Applications for next summer's internships open while you're still in midterms. Your resume has a help desk job, a restaurant job and a few class projects. Is that enough to get an interview?
Usually, yes. This college student resume example shows how. Education goes at the top, class projects come next, then campus and summer jobs, then one leadership role. Every line names a scale, a tool or a result, and it all fits on one page.
College student resume example for a summer internship
This sample is for a made-up junior in business analytics who wants a data or business analyst internship for summer 2027. The student hasn't had an internship yet. Replace anything in [brackets] with your own details.
[Your full name] [City, State] | [you@school.edu] | [555-555-0182] | [linkedin.com/in/your-name]
Education [University name], [City, State] B.S. in Business Analytics, minor in Economics, expected May 2028 GPA 3.4, Dean's List in fall 2025 and spring 2026 Relevant courses: Database Design (SQL), Business Statistics, Data Visualization
Projects Dining hall wait times, Data Visualization class, spring 2026
- Counted lines at two dining halls for three weeks with a classmate, then charted wait times by hour in Tableau
- Shared the dashboard with campus dining, which opened a second lunch register the next term
Sales forecast for a local bakery, Business Statistics class, fall 2025
- Built an Excel regression on five years of monthly sales; the December forecast came within 4% of the bakery's actual revenue
Experience Student Assistant, IT Help Desk, [University name], September 2025 to present, 12 hours a week
- Handle about 25 walk-in and phone requests per shift, from password resets to printer setup
- Wrote six how-to articles that the desk now links in its standard replies
Server, [Restaurant name], [City, State], summers 2024 and 2025
- Served up to 40 tables a shift in a 90-seat restaurant and trained three new servers
- Counted out the cash drawer at close on Friday and Saturday nights
Leadership Vice President, Analytics Club, January 2026 to present
- Ran four SQL and Excel workshops, with 120 students attending in total
- Moved workshop sign-ups to a shared Google Sheet with an automatic reminder email the day before
Skills Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP, charts), SQL (joins, aggregates), Tableau, Python with pandas (beginner)
It's one page with no summary, no high school and nothing the student couldn't explain in an interview.
What each section of a college resume does
Contact line: an email you check and one link
Give your name, city, an email you read every day, a phone number and one link. A LinkedIn profile that matches the resume is the safe choice; a portfolio is better if your field values work samples.
Education goes first while you're in school
While you're a student, your degree is your main credential, so it leads. Write the full degree name, a minor if it fits the job and the month and year you expect to graduate. Many internship postings ask for certain class years, so put the date where a recruiter can find it in a second.
GPA: list it when it helps you
Employers care about GPA less than most students think. In NACE's Job Outlook 2026 survey, a GPA of 3.0 or higher ranked below general work experience, leadership and extracurricular activities. NACE's spring update points the same way. The University of Florida's career center reports that 42% of employers plan to screen by GPA in 2026, down from 73% in 2019.
So list your GPA if it's 3.0 or higher, and always when an application asks for it. If your GPA in your major is stronger than your overall one, you can list that instead. Just label it "Major GPA" so nobody's misled.
Relevant coursework: three or four classes
Pick three or four courses that taught a skill the posting asks for. Add the skill in parentheses when the course name hides it. "Database Design (SQL)" carries a keyword that "Database Design" alone doesn't. Leave the rest of your transcript off, since a reader assumes the basics.
Projects fill the page before your first internship
A class project counts as real work when you give it a scale, a tool and a result. The dining hall project has all three: three weeks of counts, Tableau and a second register at lunch. One line like that tells a recruiter more than a list of courses.
Our guide to resume bullet points shows the verb, action and result pattern used here.
Campus and summer jobs count as experience
A help desk, library, dining hall, research lab or residence hall front desk all belong under Experience. So does a summer job in a restaurant or a store. They show you can keep a schedule and deal with people.
For a job you hold during the semester, add the hours a week. Working 12 hours a week while keeping a 3.4 GPA makes its own point.
Leadership: one role with a number
One club role with a number beats a list of five memberships. Running workshops, managing a budget and recruiting members are all things a manager can picture you doing at work.
Skills: name the tool and how well you know it
"SQL (joins, aggregates)" is something an interviewer can test. "Proficient in SQL" isn't. Use the posting's wording where it's true for you. Our list of data analyst resume keywords shows the terms analyst postings use most.
What employers weigh most between two equal students
Each year, NACE asks employers what tips the choice between two candidates who are otherwise equal. Here are the Job Outlook 2026 ratings, on a 5-point scale where 4 means "very much influence":
| What the student has | 2026 rating |
|---|---|
| An internship with the employer's own organization | 4.5 |
| An internship in the employer's industry | 4.3 |
| Their major | 3.8 |
| General work experience | 3.6 |
| A leadership position | 3.5 |
| Extracurricular activities | 3.3 |
| A GPA of 3.0 or higher | 2.9 |
Only the two internship rows reach "very much influence." That's the point of this resume: its job is to win your first internship. Once you have one, it goes first under Experience, and the projects section shrinks to make room.
When to drop high school from your resume
By the time you apply for a junior-year internship, your college record should fill the page. Keep a high school line only if it's rare and relevant, like a state-level award or a business you ran.
Check it the way application software reads it
When you apply through a company's online form, software reads your resume as text before a person does. Use one column, plain headings and no text boxes or graphics. Save it as a PDF unless the form asks for Word. Our guide to ATS resume format mistakes lists the layouts that break.
We ran this page's earlier sample through the rules of our ATS resume checker. It found the Experience, Education and Skills headings, plus the email, phone and LinkedIn link. But it warned of a "table or column layout." The old sample used 14 "|" characters to separate details, and the checker reads more than six as a sign of columns.
The version above uses commas instead, with three "|" characters in the contact line, and it passes that check. Both versions still get a length warning: the new one is 263 words, and the checker's sweet spot is 400 to 800. For a first internship, don't pad to get there. Add a bullet only when you have a real result for it.
Then paste your resume and a real posting into the checker to see which of the posting's keywords you're missing. For the letter that goes with it, see our internship cover letter example or start a draft in the cover letter generator.
Bring a tailored copy to career fairs
Print a version aimed at the employers you plan to visit, not one generic file. Our guide to QR codes on a resume covers when a code on paper helps, and upcoming fairs are on our events pages.
Mistakes that cost students the interview
- Duties instead of results. "Responsible for help desk tickets" gives a reader nothing to weigh. "Handle about 25 requests per shift" does.
- Every class you've taken. Three or four relevant courses are enough.
- Club acronyms. Nobody off campus knows your club's initials, so spell the name out once.
- A second page. Everything above fits on one, with room to spare.
- Numbers you can't explain. Any figure on the page can turn into an interview question.
FAQ
Should I put my GPA on my resume in college?
Yes, if it's 3.0 or higher, or if the application asks for it. In NACE's Job Outlook 2026 survey, GPA rated lower than work experience, leadership and activities when employers compared equal candidates. So a strong project or campus job can matter more than a high GPA.
What if I have no internship yet?
Lead with class projects, then campus or summer jobs, then one leadership role, and give each a number. That's how the sample above fills a page. Employers rate internships highest, so this version's job is to land your first one.
Does a college student need a resume summary?
Usually not for an internship. Your education section already says what you study and when you graduate. A summary earns its space once you have experience to sum up, and our resume summary examples show when it helps.
How long should a college resume be?
One page. Education, two projects, two jobs and a club role fit with room left over. A single sheet is also easier to hand out at a career fair.