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Camp america 2012 ???????????

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Reply 100
Original post by NatalieMT
You don't have to be able to teach an activity alone if you don't feel you are qualified enough. You can offer to be an 'assistant' in the particular activity, that way you might not feel so out of your comfort zone. You'd never be left on your own anyway. You can also be a general counsellor rather than a specialist counsellor, which means you're not assigned to a particular activity but go and help out with different things each day depending on the camps needs. That's still just as fun, if not more so sometimes!

I can't comment on applying through Camp America. Personally I haven't and wouldn't apply through them but everyone is different. Bunac arrange your flights and effectively 'loan' you the cost of them, which gets taken back from your salary at the end of camp. Camp America say your flight is 'free' but it's not really when they take a very, very large chunk back from your salary, more so than Bunac and Camp America also charge you more in fees before the leave the UK. I've had friends who have been through Camp America and like I've said they had a great time but it's not for me. Just go with what you feel most comfortable with!


thank you for this! helped a lot!
Reply 101
I am going with BUNAC for the 3rd year running this year. I have many friends who I have encouraged to change to BUNAC as well as they really are miles above the rest.

They are what everyone above are saying! Also I found it helpful when they phoned me to see how much application was going and just to see how I was finding out everything. Very easy to talk to and generally there for your interest in work abroad :smile:

Where is everyone going to camp next year then?

Mark :smile:
Reply 102
Are the flights included in the BUNAC summer camp price or not? I know they can allocate them for you and I'm a little bit confused looking at the website now. help? :biggrin:
Reply 103
Original post by mjordan7
I am going with BUNAC for the 3rd year running this year. I have many friends who I have encouraged to change to BUNAC as well as they really are miles above the rest.

They are what everyone above are saying! Also I found it helpful when they phoned me to see how much application was going and just to see how I was finding out everything. Very easy to talk to and generally there for your interest in work abroad :smile:

Where is everyone going to camp next year then?

Mark :smile:


tell me more :smile: sounds awesome!
Yeah BUNAC are a great company :smile:

You will have the best summer ever!!

These websites are useful if you need specific advice: http://www.summercampworldwide.com / http://www.summercampjobs365.com/chat

:smile:
Reply 105
Hey guys! I'm interested in this, is it too late to apply? I've only just heard about it, sounds amazing! x


EDIT: Do you have to pay for it all, or is it free?
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 106
Original post by qwerty7
Hey guys! I'm interested in this, is it too late to apply? I've only just heard about it, sounds amazing! x


EDIT: Do you have to pay for it all, or is it free?


hey if you sign up today, start the application and pay the deposit i think you should be fine. i only started mine on monday and it only took me a few hours to do :biggrin:
hey everyone,

both bunac and camp america say on their websites that you have to be available from the beginning of may, but term ends in the middle of june and i don't know when my exams are going to be yet... can you make sure you get a placement after the middle of june?
Reply 108
Original post by mollypoppi
hey everyone,

both bunac and camp america say on their websites that you have to be available from the beginning of may, but term ends in the middle of june and i don't know when my exams are going to be yet... can you make sure you get a placement after the middle of june?


I know that for Americamp you have to be free from June 15th you should try them I went with them this year and going back again. And they pay twice as much as camp america and better value for money than bunac. Hope it helps
Reply 109
Original post by Torrchy
Are the flights included in the BUNAC summer camp price or not? I know they can allocate them for you and I'm a little bit confused looking at the website now. help? :biggrin:


Heyy. I did summer camp USA with BUNAC this summer, and yeah, the flights are included in the package, so you don't need to fork out for these before you go. How it works, camp takes the flight money out of your salary, but you still get the amount listed on Bunac's website, think I got around $1200. :smile: Camp was amazing, if you go you will love it! :biggrin:
I want to do this next year, but just wondering...Is the £495 registration fee that you pay to BUNAC all that you pay, or do you eventually have to pay them back for the flights, visa etc? It just sounds a bit too good to be true!

EDIT: whoops, just saw the post above.
If you want to compare American summercamps with FACTS and no lies then check out this post.

http://www.savethestudent.org/student-jobs/american-summer-camps-comparison.html
Reply 112
I am REALLY keen to go to summer camp next year and have been looking into going with BUNAC, however my university exams are likely to not end until the 15th/16th june (no dates are confirmed so its very difficult for me to put an exact date on it!), i've read that as long as you are available before the 21st june that should be ok but will this hamper my chances of getting to a camp? i have no confirmed dates for university exams so really would be looking to go as late as possible.

Are there perhaps any other companies that would be ok with late departures perhaps up to the 1st july? that would really be the ideal time for me to go.

