Rising senior at a non-target CS school with 2 internships looking for advice on breaking into a FTE/internship offer — what would you do in my position?

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Hey everyone, looking for some genuine advice as I head into what’s probably my most important recruiting season yet.

I’m a rising senior at a university that isn’t really known as a CS powerhouse, but has a solid program. I’ve got two internships under my belt, one at a startup and one at a more established company, so I’m not starting from zero, but I also know I’m not walking into full-time offers just because of my resume.

This summer I’ve been putting in real work: sharpening my coding skills (grinding Leetcode, reviewing DSA fundamentals) and building out a passion project that I’m hoping makes my portfolio stand out a bit more. I’ve also been tailoring my resume to specific roles and job descriptions rather than just blasting out the same generic version everywhere, and honestly, even with all of that, I’m still not seeing much traction yet. No callbacks, no OAs, nothing. It’s a little discouraging especially with seeing others getting offers left and right but I’m trying to stay consistent.

I feel like I’m doing the “right things” but I honestly don’t know if I’m missing something obvious that people in this community would catch immediately.

A few things I’m genuinely uncertain about:

  1. How much does school prestige actually hurt me at this stage, given I have two internships? And am I screwed because of it? :(
  2. Should I be applying incredibly broadly or trying to target specific company tiers?
  3. Is there anything beyond Leetcode + a good project + resume tailoring that actually moves the needle?

Would love to hear from people who’ve been in a similar spot or from anyone who’s been on the hiring side. What would you prioritize if you were me right now? Appreciate any advice.

Posted Jun 10, 2026, 4:30 PM UTC

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