In the USA Summer Camp office, we get asked a lot of questions about the American Summer Camp program. Whether you are deciding if you should to go to camp this summer or have your first interview with one of our American camps, we understand that the process can be a little confusing. To help make the process and application as easy as possible, we have made this blog to answer the top 11 Summer Camp questions we get asked!
To be able to work at a Summer Camp in the US and be accepted for a J1 visa, you need to be aged 18 or over by the 1st of June. Worried you’re too old? Don’t worry! We send a range of different ages to camp from 18 to 30 years old. However, if you’re over the age of 30 years old, there is a risk that you could be denied the J1 visa. Send us an email and we can review the situation to see if we are able to send you to camp in the summer.
To be eligible for the USA Summer Camp program, you do need to be living in one of the following countries: UK, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Germany. We can also process applications from different countries like Spain, just ask 🙂
It is not essential to have experience with children, but it is a bonus. Experience can include voluntary groups, work experience in schools and sports clubs. If you have had experience babysitting, this is also great to include in your profile too!
Camps are looking for people who are enthusiastic, bubbly and ready to get stuck in on the job. If you don’t have experience with children, don’t worry! If you get involved in skilled areas such as Football, Photography, Horse Riding and much more, Summer Camps will be super interested in hearing from you! To find out more about the jobs, check out our activity page.
We work with over 700 camps who are scattered across the states. We work a huge amount of camps on the east coast and have camps across states such as California, Alaska and Utah! Each one of our camps are placed in beautiful areas of the United States and are special places to spend your summer.
There’s hundreds of different roles from you to choose from. You can be hired to be a Camp Counselor, Activity Specialist or Support Staff! As an Activity Specialist, you could be hired as a Swimming Instructor, Football Coach, Performing Arts Specialist and much more. If you prefer staying behind the scenes, a Support Staff role might be perfect for you. You can be hired to help in the office, keep the camp looking beautiful as part of the maintenance team or feed the camp as part of the kitchen staff. On top of all of that, there’s also Trainable Lifeguard jobs available! To find out more about all of the roles available, head over to our Summer Camp Jobs page.
Once you have signed up and been accepted onto the program, you will be assigned to one of our National Support Team members. They will help you with your profile and get it raring to go for camps to view. Once your profile is ready, it will be sent out to our 700+ camps in America! Exciting right?
Camps will then be able to see your profile. They look at your skills to see if you would be a perfect fit. If they think they have the perfect role for you, they will reach out to you via email. Top tip: Make sure to check your emails (and junk folders) daily! Camps will use Skype to interview you so make sure you have an account set up and prepared. If all goes well, camp will offer you a job for the summer. You’re officially going to camp!
Camps will set up their interviews via Skype so make sure to have your Skype account up and running. They will want to find out more about you and your skills to see if you fit the role they are looking for and their camp! We recommend looking over your profile to make sure you are ready to answer any questions they fire at you. Before the interview, head over to the camps website. This is where you can do your research and prepare a few questions. Camps love to speak to applicants who have done their research and are interested in finding out more about the camp and its facilities. Finally, make sure to be smiley, friendly and approachable. You’ve got this!
We can’t give you an exact date as we work with over 700 camps who all have different start dates, but to be accepted onto the program, we would need you to be free from the 20th of June and be able to stay in the USA until the 15th of August. The date in which you fly will depend on your availability and the camp that hires you. The earlier you can fly, the better! We will add your availability to your profile so the suitable camps can contact you. Depending on your availability, certain camps will expect you to fly from May. Other camps won’t expect you to travel to the US until the end of the June. Overall, camps run for 9 – 12 weeks and will expect you to be there for the whole duration.
We are really proud to be able to offer our applicants the lowest fees for the best summer camp wages. You will earn more in America by going with USA Summer Camp. On average, you will earn more than $150 with us! To find out more, head over to our pricing page to see what you will earn based on your age and skills.
After camp, you get over 30 days to travel around America! It is up to you how many days you use and what you do with your time. Some of our applicants decide to travel for two weeks and explore the east coast. Others, use the full 30 days and do a road trip across the west coast! If you need some tips on where to go, check out our blog called 6 places to go in the states!
We normally close applications around the 1st of May, but we may be able to be flexible for certain circumstances. The closing dates will be announced on our social media so make sure to follow us and keep an eye out for updates. We would recommend applying as soon as you can as this means more positions will be available. Applying early means you have plenty of time to get all of your essential documents sorted and submitted.
That’s all of the popular Summer Camp Questions answered! Are you now ready to head to camp this summer? Click here to sign up and get your journey to America started! Bring on the Summer.
