I agree. These are all solid suggestions.
At
Admissionado, we get the question about pre-MBA internships quite often. It is important to level set that that they are VERY hard to obtain. MBA internships between your 1st and 2nd year are reserved for current MBA students, so those are off limits no matter who you know at whatever company.
That said, many corporations, consulting firms and banks have offered pre-MBA internships, which are effectively truncated versions (~4 weeks) of their traditional summer MBA internship. If you are interested in the specific companies or sectors offering them, you do your research in Q1/Q2 of the year you are matriculating and apply if interested! It is a great way to get a feel for what the internship and, ultimately, the full-time job. They are no doubt extremely selective, but you have nothing to lose by throwing your hat into the ring.
In general, students who pulled off pre-MBA internships did so mostly because they had a connection or worked REALLY hard and got REALLY lucky in securing one. At the end of the day, there is also nothing wrong with enjoying your "free" summer. There aren't too many left of them after school!
Best,
Seth
https://admissionado.com/