Intensive Summer Programs A Financial Comparison

Toronto has an amazing choice of summer camps for all ages, tastes, gender, and
needs. Whether it is a summer day camp or a traditional summer camp, figuring
out the value of that camp is a difficult if not impossible task.
So how do you measure the value of a summer camp?
Lets assume that you want to measure how happy the participant is. It would be
fair to say that the more happy the participant of the camp, the value of the camp
goes up. So what does happy look like? Does happy mean the same thing to
everyone? Are there other factors that influence ones happiness? To be sure,
there are plenty of factors that drive the happiness quotient and this makes it
hard to determine the value of the summer program.
However, there is one sure way to measure value of a summer program is by
what you pay. Weve sampled a number of pre-college summer intensive
programs for teenagers that are run by top-tier art and design schools in the US.
Weve looked at all the costs associated with attending the program without adult
supervision or attendance. We also determined the number of instructional hours
a student will have when they attend these programs and here is what we found
(numbers have been rounded to the tens).
Below is a comparison chart of Summer Design Lab (SDL) and US pre-college
summer programs:
Program
Tuition
Housing
Meal Plan
Misc Fees
Local Transportation
Health Insurance*
Return Flight*
Art Supplies*

SDL*
TBD:2016
Incl.

PC1
5000
2600
Incl.
N/A
150
600
200

PC2
3300
900
740
300
N/A
150
600
200

PC3
2300
1400
500
N/A
150
600
200

PC4
4000
1000
Incl.
300
N/A
150
600
200

Total in USD
8550 6190 5150 6250
Total in CAD**
TBD:2016 9490 6870 5720 6940
Number of Weeks
3
5
4
2
5
Instructional hours
109
130 114 70
125
Cost per hour
TBD
73
60
82
55
*Fees are estimated. Flights originating from Toronto Pearson. **Exchange Rate 1
USD = 1.11 CAD. Fees are rounded to nearest 10.
By examining the cost on a per hour basis, you will see that Summer Design Lab
offers tremendous value.
Even if you were to remove the room and board, transportation and other
miscellaneous costs, Summer Design Lab still comes out ahead.
Value is more than money.
At Summer Design Lab, we believe the quality of instruction we offer is on par
with schools in the US. We also have the benefit of having professors from
Canadian and US post-secondary institutions who will provide a unique
perspective on design and design thinking. The professors that we hire not only
currently teach at post-secondary level but are also practicing their craft in the
real world. In addition, we will have various design professionals coming in to
speak with you to give you real world perspective and expectations.
One other differentiating aspect of our program is what we teach. There are
many schools that focus on a specific subject such as illustration or architecture.
Our program teaches a life skill called design thinking. Design thinking is a skill
that is transferable across various disciplines. Whether you decide to pursue
architecture, fashion design, industrial design or even business and engineering,
these critical skills will help you flourish in both your academic and professional
career.
We strongly believe that these benefits combined with the dollar value is a great
investment in your future success.
We hope that you will join us this summer!
https://summerdesignlab.com/