School

Since high school I have dreamed of being a software engineer. I have devoted extreme time and effort to set myself up for success in this career. I got into a top school for CS, I've had internships in software engineering and ML research, I joined an organization that develops software for nonprofit companies, I've done many projects and explored ideas I was truly interested in, I've competed and won in hackathons, I've solved 300 leetcode questions. I'd like to believe I've done everything I can to get ahead, but this recruitment season I've sent in \~600 applications, resulting in a single interview which led to rejection. Being a junior in college, this summer is the most important time for an internship; this is the internship which leads to a full time return offer, an escape from the torturous full time application cycle. Yet as the application cycle closes in I am not left with an offer, but only my thoughts of what more I could have done, and what I can do with my time this summer. This seemingly marks a dead end to the trajectory of my career, and I am too far along this path to make a U-turn. Realistically, what can I do? What would you do? I understand success is not guaranteed nor deserved, but I'd like to believe the world rewards hard work in some way. I'm not sure what more I can do to improve my resume; I've had reviews from friends with internships at FAANG, as well as recruiters at various events, and the conclusions is that it's solid. Do I grind even more leetcode? Do I work on more projects? Do I just enjoy the summer and hope the job climate is magically better when I inevitably am put through the full time wringer. I'm only am left with the question of, "Who are the other candidates?". So let me know; if you are the other candidates whose "background and experience more closely align", what more can I do to be like you?