On top of that, the accession process for public interest is full of uncertainty. Law firms, as private entities, can structure their recruiting process however they like; and the common practice is for a 2L summer job to turn into a full-time offer. But federal agencies (and typically state agencies) are required to go through the government hiring process; and non-profits typically don't have the budgetary margin to make offers a year in advance. Even the DOJ Honors Program, specifically designed for recruiting directly from law schools, is only open to graduating law students; you can't compete as a 2L and then get a full-time offer at the end of your 2L summer.
I applaud this student for writing about their experience, but at the end of this coming summer, when facing down the barrel of $300,000 in debt and no immediately apparent way to pay it, their perspective may change. If it does, it will likely be for far more compelling reasons than a Paul Weiss hoodie.