On the job front

So, to give anyone interested a glimpse into how the whole summer internship application process works:

October: Shmooze with company reps when they come on campus for presentations, and get as many business cards as you can.
October-November: Write thank you notes and ask for informational interviews. An Informational Interview is - for most industries and companies - a meeting with someone at the company where you can have a conversation with them and find out as much as you can about the company, the industry and the different jobs in it. For jobs like IBanking and Sales & Trading, however, this process is more of an interview and less of a conversation (from what I've heard).
December: Apply to the companies for the various open positions
December: Companies will shortlist you for an interview based on your resume as well as the feedback they have received from the different people you have met and spoken to at the company.
January: Interviews and final decisions.

This same timeline is repeated in the spring for Entertainment, Media and Technology companies, perhaps with less emphasis on the informational interview.

In other words, think of it as a painful extension of the MBA application process (except for the small mercy of not having to write 4 essays for each application, which is more than offset by the pain of shmoozing with people every single day throughout October)

So, yours truly is currently in the process of writing custom cover letters, and praying that she doesn't make speling mistaks or indavertently refer to Ms. Jane Smith as Mr. Jane Smith, or confuse Morgan Stanley with JP Morgan in her cover letters, and remembers to send in all the applications by the correct deadline dates.