I really want to do it but I'm just concerned that this would really affect my chances of getting placed at a suitable camp. thanks
Reply 113
I'm thinking of applying for Camp America this summer but I've been wondering how long you stay at camp?? I've heard for some people that you stay for the full 9 weeks and others have said you can stay for 4 weeks if you want. There's other stuff I'm planning on doing this summer so I was kind of hoping that I'd be able to do that as well :smile:

Thanks for any info :biggrin:
Reply 114
anyone know what ccusa are like?
Reply 115
I started an application for Camp America, and logged on today to see it said that my application has been cancelled. But i hadn't finished at all so what can i do do now?
I'm only 16, doing AS levels, and want to travel but know i'm gonna be short of money. I've been thinking about unis, gap years, places i want to travel already and was thinking about being a camp counsellor. But i don't have any specific skills. Would they consider me still, as a general counsellor or something?
Original post by Mojojojo
I'm only 16, doing AS levels, and want to travel but know i'm gonna be short of money. I've been thinking about unis, gap years, places i want to travel already and was thinking about being a camp counsellor. But i don't have any specific skills. Would they consider me still, as a general counsellor or something?


They would consider you without a specific skill, although having taken part in an activity just as a participant or having a personal interest in one of the activities helps because you need things to talk about on the application form and at the interview. But really as a general counsellor they just want you to be willing to try anything and everything. They wouldn't accept you without prior experience of working with children though, that's the main criteria.

It doesn't have to be anything particularly challenging. Volunteer at a local kids football team or help out at Scouts. My sister currently volunteers with a youth club for disabled children and they have nights in at the club and also days out to the cinema, bowling, outdoor pursuits etc. It's not like you give up loads of time either, she does either 4 hours on a Tuesday or Thursday evening or 4 hours on a Saturday morning. You have 2+ years to consider it anyway because you can't apply until you are 18/19 depending on the company.

If you don't want to work with children I know Bunac run the KAMP programme but it's only for students. Basically you get a job for the Summer helping run the camp rather than doing the teaching. There are jobs in the offices, kitchens, doing general cleaning etc depending on your strengths. You still get all the perks of Summer Camp like the nice weather, taking part in group events, doing some activities plus you get more time off in the daytime to do your own thing. The visa is still the same and you still get to travel before/after camp. Might be worth looking into!
Original post by NatalieMT
They would consider you without a specific skill, although having taken part in an activity just as a participant or having a personal interest in one of the activities helps because you need things to talk about on the application form and at the interview. But really as a general counsellor they just want you to be willing to try anything and everything. They wouldn't accept you without prior experience of working with children though, that's the main criteria.

It doesn't have to be anything particularly challenging. Volunteer at a local kids football team or help out at Scouts. My sister currently volunteers with a youth club for disabled children and they have nights in at the club and also days out to the cinema, bowling, outdoor pursuits etc. It's not like you give up loads of time either, she does either 4 hours on a Tuesday or Thursday evening or 4 hours on a Saturday morning. You have 2+ years to consider it anyway because you can't apply until you are 18/19 depending on the company.

If you don't want to work with children I know Bunac run the KAMP programme but it's only for students. Basically you get a job for the Summer helping run the camp rather than doing the teaching. There are jobs in the offices, kitchens, doing general cleaning etc depending on your strengths. You still get all the perks of Summer Camp like the nice weather, taking part in group events, doing some activities plus you get more time off in the daytime to do your own thing. The visa is still the same and you still get to travel before/after camp. Might be worth looking into!


Well when i was 11 i did absailing/rock climbing/scrambling on a school trip at dartmoor. In year 8 i did 'windsurfing' and kayaking at this outdoor activity centre. Then in year 10 i did rock climbing and raft building at the same place.
I've done 2 weeks work experience at a primary school too.

I think i'd like to work with children, there are perks to both types of job i suppose, but the background work seems less enjoyable...Why would you want to go to America for 6 weeks just to clean/cook? Yet if you did that you'd be sharing a cabin with people the same age as you, as opposed to the children you're looking after.

Have you been a summer camp counsellor?
Original post by Mojojojo
Well when i was 11 i did absailing/rock climbing/scrambling on a school trip at dartmoor. In year 8 i did 'windsurfing' and kayaking at this outdoor activity centre. Then in year 10 i did rock climbing and raft building at the same place.
I've done 2 weeks work experience at a primary school too.

I think i'd like to work with children, there are perks to both types of job i suppose, but the background work seems less enjoyable...Why would you want to go to America for 6 weeks just to clean/cook? Yet if you did that you'd be sharing a cabin with people the same age as you, as opposed to the children you're looking after.

Have you been a summer camp counsellor?


Experience from a school trip sadly won't really count. They're only interested in recent experience on your application form ie something you've done within a few months of that date or something which is ongoing. All the interviews I've been to all they ask is what you're doing right now. Two weeks work experience also won't be enough, it needs to be something regular on a weekly basis really. For example I help run a cheerleading club and we do 3/4 classes per week that are 1-2 hours long for children as young as 5. I've done that for about 6 years. Although my qualification as a coach doesn't really help me out because the US is crawling with coaches the fact I run a programme, regardless of the activity, does because I can apply that as an assistant in activities I have less experience in.

I guess the experience of working on the KAMP side of things is that you still get the travel in the US before and after your visa ends, you still make friends, you still do the activities and have the opportunity to join in but there isn't the pressure there of dealing with potentially 8-10 5 year olds almost 24 hours a day for what is usually 8-9 weeks rather than 6. At some camps the kids change every couple of weeks but with some camps it's the same children all Summer. The thought of that can be incredibly overwhelming for some people.

And yes I have, I'm hoping to go back for the 2012 season.

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