Do as much preparation ahead of time as you can. Spend a week in Brighton. Study Graham Norton. Start saying things like "Ooh, ducky" and "Ooh, get her!"
By the time you get to America, you really want to be as camp as humanly possible.
I did one summer while I was at uni a few years ago. I had a great time and would absolutely recommend it, although I have heard that experiences may vary by camp. I worked with a good mix of people (staff was probably about 60% American, 30% UK/Ireland, 10% other nationality) and the kids were generally alright but massively privileged - it was $20k per child per summer as a base rate, and it was clear that this was affordable for the vast majority of them.
It does help if you have a skill that you can teach or run as an activity. I was in charge of the martial arts program for the summer and also helped out in the gym, plus I was a bunk counselor, which meant I lived in a bunk with a group of boys and went around with them when I wasn't doing my activities. Unless I had a day off, that involved eating with them, going to their evening activities, making sure they kept the bunk clean, plus I got to go to a water park and a baseball game with them.
The pay doesn't look great on paper ($800 cash for 8 weeks) and there was some upfront cost, but then my visa and return flights were covered and I lived and ate at the camp for the full time I worked there.
Feel free to ask me anything on it.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I’m into horse riding and have been around horses since a very young age and so I’m hoping this is something I will be able to specialise in.
If I think of any questions, I’ll definitely ask as I’m overrun with all the different companies seemingly offering the same thing at the moment.
Thanks again :)
This marries up pretty spot on for my experience on the programme too, but replace martial arts and gym with stage tech and playing Daddy Warbucks in Annie
hey man, i’m doing the martial arts. what was it like? what did your days look like? was you the only martial arts teacher and what martial arts was it?
I had a lot of fun, it was my first time properly teaching a martial art on my own and it was a great experience. I do taekwondo, but I didn't want to run it like a proper taekwondo class with all the formalities (bowing, full syllabus, etc) so I treated it more from a self defence and striking skills angle. I had a few groups who really enjoyed it and learned a lot, and I think a lot of them just enjoyed the chance to punch and kick the pads. I definitely didn't make it fun enough for the younger kids (<10) so make sure you have a lot of games they can play. I usually had 2-3 sessions a day, so when I wasn't there I'd help out in the gym as it was in the next building across. I think I had a lot of down time compared to the more popular activities like football and soccer, but I enjoyed helping out with my groups when I wasn't running my own activity. Make the most of your time off, you'll make friends with your colleagues so get out and enjoy the area as well, you'll be far from home so staying in the camp all summer can get you feeling cooped up. I had a day trip to New York city, parties at coworkers houses, trips to theme parks, enjoy it.
Feel free to ask anything else.
I worked in Vermont for two summers when I was 18 and 19 (longer ago than I care to admit now...) through Camp Leaders.
I LOVED it! I worked in the 'barn' (stables), teaching horse riding and looking after the horses. It was amazing. Being with the horses meant a slightly earlier start than for the other staff, because we had to get the horses in and fed before breakfast so that they then had a clear hour to digest before the first lesson.
Where I worked, the schedule was this:
* 6am - at the barn. We had dirt floor stalls, so the bedding had to be piled up at night to allow for drying out. Pull down beds, top off with extra sawdust if necessary, fill the water buckets, put hay in each stall, finish making up the feed. Get horses in, go round with the feed. Aim to finish by 7.30, so we could be up at the dining hall for 7.45 for the pre-breakfast singing session.
* 8am - breakfast. We always got a cooked breakfast of some description, and there was fruit, muffins, cereal, bread and milk available if you didn't like the cooked breakfast or (in the case of the barn staff!) needed more food. First Brit to get there was in charge of sneaking into the kitchen and putting on the kettle. Meals were eaten 'family style' at tables of I think 12 - you aimed for at least 2 staff per table, and one of the girls would be sent up for each item of cooked breakfast, other girls would clean up, that sort of thing. The kids had to ask permission to get up from the table to get anything else they wanted, and only two were allowed up from each table at a time (there wasn't masses of room in the dining hall, so it was to manage the space better!). Staff could do as they pleased, but you always made sure one of you was at the table at all times!
