Agreed -- since entering college, I have yet to be paid less than $6000/month for a software-related internship (counting benefits such as free housing, etc).

Agreed -- since entering college, I have yet to be paid less than $6000/month for a software-related internship (counting benefits such as free housing, etc). I have typically been treated as a starting employee who's simply only going to be around for 3 months, not an "intern". Maybe this is just West Coast tech companies, I don't know.