ASE Application Guide | Saturday Academy

The ASE Application for 2023 is now closed.

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Get started on your application!

The 2023 ASE internship is due Friday, March 3rd 2023 @ 11:59PM. There are no exceptions to this deadline offered under any circumstances.

You can start by browsing current internships. You will notice that some positions have a minimum age listed, but if no specific age is listed, the position is open to rising 10th, 11th, or 12th graders who live within 50 miles of the position location. See the ASE Experience for more about eligibility.

To apply, add internships to your locker - from here you can start your application and create an ASE internship account. This allows you to save your progress. See below for a step - by - step guide on opening your application.

During our application window, students will be able to access their application and ASE internship account, and also attend our free virtual info sessions, cover letter workshops, and interview skills workshops.

IMPORTANT: Please note that your ASE Internship account is different from the Household account your family uses to register you for Saturday Academy Classes & Camps. You cannot use your ASE Internship account to login and register for classes and you cannot use your Family Household account to apply for an internship. Additionally, you must use a different email address for each account. Choose an email address that you check frequently - ideally one that you expect to use permanently.

Please contact ASE Staff ONLY with questions. DO NOT contact ASE mentors.

If you have questions or experience technical difficulties during the application process, please contact us by phone (503-200-5860) or email ase@saturdayacademy.org.

Be sure to read through the ASE Cover Letter Writing Guide and Interview Skills Guide for additional application help.

Requirements for a complete application

Basic student information
Three preferred internship positions
Cover letter(s)
2 adult recommendations (forms must be submitted by recommenders by March 3rd)
PDF version of your high school transcript
Non-refundable $35 application fee (waived for students eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch or those who qualify for financial aid)

It is the applicant's responsibility to make sure all of these materials arrive by the application deadline, including checking with recommenders to make sure they submitted the form. No exceptions for late or missing materials will be offered under any circumstances.

Please do not include anything in your application beyond the required materials. If you include a hyperlink to an extra component such as a resume, GitHub, LinkedIn or other social media profile, or organization website, it will be deleted from your application. This applies to social media and GitHub user names, and extra uploaded files in the transcript section that are not transcripts.

Application Specifics

Select from the following:

Once you decide what internships positions you are most interested in from our Internships Catalog -

Click "Learn and Apply" on a position you are interested in

On the right side of the screen click "Add Internship to Locker"

Then, click, "Go to Your Locker"

Once in your locker, click on the button along the bottom of the screen that says "Apply for These Internships"

From there, you will create your Internship Application account and follow the instructions to complete your application. Once you have created your account, you can re-visit it in the future from any page on the website by clicking "My Account" on the top right of the screen, and using your credentials to log in. You can add as many internships as you want to your locker, but in the application you will choose three to submit your application to.

If you have an existing account where you have signed up for Saturday Academy's classes & camps, you will need to use a different email to create a different, ASE Application account. If you have applied to ASE a previous year, you can login to the same account you used for your previous application. If you are creating a new account, choose an email address that you check frequently, ideally one that you will have permanently. If you have any issues or questions, please email ASE@saturdayacademy.org.

You will need to upload a PDF version of your transcript to the application. When uploading a transcript, please name your files with your initials and year of application, i.e. JVS 2017.

ASE will only accept clearly scanned PDFs of a transcript. Grade reports are not considered transcripts and will not be accepted.

It is preferable to wait to upload your transcript until fall grades are recorded.

What is a transcript?

A transcript is an inventory of all the courses you've taken throughout high school and the grades you've earned. A transcript is typically provided by your counselor (or the equivalent of an academic administrator at your school). ASE accepts unofficial transcripts.

Do you accept home school transcripts?

Yes, but they must be formatted in the same way as a regular high school transcript.

Can I send my college or additional transcript?

Yes, but it must be in addition to your high school transcript. You can submit up to three transcripts.

Use the link below to download a sample transcript.

ASE Transcript for Web.pdf

Download ASE Transcript for Web.pdf (1.69 MB)

Applicants must have two adults submit recommendations on their behalf via our online form by the application deadline. Please give recommenders at least 2 weeks to complete the online recommendation form by the application deadline. It is the student's responsibility to check first with the recommender and inform them of the deadline before including their name in the application.

Who can submit a recommendation?

The recommender can be a teacher, counselor, coach or some other non-relative that knows your intellectual interest, academic ability and character. We strongly suggest that at least one of your recommenders be a science, math or computer teacher.

Can I ask for more than two recommendations?

Yes, many students request more than two recommendations just in case one of their recommenders doesn’t follow through on submitting the form by the application deadline. We will accept the first two recommendations received.

