By Sheridan Stovall 
Oklahoma Daily, U. Oklahoma

(UWire)--Gone are the days of earning a paid internship through hard work and dedication to broaden career opportunities. Students and parents can now buy internship positions with high-profile companies.

Companies like University of Dreams, Fast Track Internships and auctions at prestigious schools across the nation are giving students the chance to purchase résumé-building internships with elite companies.

Bette Scott, director of Career Services at Oklahoma University, said OU does not encourage the use of services practiced by internship placement companies, but offers the same services for free.Many universities offer some of the same services as internship companies, like résumé critiquing, career fairs and job and internship assistance at no cost.

University of Dreams, founded six years ago, guarantees placement for a hefty price. University of Dreams places students in premier locations across the world like London, Barcelona, New York and Los Angeles, according to the company's Web site. The Web site lists past student placement with companies like Betsey Johnson, Katz Media and Smith Barney.

Students must be 18 to 26 years old, a full-time student and have a minimum grade point average 2.5 to participate in the company's program. Applicants can pay in full, apply for financial aid or finance payments with processing fees of 3 percent. University of Dreams' "tuition" varies by program, according to the company's Web site.

Many universities offer some of the same services as internship companies, like résumé critiquing, career fairs and job and internship assistance at no cost.

Clint Shaw, an OU petroleum engineering junior, said he thinks the services offered by companies like University of Dreams could be a good thing.

"If a really big company is only looking at people from certain schools, but a student from OU thinks that they are better qualified for the position, then I think it would be a good thing to be able to pay for exposure to a company that you probably wouldn't have gotten before," he said.

Shaw said the companies' practices could defeat the value of hard work.

University of Dreams' alumni reference contact list on their Web site does not include any former participants from OU.

Scott said OU's Career Service Center is available to provide students with skills like résumé writing and interviewing that will help students throughout their careers.

As awareness of purchasing internships grows, concern is growing for students who cannot afford to pay for internships.

Scott said students who have worked hard to earn internships would likely be offered positions based on hard work. She said she does not believe all companies will use services to find their interns.

One reason companies use services like University of Dreams is to lighten the workload of sorting through numerous applicant resumes, Scott said.

Internship placement companies make hefty promises they may not be able to fulfill, Scott said.

"I would caution students to be leery of things that sound too good to be true and to be leery of organizations that promise them that they will get an internship," she said. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."