they are worth noting. The first and most upsetting part of the program is it’s tremendous lack of transparency. With such a large price tag, one would expect the program to include a breakdown of prices from the get-go (i.e. x amount for housing, x amount for placement, x amount for included activities, etc.). Instead you are hounded to pay a fixed price from the moment your first interview is over--a price that, shockingly, doesn’t include what you need most: food, insurance, and travel costs. Instead it covers a mysterious placement fee and a housing fee, which, if you compare with the Aluni housing provider website or any Airbnb, is notably overpriced. Tip: save money by booking your own housing and find a roommate on the Facebook group.

During the early course of your experience you will receive more emails asking for money than you will about details regarding your internship. I find this problematic! It can easily feel as though Intern Madrid is more concerned about the bill than about your experience. Thalassa and Christina help wane this feeling with their energy and kindness, but money details still prevail.

Second, the “included activities” are surface-level at best. Skip the cattle-call trip to Toledo and go on your own or with a friend. On the organized trip you are required to stay with a tour group that spends more time in gift shops than it does in the city. In addition, Intern Madrid urges you to attend the “professional development” workshops if you’re “serious about your career insights” (but they schedule these workshops during your workday, which is ironic given we are here because we are serious about work.) Again–best to skip this workshop and enjoy another day of work (which you are technically paying much more for!). Flamenco night, however, is by far the best organized activity. Highly recommended!

If you make the most of it, a summer with Intern Madrid is a summer you won’t forget. Given you like your internship and your roommates, and go into the program with healthy expectations and an attitude of exploration--you’re set. That being said, the price tag is high,and seeing as Intern Madrid doesn’t offer financial aid, the group’s diversity suffers.

If Intern Madrid were more transparent and more generous, they would have my recommendation. Until then, they have plenty of room to grow.