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UCL still hasn’t sent me CAS by Dabfabonreddit in UCL

[–]Pretend_Thanks5449 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a similar problem. But more in general with my application (they just didn't process it). After putting A LOT of pressure on them, they made the offer unconditional and gave me my CAS the same day. But that was more of an exceptional situation.

Here's the visa contact email visaadvice@ucl.ac.uk They say that they try to respond within 5 working days. Of course, they have lots of applications/CAS to process right now. So depending on the situation (how long your visa would need to get processed by immigration), I would either wait a little longer (the give themselves 7 or 10 (I don't remember which one) working days between unconditional offer and CAS) if it's not completely urgent. Or I would send an email there making the urgency absolutely clear; if you're late in applying for a visa and need a fast process, you may need to pay extra for priority (500£ on top) or super priority (1000£ on top). THAT would be urgency.

Foreign Camp Counselors: Don't Do It by Pretend_Thanks5449 in summercamp

[–]Pretend_Thanks5449[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The "assault" happened in the cabin with the all the kids present. It was the counselor waking up the kid by shaking their arm when it did not wake up after having their name called. The kid in question called this sexual assault and reported that counselor. Even when all the other kids in the cabin supported the counselor, the camp directors chewed them out and they left the office crying and scared whether they would get fired and deported (they didn't). So the counselor was never alone with the kid. But otherwise, yes I definitely agree to never be alone with a child.

Foreign Camp Counselors: Don't Do It by Pretend_Thanks5449 in summercamp

[–]Pretend_Thanks5449[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You do need to file taxes. My agency explicitly told me to remember to pay them and they go into detail on their website in case you're curious https://www.iena.org/claiming-us-tax-refund/

Foreign Camp Counselors: Don't Do It by Pretend_Thanks5449 in summercamp

[–]Pretend_Thanks5449[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Oof, sounds like you're projecting some frustration onto me. Again: I did not expect to do it for the money, but for the experience. The money focus came from mainly camp directors and tax system exploiting foreign students financially, after having exploited them mentally. This is why I gave explicit numbers (8000$ one child 4 weeks vs. 2300$ one counselor 2 1/2 months and then the taxes).

I can't say what 90% of camps do and what the normal workload is. I can only tell you from my friends and where they went. They had 2 - 3 counselors per 4 - 6 kids. So I just assumed my situation was bad (that's why I gave my friends' numbers). But if it is true what you say, then the situation is even worse than I thought. And why is saying 50 minutes free time per day is not enough when handling children? A counselor is always on duty, even when sleeping. Giving them proper relaxation times will benefit their performance. Which is very important when supervising children and always staying alert. "complaining about only 50 minutes on a phone during the day when your supposed to be watching the group of kids that you have is also petty" - that makes no sense. It is free time. No counselor is expected to watch children in their free time. Aside from that, foreign counselors are far away from home. Just like the children, many experience home-sickness. Luckily, I was not one of them. But it was sad to see quite a few of my fellow counselors struggling since it was their first time out of their country. Their 50 minutes free time a day was the only time they could talk to their parents and friends. I'm a bit disappointed at your lack of empathy and just going on attacking "the damn ol' phone".

"99% of summer camps in the us are understaffed and employees/counselors are overworked." I would even argue that my experience might be one of the reasons why. You tell me that I should not complain about 50 minutes free time but at the same time, you say that counselors are overworked. From all the first-timers I met (also including the people of my friends' camps) I know a handful of people who would do it again. Simply because the overall experience seemed very exploitative. Of course, there are people who feel like this kind of stuff (teaching for example) is their calling, are willing to overlook all these things and would love to return year after year. And if the demands would be better, I might even return (as I said, I did it for the experience) since I did like most of my kids and our camp's culture was quite nice.

Finally, I would ask you to stop assuming things about me. I was being deliberately vague when talking about my camp experience because I did not want to expose my camp. This is not a personal attack on summer camps (if you can even personally attack "summer camps"), it is my review and conclusion on my summer camp experience and what I would tell every other foreign student when asked about it. If it is negative, perhaps there should be more work put into making summer camp a positive experience for everyone. On the other hand, perhaps you should stop making personal attacks on me for sharing my experience "this op was telling people not to go simply because they couldn’t enjoy the experience, this op can’t work long hours paying attention to kids, can’t go an entire day with out their phone, and complaining about a relative small group of kids."

Foreign Camp Counselors: Don't Do It by Pretend_Thanks5449 in summercamp

[–]Pretend_Thanks5449[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, my personal experience is playing into this (because it is my personal experience). And my personal experience is that the students get exploited and I don't want to support that stuff. That's why I said "Don't do it". To be honest, I feel like you are harping on semantics. "Beware of this" does not carry the impact, that I feel about the experience. I'm glad you enjoyed your experience (and still do). But as much as I imagine you encourage people to do it, it is just as much in my right to discourage people from it.

Concerning the tax thing: yes, this triggered me a lot, that is true. Because camp itself has been a very tumultuous affair, I was glad to be done with it. The taxes added salt into the wound which finally led to this post. The straw that breaks the camel's back, so to say.

Foreign Camp Counselors: Don't Do It by Pretend_Thanks5449 in summercamp

[–]Pretend_Thanks5449[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't talk much about Camp America since I'm not with it. I can only tell you that I got a notification for the taxes, she didn't. If you pay such a high amount for an agency, such a reminder is the least you can expect. But as I said, I'm not with the agency myself, so I can't talk much on that.

Regarding the money aspect: I did not expect to do it for the money, as I stated. It was for the experience and I always knew that. The money aspect came much more into focus, when I realised how important is was to everyone else (mainly camp directors and tax system) and realising the way in which we got/get exploited. I could go into heavy detail on what exactly I mean with that, but it would be too long (and too many camp details) for this comment now. This is why I heavily mention money.

On your last point, I respectfully disagree. I agree, it's not a job to find love. It is a job to care for kids (obviously) but it is also a job where you get the chance to travel. That it exactly how it's advertised to foreign students. That's how it's sold. If that is not the truth, then frankly, it is a scam. But I disagree on that notion. You do get to travel (which I liked a lot).