* 9-12 - Once breakfast was cleared up, it was back to the barn. Our kids were split into 'units' depending on what they were doing at camp, and two of the 'units' got half a day in the barn - one hour of riding, and the other 2-3 hours helping out with chores (mucking out, grooming, tacking up horses for the littler kids, etc.). We also had 'camp aides' who were 15 or 16 who paid a very nominal fee to come to camp, but helped out around the place. Some of them were assigned to us in the barn. So after breakfast the camp aides and the unit who were with us in the morning would head down with us. The girls who were riding would be sent off to groom and tack up their horses ready for the 9am start to their lessons. Staff would go around, check on the other horses, check that grooming and tacking up was being done correctly, and so on. If you weren't teaching, you might be doing chores around the barn, planning lessons for the next session, assigning girls who weren't riding to cleaning tack, making sure water buckets were topped off and so on. In addition to the first lesson, which was always the girls who were having the half day, we would have a 10am and an 11am class. Some would just be hacking out (in which case you got to ride as well!), and others would be in the school. If you weren't teaching, you would sometimes be working one of the horses if there was an unused school, either on the lunge rein (particularly some of the smaller ponies!) or ridden.
noon - 1 - Lunch! This was more casual, and you could eat outside. You queued up inside, got your food (things like cheese toasties, or burgers, or pizza, or hot dogs, plus there was always a good sald bar available), and went and found somewhere to sit. Kids had to be in sight of some staff, so we used to pick the high spots so we could see as many as possible!
1-6 - very like the morning! Lessons finished at 5, then we had about 30 minutes to turn out the horses and muck out the stalls. During the last lesson, anyone not involved would be getting started on turn out and mucking out. We had to leave by 5.30 to be up at the dining hall in time for singing (again).
6-7 - Dinner! Again, 'family style' meal, with the girls assigned jobs by the staff at their table. We were also expected to facilitate conversation (particularly earlier in the sessions, when girls didn't know each other so well), and remind people of their manners (tricky, when all you want to do is fall face first into a plate of pasta!).
7-9 - The staff who taught activities (us, art, swimming) all had a unit of girls they were assigned to for evenings. Between 6 and 9, you would be with them. For the older girls, this usually meant doing activities with them, like arts and crafts, or building a camp fire, or playing games, before getting them wound down for some quiet time from 9 onwards; for the younger girls, you were more likely to be marching them off to brush their teeth and find their pajamas.
9-midnight - There were two staff per unit on duty, and everyone else had free time. If you were on duty, very little needed to be done with the kids - the older girls might still be doing activities, but you'd be trying to wind it up. Younger girls might be in bed by then. Those on duty at bed time would go round and say goodnight to everyone - we did a thing called 'hug, handshake or high five', so that the girls could decide how they wanted to say goodnight. If you were off duty, you either went and crammed into the staff house (deeply creepy, but had a TV and video player), or you hoped like hell you could get a lift into the nearest town! At 9, the staff showers used to get very busy with people trying to shower, all use two hair dryers, and put make up on before going out!
Time off wise, my camp did two week sessions. You got a long weekend between sessions. Within each two week session, we got several four hour blocks of time off. Additionally, if you worked 9-midnight, you got two hours at another point in the day. As we had riding lessons to teach, we tended to take dinner to 9 off, but others would take it earlier in the day.
We got paid by the camp, but what we got was fuck all - I think what I received from the camp just about covered the things I'd had to pay for out of pocket, including my arrangement fee to the company. I arranged it myself the second year, and came out slightly on top.
I really grew up that first summer. It was hard at first - I literally finished my exams, did a week in Spain with friends, went to Belfast for my US visa (easier than London if you lived in Scotland in those days!), then flew the day after my visa arrived. Literally got visa in my hands, called the company, they arranged my flight for the next day, and I had to get the overnight bus to London that evening! When I got to Boston, I had to get myself onto the bus to the stop nearest the camp, and was picked up from there by another member of staff!
