As another data point, I attended the May camp, and one of the most valuable things (though certainly not the ONLY valuable thing) I got from it was being around, and conversing with, all the Awesome People there, and plugging into that social network.

Because there is a pretty intensive application process (I think less than half the applicants were selected), the attendees were all People I Wish I Could've Spent More Time Talking To, and the teachers themselves were exemplars of the characteristics listed.