Self-Placement and Returning Applicants
Most Self and Returning applicants will apply directly with InterExchange but occasionally these applicants will choose to apply with an International Cooperator. Please familiarize yourself with the following policies regarding the Self-Placement program so you can share them with your applicants. You are entitled to keep the difference between your fees to the participant and the fee charged to you by InterExchange Camp USA. Please refer to the Fee and Expenses schedule included with your individual IC Agreement.
Self-Placement Applicants
- Find their own placements, without the help of any organization. You may not assist participants in finding a camp or contact camps yourself. Participants returning to a camp they worked for previously must apply under the Returning Placement program.
- Must meet all U.S. Department of State regulations for pursuing appropriate camps and staff positions.
- Must be interviewed by his or her camp and have a signed contract on camp letterhead from the camp director, which outlines his or her stipend, dates of employment, and position at camp. Please make sure you read over the contract to confirm that the participant does in fact have a job offer and not just a conditional agreement.
- Pay for their own flights. Self-Placement participants negotiate their stipends directly with their camps. When doing so, they should consider how much they are paying for costs such as the program fee, insurance fee, embassy fees, the flight and travel to camp within the U.S.
- Must complete online pre-departure orientation before arriving and be interviewed by you or an official representative of your organization.
- Check in with InterExchange every 30 days while in the United States.
Self-Placement Application Requirements
InterExchange Camp USA requires the following:
- One completed Self-Placement or Returner application and all materials requested therein.
- One reference from a former or current teacher or employer. The reference can not be from the same camp they are getting sponsorship to work at again.
- One copy of the confirmed placement offer on camp letterhead signed and dated by the camp director. The contract must outline the participant’s stipend, dates of employment and position at camp.
- One police background check.
- Copy of passport.
Returning Counselors
InterExchange Camp USA welcomes returning participants. These applicants usually have a solid understanding of the meaning of camp. They integrate quickly and easily into the camp environment, and in some cases they can become effective leadership staff. Returning participants have much to offer their camp communities. Returning participants must understand that the commitment is as important as it was their first year. InterExchange Camp USA would like to ensure that their experience is as great as, if not better than, the participants’ first summer! If a participant wishes to return to the same camp exclusively, he or she should do so as a Returning Placement applicant and make arrangements with the original camp. If they would like to participate in the program a second time but would like to go to a new camp they should do so through the Camp Placement program.
In accordance with U.S. Department of State regulations and InterExchange policy:
- All counselors may repeat a second time.
- There are restrictions on the number of returners we can accept for a third year or more.
Important for Returning Participants
There are two important reasons that you should make arrangements for your returning participants in the fall & winter prior to your summer season, even before addressing other applicants.
Our program is first come, first serve, so if your applicants submit their paperwork too late, InterExchange may not be able to sponsor their visa due to the limits put in place on returning participants. Returning participants who apply early can be processed more quickly and this allows you to focus on recruiting more first time participants.
Secondly, you will have a more efficient process if you manage all of your returning participants before starting the application process with new participants. You can send out a quick postcard or email to all of last year’s participants, reminding them that they need to apply immediately if they would like to return to camp. Help them decide if they should come as a second-year Camp Placement or as a Returning Placement, then invite them to apply with the appropriate online application type. Once you have received a completed application from a returning participant, please submit their application to InterExchange so that we can begin the sponsorship or placement process.
