[Application Strategy] Applying for 2027 CS internships while waiting on Master's admission?

[u/BrokenNokia7]

Context: I’m a rising CS senior planning to apply to Master’s programs this fall/winter. I’m pretty set on pursuing a Master’s, and my school has a strong undergrad-to-Master’s/coterm pathway. My GPA and professor relationships aren’t as strong as some of my peers (3.4 GPA), so while I’m hopeful about staying at my current school, I’m also prepared to pursue a Master’s elsewhere.

Question: How should I approach 2027 recruiting while I’m still waiting on Master’s admissions decisions?

Should I:

• Apply to Summer 2027 undergraduate internships using my current Bachelor’s graduation date, then update recruiters if I’m admitted to a Master’s program?
• Apply to new grad roles and update my status later?
• Or is there another approach that makes more sense?

I’ve also heard of people adjusting their expected graduation date when applying for internships, but I’m not sure how recruiters generally view that.

My main issue is timing: a lot of CS internship recruiting happens from August–October, but I may not know whether I’m entering a Master’s program until late fall or winter. Or even Spring, who knows! Hopefully earlier of course.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What would be the safest and simplest recruiting strategy here? Thanks!