<p>Viola-</p>
<p>I can’t disagree with that, all of this is with the caveat “it depends”. As you point out, a kid who may be average at a top notch program might not get many opportunities to shine, such as soloing, being concertmaster/principal, etc,because there are so many kids at their level, whereas at a program at a different level, they may get those opportunities because they stand out…which can drive the kid forward, too, plus it also depends on the student, some kids are so internally motivated they would be driven no matter what. The contra side to your example would be if the opportunities the student got, by being the ‘big fish in a small pond’, didn’t do much if the level of the program was such that it really wasn’t a great experience. For example, while soloing is often seen as being a big plumb, if the group they are soloing on is pretty rough, it may not be such a great experience, or being the concertmaster of a not particularly good orchestra may not give as much benefit as being a line player in a great one, it all depends.</p>