<p>I have to agree with jazz/shreddermom and raddad 100%. There are plenty of paths to take. We have had the college vs. non college path discussion in our house plenty of times. My son has had a lot of exposure to successful musicians and bands, plenty of which who have not gone to college for music. He is in a band that has gotten a lot of attention in our city, has had great opportunities, opened up for national acts, recording CDs. He does make the same great argument that Jazz’s son has made and his points are well taken. But, as a mom who has sent our son to private school for 12 years you can bet what path I want him to take 
I strongly believe that college is also about learning life lessons and making great connections. A good Plan B would be to go to a great lib arts college with a strong music program. Bard, for example, has a nice music program outside their conservatory and use some of the same professors. Also, if your son is a vocalist I would take a good look at Berklee because they are one of the top contemporary music programs in the country and certainly have more than 5 slots to fill in their vocal program. If he is a sophomore or junior in HS, you may want to consider sending him to one of their summer programs. That way he will get to experience the school and they will get to see his talents. We are still going through the college process so I do not have all the answers either. At times I get stressed out over the limited number of college options but at the same time I am having fun taking him to auditions, etc. Don’t worry, it will all work itself out!</p>