Best questions for college undergraduate student survey about internship opportunities

Here are some of the best questions for a college undergraduate student survey about internship opportunities, along with tips on designing a great student feedback survey. Specific’s AI can help you generate a fully customized conversational survey in seconds.

10 best open-ended questions for internship opportunities surveys

Open-ended questions are unbeatable for surfacing honest feedback and context. They invite students to share their stories in their own words—great for understanding motivations, frustrations, and ideas you wouldn’t discover with a checklist. Use them when you want rich, nuanced responses that go beyond a simple “yes” or “no.” With 70% of college students now completing at least one internship before graduation, understanding the why and how matters more than ever. [1]

1. What motivated you to apply for internships during your undergraduate studies?

2. Can you describe the biggest challenge you faced while searching for internship opportunities?

3. How did you find out about your most recent internship(s)?

4. What skills or experiences were you hoping to gain from your internship?

5. What factors were most important to you when choosing between internship offers?

6. Was there anything that surprised you about your internship experience? Please explain.

7. How has your internship experience influenced your career goals or plans?

8. What would you change about the internship search or application process?

9. In what ways could your college or university better support students in securing internships?

10. Do you have any advice for other students looking for their first internship?

Best single-select multiple choice questions for internship opportunity surveys

Single-select multiple choice questions are perfect for situations where you need to quantify answers or make participation effortless. They offer a quick way for respondents to start reflecting, and let you spot trends right away—while follow-ups can dive deeper into specific answers. Research shows that 60% of internship employers use internships as their main way to fill entry-level positions, so it’s critical to track what opportunities students are actually accessing. [2]

Question: What was the primary way you found your most recent internship?

• University career center

• Online job board

• Personal contact or networking

• Social media

• Other

Question: Was your internship paid or unpaid?

• Paid

• Unpaid

• Partially paid (stipend or limited hours)

Question: Did you complete your internship in-person, remotely, or in a hybrid setting?

• In-person

• Remote

• Hybrid

When to follow up with “why?” Add a “why?” follow-up whenever you want to understand the reasons behind a student’s choice. For example, if a student selects “Unpaid,” a follow-up could ask, “Why did you choose an unpaid internship, and how did that affect your experience?” This quickly surfaces what drives student decision-making, which is critical for actionable insights.

When and why to add the “Other” choice? Always offer “Other” when you suspect the provided options might not cover every experience. Letting students elaborate can reveal unexpected programs, creative strategies, or barriers you hadn’t considered. Follow-up questions here can produce some of your richest data points.

Should you use an NPS-type question for internship surveys?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a simple but powerful measure used widely across industries to track satisfaction and advocacy. For students who’ve completed internships, it uncovers their likelihood to recommend those experiences—and, by extension, how well the system is meeting their needs. With 87% of interns reporting increased confidence after their experience, understanding which factors drive this enthusiasm (or dissatisfaction) is the first step to making improvements that matter. [3] You can build an NPS-based internship survey in seconds with Specific.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions are where conversational AI surveys truly shine. Instead of collecting piles of unclear or partial responses, you gain depth and clarity—right in the flow. Specific’s automated follow-up feature uses AI to dig for context, spot gaps, and ask clarifying “why?” or “how?” questions when it counts. This transforms a survey into a conversation—helping you unlock previously invisible patterns.

• College Undergraduate Student: “Finding an internship was hard.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you share what made the process challenging for you? Were there specific obstacles or resources you found lacking?”

How many followups to ask? In most cases, 2–3 targeted followups yield the perfect level of insight. With Specific, you can configure this—or let the system stop after collecting the detail you need. Respondents can always skip if they feel the question doesn’t apply or they’ve already answered.

This makes it a conversational survey: When every response flows naturally to the next question, the experience feels less like filling out a form and more like a guided, semi-structured interview.

AI survey response analysis: Even if you collect hundreds of long-form responses, AI-driven tools make analysis instant and stress-free. Learn more in our guide to analyzing internship survey responses or see the AI survey response analysis feature in action.

These dynamic, real-time followups are changing how student feedback is collected. Try using the AI survey builder to see how powerful these conversations can be.

How to prompt ChatGPT (or other GPTs) to generate internship survey questions

Getting great questions from generative AI is all about writing the right prompt. Here’s a quick guide:

Start with a simple request:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for College Undergraduate Student survey about Internship Opportunities.

Then, add more context—AI will always deliver better results if you share your specific scenario and goals. For example:

I’m a university career advisor. I want to understand barriers, motivations, and overall satisfaction with internships among college undergraduate students so we can improve support and resources. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for this purpose.

Next, refine your survey by asking AI to categorize the questions:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

After reviewing the categories, zero in on your priorities. For example:

Generate 10 questions for categories “barriers to access” and “skill development.”

This stepwise approach works seamlessly in both ChatGPT-type tools and Specific’s AI survey generator interface—with the added benefit of dynamic follow-up creation and easy editing via chat.

What is a conversational survey?

Let’s break it down. A conversational survey isn’t just a list of questions—it’s a back-and-forth interview where the AI adapts questions in real time based on the respondent’s answers. This leads to deeper insights (and higher engagement) than anything you’ll get from forms or legacy survey tools.

How does using an AI survey builder differ from a traditional approach?

Why use AI for college undergraduate student surveys? These respondents are digital natives—they expect speed, clarity, and personalization. Conversational surveys increase participation and surface authentic answers, especially around nuanced topics like internship access and impact. See more in this how-to guide on creating surveys for college students.

Specific offers a best-in-class, frictionless experience for both survey creators and participants—making feedback collection effortless, on mobile or desktop, right from your browser or product.

See this internship opportunities survey example now

Want deeper insights and richer feedback? Try an AI-powered conversational survey—see how easy it is to reach students, capture context, and unlock new levels of understanding.