First check whether you can take either offer
Resolve required dates, work permission, the commute or move, and the cash needed to start. An offer with an unresolved condition is not the same as an offer you can accept as written.
Get the important terms in writing: role, pay, hours, dates, supervisor, worksite, support and response deadline. Berkeley's career guidance recommends checking written offer details and outstanding conditions. Treat ‘housing assistance may be available’ as an unanswered question, not money in the budget.
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Example: the lower hourly wage leaves more money
These fictional offers cover the same 12-week summer. Offer A lasts 10 weeks; assume the student earns nothing in its two unused weeks. Offer B lasts all 12. Ordinary home obligations are identical under both options, so this table subtracts only additional costs caused by each internship.
| Item | A: relocate | B: stay local |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly pay | $32 | $26 |
| Paid work | 40 hours × 10 weeks | 35 hours × 12 weeks |
| Gross wages | $12,800 | $10,920 |
| Additional housing | $3,600 | $0 |
| Additional travel | $400 | $0 |
| Additional food and transport | $1,000 | $900 |
| Wages less listed costs | $7,800 | $10,020 |
| B's advantage | $2,220 |
Offer A pays $1,880 more in gross wages, but costs $4,100 more to take. Offer B therefore leaves $2,220 more after these costs, before tax. These amounts are not take-home savings: taxes and the ordinary bills omitted from both columns still need to be paid.
Find the one change that would reverse the result
Offer A needs $2,220 more pay or $2,220 less cost to match B on the table's measure. With A's 400 paid hours, the matching wage is $32 + ($2,220 ÷ 400) = $37.55 an hour. That is a comparison point, not a suggested demand or a prediction about what the employer will offer.
A confirmed housing benefit worth $2,220 would also close this modeled gap, before any tax differences. If you can genuinely earn money in A's spare weeks, add that income and its costs. Do not insert an imaginary second job to make A win.
Check payment dates separately. A reimbursement can make A better over the full summer while still leaving you unable to pay its deposit. A refundable deposit belongs in the cash-timing plan, not automatically in permanent expenses.
Compare the assignments, then the employer names
Ask both managers: ‘What would my first substantial deliverable be, and who would review it?’ Compare those answers with the work you want to learn. A finance title might involve forecasting, collections or investment research; the department name does not identify the experience.
A larger brand may matter to you. Make that trade-off explicit: ‘I would give up $2,220 before tax for this team and project.’ Then ask whether the particular team, supervisor and assignments justify it. Do not turn a reputation benefit into a precise dollar estimate you cannot support.
Treat a possible return offer as uncertain. Ask how decisions are made and whether headcount is approved. A past program-wide return rate is not a promise to you, especially for a different team or year.
Choose based on the remaining difference
Once both offers meet your required conditions, name the strongest reason for each. In the example, B's case is $2,220 more before tax and no move. A needs a specific advantage in the work, supervision or career direction to justify its added cost.
Ask what missing fact could change your choice. If it is housing support, contact the recruiter. If it is the project, ask the manager. Another hour reading general company reviews will not answer either question.
Accepting neither is also an option. Compare against what you would actually do instead, such as keeping a paid job or taking another confirmed placement, not an ideal internship you have not been offered.
Ask for more time before the deadline passes
Use: ‘Thank you for the offer. Could I have until [date] to respond while I confirm [specific unresolved detail]?’ A request does not extend the deadline until the employer agrees.
Describe a competing offer accurately; do not invent one or claim a school policy that does not apply. Once you choose, follow the acceptance process and decline the other offer promptly. Do not accept both as a way of postponing the decision.