Reply to Pay to Play Summer Programs

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have done alumni interviews for a top school for many years. Unclear how much my opinion matters. I generally prefer a kid who works at a camp or scooping ice cream to one doing one of these programs. But I do not view the programs negatively. It is all how it fits into the overall narrative.

I see no harm in doing it at a different school than mine - I likely wouldn't ask, but a simple answer of "I spent the summer at that school but realized I like your school better because of XYZ" or "I chose them for this specific reason" easily explains it - just be prepared to explain.

These programs are much better than teen tours, which are the ultimate sign of privilege. Particularly domestic ones. International ones are very hit or miss.[/quote]

I can see this.  My child goes to a full summer sleepaway camp and I’ve noticed many of the counselors are in or set to go to top colleges, and have been either a camper or camp counselor every yr through middle and high school.  They wouldn’t have been able to do these pre-college programs. I do think it speaks to some resilience and mental fortitude if you can spend 7 weeks without electricity, A/C, or a phone at summer camp wrangling kids and tweens. [/quote]

Full summer sleepaway camps are something few families afford, and the equivalent of signaling to an admissions officer that you're wealthy.  Even if you're a counselor, you're only being hired because you went there as a child.  Sounds like a lovely summer, but unaffordable to most American families.
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Yes and no. My child goes to a fancy camp. Younger, pre-college age junior counselors tend to almost all be former campers, so yes, that is signaling wealth. But it also signals willingness to work - I would take a rich kid who spent 7 weeks as a counselor at one of these camps over a rich kid who worked at mom's hedge fund, on an "academic trip" or a "service trip" abroad (which tend to be boondoggles), or whatever else. Because however ritzy the camp is, counselors still have really tough jobs, and in some ways even harder as parents have very high expectations. And the owners take this responsibility very seriously so only hire their best former campers - having paid to go to the camp for many years does not guarantee a job - this is a very tough conversation for many camp owners that we loved taking your money for seven years but now do not want your kid responsible for younger children.

Older counselors who are 19 or 20 actually often come from less name-brand schools. Often kids looking to see a different part of the country, future teachers, etc. My child's camp has pipelines into a few very random, off-the-radar schools. Plus they draw a lot of international counselors to fill things out.[/quote]

I agree.  Being a camp counselor shows a good level of maturity, work ethic and social skills that would be viewed as a positive thing from me as an employer.  But your contrast of working as a counselor at a fancy camp vs. "working at mom's hedge fund" or "doing a service trip abroad" are all things that are characteristics of kids in the top 5% of American incomes.   [/quote]

Good points. But in my original post I was also focused on jobs like working at a day camp, bagging groceries, waitressing, scooping ice cream, etc. which demonstrate zero privilege. They just demonstrate work ethic, responsibility, people skills, etc. Sorry we got side tracked by sleepaway camps.[/quote]

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