Should I stop being stubborn about finding a paid internship?

Yes do it...I fucked up big time by not taking any unpaid internships and i am a senior paying big time..So just do it and your going delay graduation by a semester so you can try to come in as S.A next summer..

Agreed. Most unpaid internships aren't 5 days per week anyway (at least in my experience). You could work at a restaurant a few nights a week to supplement your lack of internship pay.

I would say it depends on your experience. If you have had previous experience that has been paid, then I could understand why you wouldn't want to work an unpaid.

With that said, your sense of entitlement will only hinder your chances of breaking into a super competitive and shrinking industry. There are non-target mofo's bustin their balls working throughout the school year regardless if it's paid or not. I'm assuming you are at least at a semi-target because of the large amount of unpaid IBD opportunities.

Personally, I would just suck it up and work unpaid. Work for the network and a tangible experience you can talk about.

Good Luck.

Alright, thanks for the advice. It helped reevaluate my goals. I'll get the unpaid internships.