How can I make sure they write a good recommendation?

The best way to ensure that your recommenders write good letters for your application is to give them plenty of time and prepare them well. The savviest students give their recommenders a list of their goals for participating in this program, a list of their top skills they hope to bring to an internship and some examples of how they demonstrated those skills in the recommender’s presence in the past.

How does the recommendation form work?

When you add your recommenders' names and emails to the application and click "send", an email will be sent to them with a link that is specific to you & them. The link cannot be transferred between your recommenders, and your recommenders cannot use the link to recommend another applicant. They can click this link, and it will take them to the form, with sections for both question and answer responses (such as, "rate this applicants ability to communicate"), as well as an open answer, traditional letter of recommendation field. Once complete, they can click submit and they will receive a confirmation email immediately, however, please allow one full business day for the status on your account to update from "sent" to "responded" for that recommendation letter.

Troubleshooting Common Recommendation Issues -

My recommender says they have submitted the form, but my application still has a "sent" status? Due to the volume of recommendation forms we receive daily, please allow for 1 business day processing time. If after one business day the status still has not updated to "responded", first ensure the recommender received the confirmation email that is sent immediately after they submit the form. If they have the confirmation, contact ASE to let us know the status has not updated.
My recommender never received the email with the link to the recommendation form? First, please have your mentor check their spam folder. Then, have them add "info@saturdayacademy.org" to their contacts. Once you have confirmed that they did this, log in and resend the invite. If it still does not arrive, please contact ASE staff so we can send the link to them directly.
My recommender missed the deadline but I submitted the rest of my application. What does this mean? Unfortunately, without 2 recommendations, your application is incomplete, and extensions will not be granted under any circumstances. We encourage you to contact your recommenders early in the application window, and remind them often until the status in your application portal has changed to "responded".

The cover letter is the student's chance to tell the mentors about themselves, their interest in ASE, or a specific position.

The general cover letter is required on the online application and will be sent to all three of the internships that students select in their application. It is also useful to ASE staff when applying students to additional positions if we are in need of more applicants for some internships. The general cover letter should be applicable to all positions the student is applying for - and should not reference specific organizations or positions. Instead, should be a general letter addressed to any hiring manager that may come across the student's application.

Students have the option of writing position-specific cover letters for one or more of their positions. When written, position-specific cover letters take the place of your main cover letter. They can be much more impactful because they are written to highlight how your skills match PERFECTLY with the skills required in the position for which you are applying. However, when students write position-specific cover letters, general cover letters are still required as part of the application. Submission of "N/A", or "See Position Specific Cover Letters" in place of a generic cover letter is not permitted, and may be grounds for application denial.

If the general cover letter is specific to a single organization, and specific cover letters are NOT submitted for the applicants other choices, the student may be deemed ineligible for the positions for which they did not submit cover letters. This is why ASE staff requires all students to write general, non-specific cover letters IN ADDITION TO the optional position specific cover letters.

The cover letter word limit is 3,000 characters, not including spaces.

NOTE: Make sure that your position rankings are final before you enter any position-specific cover letters in the application. These rankings are used to correctly match each letter to the corresponding position.

What should I write in my general/position-specific cover letters?

Please read the separate Cover Letter Writing Guide to find out what mentors are looking for in these letters.
Participate in one of our FREE Cover Letter Writing workshops this winter for additional tips and assistance.

Before you submit your application, make sure that your internship rankings are correct, and that all of the cover letters you meant to include are in fact included. If you changed your rankings after entering position-specific cover letters, you may have to re-enter those cover letters. This is one reason we recommend that you always compose cover letters in an external word processor.

Please do not include anything in your application beyond the required materials. If you include a hyperlink to an extra component such as a resume, LinkedIn profile, or organization website, it will be deleted from your application. This includes any additional materials uploaded in transcript section which is not a transcript, such as a resume or photo.

You must fully complete and press ‘submit’ on your online applications before the deadline: Friday, March 3rd, 2023. It is strongly advised that you DO NOT wait until the last minute to submit your application.

IMPORTANT: You will receive a confirmation email after you submit your application. Until you receive this email, consider your application un-submitted.

Please keep this email as it is the only documentation that proves you have completed the application. You can also login to your account to track your application and recommender responses.

NOTE: Your ASE Internship account is different from the Household account your family uses to register you for Saturday Academy Classes & Camps. You cannot use your ASE Internship account to login and register for classes and you cannot use your Family Household account to apply for an internship. Meaning, you must use different emails for your Classes and Camps account and your Internship Application account.