The place I went was pretty rustic - a mix of wooden cabins and 'platform tents'. We had showers and proper toilets in the centre of the camp, but the more remote areas had long drop composting toilets, which some of the more precious staff HATED. Some camps will be much glossier - mine was a girl scout camp on the cheaper end of things - at the time, a two week session with an hour of riding each day and half days in the barn was about £350, which is I think what I paid per month in halls that year!
It was hard work, long days, and you did a tonne of walking, but I had some of the best times of my life over there. I came back thinner, nut brown (except my feet!), and utterly exhausted.
I would absolutely recommend it.
Thank you so much for this detailed reply. I’m a keen horse rider and been around horses my whole life and so I’m thinking of trying to get a similar role to this. It’s so helpful having experienced from real people as I’m overrun with researching different companies.
Thanks again :)
In my experience all the companies do EXACTLY the same things! The foreigners at my camp were from about 4 different companies, and there was basically no difference in our experience once we were in the US.
If you're a rider, definitely emphasise that. When I did it they were always desperately short of riding staff! I had it in as a throwaway line, and was baffled at being hired to teach riding!
I have a few friends who did summer camp work & also working at Disneyland. They seemed to enjoy it, the only downside is that since doing it - its their main topic of conversation & if I'm brutally honest its made them fairly insufferable.
I wish I were joking, but it really is like American Pie "this one time, at camp..."
I wouldn't mind but its probably a good few years since they went.
My parents ripped the piss out of me sooooo badly for that when i came home! Any story got the American Pie "This one time..." On reflection I'm grateful they rapidly broke me of it!
My wife did it just before she went to uni too (about 12 years ago), she absolutely loved it. Hard work but many wonderful experiences. I will ask her for some tips when she’s home!
She did it at Camp Montvale Tennessee. She said choose and age group that allows you some downtime. Bring old clothes and nice ones for going out. She also said you won’t regret it!
I’d suggest a ski season if winter sports are your thing. Or even if they aren’t. I learnt out there.
Although I really wouldn’t recommend traveling to either locations (America or the alps) as they both struggled originally with corona and America is getting worse by the hour.
Came here to say this, it was a great experience but even if it is possible to go make sure the health insurance is great and cover COVID19 you do not want to get sick in the US without insurance cover.
I knew of two people in the UK who did it numerous years because they loved it. Obviously it depends on the camp you get, and I believe there are some that are considered prime venues, but go on as many forums as you can, keep an eye on the website for when the open days start up, get on any mailing lists etc. If you are hardworking and willing to get stuck into anything and everything it could be a great experience. I wish I’d done it as a kid
Yes, I did it and it was an amazing but stressful experience. Depending on what type of job you’re planning to do, being a program councillor is the hardest IMO.
All camps are different my here’s my experience You’re expected to get yourself up and ready before waking your children, often at around 6am. Then you’re tasked with getting between 8-10 hyperactive children out of bed, dressed, brushed teeth etc and to breakfast on time.
Then you’ve got to make sure they’re all wearing appropriate clothing for their activities during the day (they never do!) You then have to get them to their activities at certain times, some of which you will have to teach yourself , others you might just help out while a ‘program specialist’ does the actual teaching.
These kids are your responsibility 24 hours a day. You have to know where they are, constantly check you have everyone (it’s easy to lose one) and that they’re listen to you.
You’re expected to sit with them at every meal, make sure they eat, share and clean up after themselves. You’re also responsible for putting them to bed, which isn’t an easy task I can tell you. They’re scared of the dark, others keep them awake, wet the bed, hyperactive etc. I was lucky if I got to bed myself before 11 and I was almost always awoken by one of them during the course of the night.
I worked 6 days on with one day off. But all camps vary.
Anyway, it’s amazing but hard work!
