Have you ever wanted to work for the Walt Disney Company? As a college student, you can! The Walt Disney Company hires college students for a semester to come down to either Florida or California to experience the joy of "working for the mouse".
As an Alumni of the program in Florida, I can only give you information on the experience down there. Yes, that is right. I worked for the mouse in Orlando, Florida. It was truly the best experience of my life. I made friends from all over the world, as well as connections with people in the industry that I am looking forward to joining after graduation.
The College Program is very competitive to get into. When I applied, there were around 50,000 other applicants and only 5,000 received an acceptance. The acceptance for the program in California is even fewer.
When you apply there is a multi-step process. First is the application. The application is basic information such as work history, types of roles (positions) you are interested in and any connections you could have to the company/program. The next step is a Web Based Interview (WBI). This is just a forum to detect what type of person you are. When filling this out it is best to be as decisive as possible. Immediately after you submit your WBI, you will find out if you move on to the next stage, the Phone Interview. The phone interview is around a 20-minute conversation with a recruiter for the company. Once the interview is over, the hard part begins, waiting.
Waiting to find out if you were accepted is one of the most stressful things I have ever gone through. Some people find out in a couple days, weeks, or even months. When you do officially find out whether or not you have been accepted, the relief or sorrow begin to set in.
I waited one month and ten days after my phone interview to hear that I was accepted.
The Disney College Program is an experience that I will always remember! The friends I made will be forever! If you are able to take a semester off of school, I highly suggest looking into this once in a lifetime experience!
For more information on the Disney College Program or to apply visit: http://cp.disneycareers.com/en/default/
Special thanks to my Epcot Family, my seminar instructor and mostly my roommates Emily, Cassidy and Angelica for making my time down at Disney one that I will never forget!