​Stressed Wharton Students Find Solace in Internship VR Experience

With OCR ongoing and many working to secure their internships for the Summer of 2018 2019 2020, some finance students are buckling under the overwhelming pressure to be better than all of their peers. While many destress by trading penny stocks or monitoring their families’ offshore accounts, some have turned to a new, alternative technology for decompression: a state-of-the-art internship virtual-reality simulation.

The VR experience, created by a new branch of Career Services, simulates an unpaid internship at the investment bank or consulting firm of the viewer's choice. Some included features are a small desk shared with four other interns all dressed more sharply than the other; pointless, tedious assignments which may or may not end up incriminating the interns in a massive fraud case; and a 22-year-old fresh hire who refers to all interns as "intern." 

"It's everything I've ever wanted," said beta-tester Stephen Hill (W '20).

A 30-minute session costs $300, but participants claim the experience is well worth the price. "Immediately after my session at McKinsey, I felt like I could conquer the world," said Wharton junior Andrew Pauling. "If my parents didn't cut me off after I failed to receive real offers last year, I would've called them to tell them I made it."

Career Services hopes to expand the technology to other fields: in 2018, premed students will be able to pretend they're volunteering at a hospital, emptying bedpans and mopping vomit.