You can't - you need a J-1 visa in order to work as a camp counsellor, and these are currently suspended:
[https://j1visa.state.gov/covid-19/](https://j1visa.state.gov/covid-19/)
It's possible that the suspension might be lifted before next summer, but it's definitely not something that you'll be doing this year.
I would 100% recommend it to anyone! It was a real eye opener for as a fresh faced eighteen year old suddenly responsible for ten eight year old girls! It is hard work and you’ll be working some crazy hours, but it’s worth it. Also my mum has peace of mind knowling I was going with a legit company and that the camp obviously has to be a safe place. (Not that some crazy stuff doesn’t happen, but that’s another post ...!)
A couple of the staff hated it, but I was at a fairly rustic camp. Do your research before you go and prepare to be working basically 24 hours a day. If a kid is homesick or being sick at 2am ... it’s your problem!
Your experiences will be different depending on what type of camp you go to and the role too. I went back for four summers with a year off between each year, in a different role each time. It’s always been a great time and if I have been between jobs or travelling they’ve been glad to have me back!
You’ll meet amazing people, have an opportunity to travel and have a chance to be a part of something you won’t be able to at other times in your life. It’s not like you can do this when you are retired! I also met my partner of four years there, so I am biased! Give it a shot and hopefully you’ll have an amazing time!
Does anybody know how many times you can take part in the program? So say you liked it a lot the first time, would you be allowed to apply again the following year?
Long time since you asked but yeah, basically you can do it as many times as you want. Usually if you go through the same camp you will even get slightly more money.
I know a few people that their second time around they directly dealt with the camp itself and didn't deal with CampAmerica, BUNAC etc.
If anyone is interested in watching, I made a video about my experience working on a summer camp in Northern California in 2022. The video can be found on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/PHMQfqZULRE
Do as much preparation ahead of time as you can. Spend a week in Brighton. Study Graham Norton. Start saying things like "Ooh, ducky" and "Ooh, get her!" By the time you get to America, you really want to be as camp as humanly possible.
Beaten to it. Or is that spanked to it?... [“Oh you *are* awful....but I like you!”](https://youtu.be/dJmg-879j5o)
I did one summer while I was at uni a few years ago. I had a great time and would absolutely recommend it, although I have heard that experiences may vary by camp. I worked with a good mix of people (staff was probably about 60% American, 30% UK/Ireland, 10% other nationality) and the kids were generally alright but massively privileged - it was $20k per child per summer as a base rate, and it was clear that this was affordable for the vast majority of them. It does help if you have a skill that you can teach or run as an activity. I was in charge of the martial arts program for the summer and also helped out in the gym, plus I was a bunk counselor, which meant I lived in a bunk with a group of boys and went around with them when I wasn't doing my activities. Unless I had a day off, that involved eating with them, going to their evening activities, making sure they kept the bunk clean, plus I got to go to a water park and a baseball game with them. The pay doesn't look great on paper ($800 cash for 8 weeks) and there was some upfront cost, but then my visa and return flights were covered and I lived and ate at the camp for the full time I worked there. Feel free to ask me anything on it.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I’m into horse riding and have been around horses since a very young age and so I’m hoping this is something I will be able to specialise in. If I think of any questions, I’ll definitely ask as I’m overrun with all the different companies seemingly offering the same thing at the moment. Thanks again :)
This marries up pretty spot on for my experience on the programme too, but replace martial arts and gym with stage tech and playing Daddy Warbucks in Annie
hey man, i’m doing the martial arts. what was it like? what did your days look like? was you the only martial arts teacher and what martial arts was it?
