Hundreds of interns from companies across the region gathered at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on Monday to give students the opportunity to network.

The event was promoted as an opportunity for Boston students to meet each other and Fed officials, with the ultimate goal of keeping college students in the area after graduation.

New England has a very low college graduate retention rate compared with other states and regions in the country, according to a recent Federal Reserve Bank of Boston report.

Between 1990 and 2010, the number of individuals between 22 and 27 years old with a bachelor’s degree or higher grew by only 12.1 percent in New England-less than one-third the national increase, according to the report.

Jim Klocke, executive vice president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, led the conversation, asking questions to the speakers and attendees of the event.

Klocke said Boston does have opportunities for college students, but they’re not promoted very well.

Internships in Boston allow students to experience the job market firsthand, giving them the opportunity to sample the working world. "Boston is a special place," Klocke said.

Klocke also mentioned the One Fund, which raised more than $50 million for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, as a good example of the city’s special character. "The interns in Boston have to maximize, connect and stay," Klocke said.

"Treat your internship like an extended interview," said Nathaniel Cooper, an associate analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and a former intern at the Fed.

The Fed asked Cooper if he would like a job after college prior to his graduation from Northeastern University.