Starting this year, students who receive offers for Yale-coordinated internships will have more time to make their decisions.

After receiving feedback from previous years, the Office of Career Strategy extended the offer response period from two to five business days, giving students more time to ask questions of their potential employers and consider other offers. OCS is also making its internship opportunities available earlier, with students now able to view the list on Dec. 1 instead of in mid-December as in past years. There is also an earlier deadline for applications this year.

“We hope that the five-business-day turnaround will allow students to engage in further conversation about the opportunity,” said OCS Associate Director Julia Bourque, who oversees the Yale-coordinated internship program. “This longer window will enable students to review all aspects of the experience and make a decision that is best for them.”

Tuan Doan Nguyen ’19, an OCS head ambassador — students who help promote the office’s programs through social media — said the change was implemented in response to student feedback, which indicated the desire for a longer period of time to consider offers. Nguyen added that these changes will be especially relevant for internships overseas, which often involve complications such as visa applications and funding. The additional time will allow students to consult OCS staff on those issues, he added.

Elizabeth Liu ’19, who took up a domestic Yale-coordinated internship this past summer, said her employer notified her of the job offer without using the OCS’s online system, circumventing the two-day response limit. After Liu accepted the job, her employer made an official offer through the system.

Liu said she had to turn down another internship opportunity because of the short response window, adding that many of her peers have faced similar situations.

“[The two-day window] is just leverage for the employer,” Liu said.

Despite the extended response time, Liu and other students interviewed still see a five-day response period as insufficient.

“The five-day period is still really short,” said Kristina Shia ’19. She added that most firms that conduct on-campus recruitment for their internships have much longer turnaround periods.

Stephanie Rogers ’17, another OCS head ambassador and a former Science and Technology editor for the News, noted that students have struggled in the past with the short turnaround period, but said the extension would make a big difference.

Rogers said the change makes it easier for smaller companies and nonprofits to hire interns, since they are not able to engage in the same type of outreach as large firms in consulting and the finance industry.