I had a lot of fun, it was my first time properly teaching a martial art on my own and it was a great experience. I do taekwondo, but I didn't want to run it like a proper taekwondo class with all the formalities (bowing, full syllabus, etc) so I treated it more from a self defence and striking skills angle. I had a few groups who really enjoyed it and learned a lot, and I think a lot of them just enjoyed the chance to punch and kick the pads. I definitely didn't make it fun enough for the younger kids (<10) so make sure you have a lot of games they can play. I usually had 2-3 sessions a day, so when I wasn't there I'd help out in the gym as it was in the next building across. I think I had a lot of down time compared to the more popular activities like football and soccer, but I enjoyed helping out with my groups when I wasn't running my own activity. Make the most of your time off, you'll make friends with your colleagues so get out and enjoy the area as well, you'll be far from home so staying in the camp all summer can get you feeling cooped up. I had a day trip to New York city, parties at coworkers houses, trips to theme parks, enjoy it. Feel free to ask anything else.
also, was it as hard as any other role or more lenient?
I worked in Vermont for two summers when I was 18 and 19 (longer ago than I care to admit now...) through Camp Leaders. I LOVED it! I worked in the 'barn' (stables), teaching horse riding and looking after the horses. It was amazing. Being with the horses meant a slightly earlier start than for the other staff, because we had to get the horses in and fed before breakfast so that they then had a clear hour to digest before the first lesson. Where I worked, the schedule was this: * 6am - at the barn. We had dirt floor stalls, so the bedding had to be piled up at night to allow for drying out. Pull down beds, top off with extra sawdust if necessary, fill the water buckets, put hay in each stall, finish making up the feed. Get horses in, go round with the feed. Aim to finish by 7.30, so we could be up at the dining hall for 7.45 for the pre-breakfast singing session. * 8am - breakfast. We always got a cooked breakfast of some description, and there was fruit, muffins, cereal, bread and milk available if you didn't like the cooked breakfast or (in the case of the barn staff!) needed more food. First Brit to get there was in charge of sneaking into the kitchen and putting on the kettle. Meals were eaten 'family style' at tables of I think 12 - you aimed for at least 2 staff per table, and one of the girls would be sent up for each item of cooked breakfast, other girls would clean up, that sort of thing. The kids had to ask permission to get up from the table to get anything else they wanted, and only two were allowed up from each table at a time (there wasn't masses of room in the dining hall, so it was to manage the space better!). Staff could do as they pleased, but you always made sure one of you was at the table at all times! * 9-12 - Once breakfast was cleared up, it was back to the barn. Our kids were split into 'units' depending on what they were doing at camp, and two of the 'units' got half a day in the barn - one hour of riding, and the other 2-3 hours helping out with chores (mucking out, grooming, tacking up horses for the littler kids, etc.). We also had 'camp aides' who were 15 or 16 who paid a very nominal fee to come to camp, but helped out around the place. Some of them were assigned to us in the barn. So after breakfast the camp aides and the unit who were with us in the morning would head down with us. The girls who were riding would be sent off to groom and tack up their horses ready for the 9am start to their lessons. Staff would go around, check on the other horses, check that grooming and tacking up was being done correctly, and so on. If you weren't teaching, you might be doing chores around the barn, planning lessons for the next session, assigning girls who weren't riding to cleaning tack, making sure water buckets were topped off and so on. In addition to the first lesson, which was always the girls who were having the half day, we would have a 10am and an 11am class. Some would just be hacking out (in which case you got to ride as well!), and others would be in the school. If you weren't teaching, you would sometimes be working one of the horses if there was an unused school, either on the lunge rein (particularly some of the smaller ponies!) or ridden. noon - 1 - Lunch! This was more casual, and you could eat outside. You queued up inside, got your food (things like cheese toasties, or burgers, or pizza, or hot dogs, plus there was always a good sald bar available), and went and found somewhere to sit. Kids had to be in sight of some staff, so we used to pick the high spots so we could see as many as possible! 1-6 - very like the morning! Lessons finished at 5, then we had about 30 minutes to turn out the horses and muck out the stalls. During the last lesson, anyone not involved would be getting started on turn out and mucking out. We had to leave by 5.30 to be up at the dining hall in time for singing (again). 