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Calling their findings “bewildering,” a team of researchers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report Monday finding that a mere 15.2 percent of college students who complete summer internships at the White House go on to become President of the United States at some future point.
The report went on to extrapolate that while 20 interns will be selected for the job this summer, it would be unreasonable to expect any more than three of them to serve as president during their lifetime, let alone right after graduation.
“Obviously, these numbers are very disappointing,” said Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez ’83 P’18, adding, “It has generally been assumed that this internship is a surefire path to the presidency.”
“This can’t be right,” said public policy concentrator Derek Fieldstone ‘16. "I have like two friends who’ve done internships at the White House and they both firmly believe they’re going to be President. This is going to break their hearts."
“The simple fact is that Washington is changing,” said Janet Wilson, professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University. “These days, students are much more likely to land a gig as president after doing a Treasury Department internship or Senate Page position. The rates aren’t even that different for people who start a business podcast.”
Perez said that even more disturbingly, the report found that of current and former Presidents, only fourteen have done a White House internship during their lifetimes. “It should be noted,” he said, “that this figure does not include [Presidents Bill] Clinton and [George H.W.] Bush,” who did the coveted internship together after their terms ended.
In spite of the findings, Marshall Johnston ’17 said his plans of applying have not changed. “How else am I supposed to get my foot in the door?” he said. At press time, the entire Brown Political Review editorial staff confirmed their intentions to apply for the position this year.
