Pros
I had a recurring internship for State Farm on the University of Illinois campus. The State Farm Research Center employs students on a part time basis and assigns them short projects on which they work with management and full time staff. The best part about the experience was definitely related to the projects. As an intern, you get involved with challenging, interesting issues which expand on knowledge and skills obtained in school Personally, I leveraged the experience in all my full time interviews. Scheduling is also a bonus, interns having the latitude of putting in their hours at their own leisure. Pay is also much better than any other campus job and management there is amazing.
Cons
As an intern, you have little say in what type of project you will be working on. This is especially true for first time interns who don't know people within the organization. While it is true that management tries to match skills and education with project needs, it is not always certain that a finance major will work in a finance role. Presentations are made at corporate headquarters in Bloomington at the end of every semester, which can get pretty annoying in the midst of finals. I've had some issues with communication interruptions with my project lead, but nothing too major.