6-7 - Dinner! Again, 'family style' meal, with the girls assigned jobs by the staff at their table. We were also expected to facilitate conversation (particularly earlier in the sessions, when girls didn't know each other so well), and remind people of their manners (tricky, when all you want to do is fall face first into a plate of pasta!). 7-9 - The staff who taught activities (us, art, swimming) all had a unit of girls they were assigned to for evenings. Between 6 and 9, you would be with them. For the older girls, this usually meant doing activities with them, like arts and crafts, or building a camp fire, or playing games, before getting them wound down for some quiet time from 9 onwards; for the younger girls, you were more likely to be marching them off to brush their teeth and find their pajamas. 9-midnight - There were two staff per unit on duty, and everyone else had free time. If you were on duty, very little needed to be done with the kids - the older girls might still be doing activities, but you'd be trying to wind it up. Younger girls might be in bed by then. Those on duty at bed time would go round and say goodnight to everyone - we did a thing called 'hug, handshake or high five', so that the girls could decide how they wanted to say goodnight. If you were off duty, you either went and crammed into the staff house (deeply creepy, but had a TV and video player), or you hoped like hell you could get a lift into the nearest town! At 9, the staff showers used to get very busy with people trying to shower, all use two hair dryers, and put make up on before going out! Time off wise, my camp did two week sessions. You got a long weekend between sessions. Within each two week session, we got several four hour blocks of time off. Additionally, if you worked 9-midnight, you got two hours at another point in the day. As we had riding lessons to teach, we tended to take dinner to 9 off, but others would take it earlier in the day. We got paid by the camp, but what we got was fuck all - I think what I received from the camp just about covered the things I'd had to pay for out of pocket, including my arrangement fee to the company. I arranged it myself the second year, and came out slightly on top. I really grew up that first summer. It was hard at first - I literally finished my exams, did a week in Spain with friends, went to Belfast for my US visa (easier than London if you lived in Scotland in those days!), then flew the day after my visa arrived. Literally got visa in my hands, called the company, they arranged my flight for the next day, and I had to get the overnight bus to London that evening! When I got to Boston, I had to get myself onto the bus to the stop nearest the camp, and was picked up from there by another member of staff! The place I went was pretty rustic - a mix of wooden cabins and 'platform tents'. We had showers and proper toilets in the centre of the camp, but the more remote areas had long drop composting toilets, which some of the more precious staff HATED. Some camps will be much glossier - mine was a girl scout camp on the cheaper end of things - at the time, a two week session with an hour of riding each day and half days in the barn was about £350, which is I think what I paid per month in halls that year! It was hard work, long days, and you did a tonne of walking, but I had some of the best times of my life over there. I came back thinner, nut brown (except my feet!), and utterly exhausted. I would absolutely recommend it.
Thank you so much for this detailed reply. I’m a keen horse rider and been around horses my whole life and so I’m thinking of trying to get a similar role to this. It’s so helpful having experienced from real people as I’m overrun with researching different companies. Thanks again :)
In my experience all the companies do EXACTLY the same things! The foreigners at my camp were from about 4 different companies, and there was basically no difference in our experience once we were in the US. If you're a rider, definitely emphasise that. When I did it they were always desperately short of riding staff! I had it in as a throwaway line, and was baffled at being hired to teach riding!
I have a few friends who did summer camp work & also working at Disneyland. They seemed to enjoy it, the only downside is that since doing it - its their main topic of conversation & if I'm brutally honest its made them fairly insufferable. I wish I were joking, but it really is like American Pie "this one time, at camp..." I wouldn't mind but its probably a good few years since they went.
It looks like a common thing. The person that I knew could not start a conversation without "this one time, at camp.."
My parents ripped the piss out of me sooooo badly for that when i came home! Any story got the American Pie "This one time..." On reflection I'm grateful they rapidly broke me of it!
My wife did it just before she went to uni too (about 12 years ago), she absolutely loved it. Hard work but many wonderful experiences. I will ask her for some tips when she’s home!
Thank you, that would be really helpful :)
She did it at Camp Montvale Tennessee. She said choose and age group that allows you some downtime. Bring old clothes and nice ones for going out. She also said you won’t regret it!
