Pennsylvania State University sophomore Elysia Mann, 18, is spending her summer in New York City working at two fashion internships — both unpaid.
If her parents weren't covering the nearly $3,000 in housing and food expenses for staying in New York University's dorms for the summer, Mann probably would be back home in Philadelphia.
Although she's working 48 hours each week for no compensation, Mann says this is something she "has to do" if she wants to go into the fashion industry.
"It's frustrating," she says. "I know they're not going to pay me because I know there's always somebody who would take this instead of me."
Mann is one of tens of thousands of college students with unpaid internships this summer. Even with the recession, students are willing to dish out hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars to cover expenses for internships far from home.
In some cases, students also pay hundreds of dollars more for the college credits that employers require their interns to receive.