With summer just a few months away, the question on many students' minds is how to find a summer internship.

Pam Garcia Rivera, internship coordinator for the College of Letters and Sciences and the School of Human Ecology, said the Career Services Office provides students access to a recruiting system, as well as advice on writing résumés and preparing for interviews.

However, for some students, Rivera said university career centers are simply not enough to find the "perfect" internship.

Phil Gardner, director of college employment at Michigan State University, said 75 percent of all students have some type of career experience — usually in the form of an internship — before graduation.

According to Gardner, internships are often the criteria necessary for employers to even talk with students about getting a job at a particular company.

"Students realize employers will heavily scrutinize their internships and find out what students actually do for the company," Gardner said.

As a result, students at universities across the country are turning to private companies — such as University of Dreams and Fast Track Internships — to assist them in their search.

In exchange for a fee of anywhere from hundreds to even thousands of dollars, students receive individualized help in preparing a résumé, identifying potential employers and locating housing.

Eric Lochtefeld, founder and chief executive officer of University of Dreams, said students pay between $6,000 and $8,000 for experience in internship positions, offered in virtually every U.S. city.

Some of the cities where the company offers internships, Lochtefeld said, include New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, London and Barcelona.

Along with providing students with a place to stay at a college dormitory, Lochtefeld said University of Dreams takes students on weekend excursions to experience the city life to see if it is a place they would like to live one day.

However, Rivera maintained that students who do not have the means to use these private services are put at a disadvantage.

"People who can't afford it are put out of the running for these opportunities," Rivera said.

Lochtefeld said, however, that it is a misconception that the program is for wealthier students, adding the company offers financial aid and scholarships for the program. The majority of the students who participate come from middle-class families, he added.

Steven Rodems, senior marketing executive at Fast Track Internships, said students request their services because they take more of a professional approach to finding internships.

"We consult and target the specific type of work in the area a student is looking for," Rodems said.

Students who decide to work with Fast Track Internships, Rodems said, are making an investment. Applicants pay $799 for a placement for an unpaid internship and $999 for a paid internship. However, students are guaranteed at least two offers or their money is refunded, which, according to Rodems, has yet to happen.

Rodem added Fast Track Internships is currently working with a UW student who is majoring in finance. He said Fast Track Internships is helping the student write an internship-focused résumé, which locates the right person at the company so the application does not get lost.

Both Lochtefeld and Rodem said the career services centers at universities are good resources, but could not provide students with the same offerings that they each had.