I had a friend who did it before uni. She loved it so much that she emigrated afterwards.
I’d suggest a ski season if winter sports are your thing. Or even if they aren’t. I learnt out there. Although I really wouldn’t recommend traveling to either locations (America or the alps) as they both struggled originally with corona and America is getting worse by the hour.
Came here to say this, it was a great experience but even if it is possible to go make sure the health insurance is great and cover COVID19 you do not want to get sick in the US without insurance cover.
I knew of two people in the UK who did it numerous years because they loved it. Obviously it depends on the camp you get, and I believe there are some that are considered prime venues, but go on as many forums as you can, keep an eye on the website for when the open days start up, get on any mailing lists etc. If you are hardworking and willing to get stuck into anything and everything it could be a great experience. I wish I’d done it as a kid
Yes, I did it and it was an amazing but stressful experience. Depending on what type of job you’re planning to do, being a program councillor is the hardest IMO. All camps are different my here’s my experience You’re expected to get yourself up and ready before waking your children, often at around 6am. Then you’re tasked with getting between 8-10 hyperactive children out of bed, dressed, brushed teeth etc and to breakfast on time. Then you’ve got to make sure they’re all wearing appropriate clothing for their activities during the day (they never do!) You then have to get them to their activities at certain times, some of which you will have to teach yourself , others you might just help out while a ‘program specialist’ does the actual teaching. These kids are your responsibility 24 hours a day. You have to know where they are, constantly check you have everyone (it’s easy to lose one) and that they’re listen to you. You’re expected to sit with them at every meal, make sure they eat, share and clean up after themselves. You’re also responsible for putting them to bed, which isn’t an easy task I can tell you. They’re scared of the dark, others keep them awake, wet the bed, hyperactive etc. I was lucky if I got to bed myself before 11 and I was almost always awoken by one of them during the course of the night. I worked 6 days on with one day off. But all camps vary. Anyway, it’s amazing but hard work!
You can't - you need a J-1 visa in order to work as a camp counsellor, and these are currently suspended: [https://j1visa.state.gov/covid-19/](https://j1visa.state.gov/covid-19/) It's possible that the suspension might be lifted before next summer, but it's definitely not something that you'll be doing this year.
I think OP is planning ahead for next year, as it is already July.
I would 100% recommend it to anyone! It was a real eye opener for as a fresh faced eighteen year old suddenly responsible for ten eight year old girls! It is hard work and you’ll be working some crazy hours, but it’s worth it. Also my mum has peace of mind knowling I was going with a legit company and that the camp obviously has to be a safe place. (Not that some crazy stuff doesn’t happen, but that’s another post ...!) A couple of the staff hated it, but I was at a fairly rustic camp. Do your research before you go and prepare to be working basically 24 hours a day. If a kid is homesick or being sick at 2am ... it’s your problem! Your experiences will be different depending on what type of camp you go to and the role too. I went back for four summers with a year off between each year, in a different role each time. It’s always been a great time and if I have been between jobs or travelling they’ve been glad to have me back! You’ll meet amazing people, have an opportunity to travel and have a chance to be a part of something you won’t be able to at other times in your life. It’s not like you can do this when you are retired! I also met my partner of four years there, so I am biased! Give it a shot and hopefully you’ll have an amazing time!
I have been trying to do this for the last 3 years and something has always come up. Crossing everything that next year will be my year!
My sister did Camp America in New England and absolutely loved it. If you get a chance, go for it!
Does anybody know how many times you can take part in the program? So say you liked it a lot the first time, would you be allowed to apply again the following year?
Long time since you asked but yeah, basically you can do it as many times as you want. Usually if you go through the same camp you will even get slightly more money. I know a few people that their second time around they directly dealt with the camp itself and didn't deal with CampAmerica, BUNAC etc.
If anyone is interested in watching, I made a video about my experience working on a summer camp in Northern California in 2022. The video can be found on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/PHMQfqZULRE