Our D is and always has been 100% committed to a career in MT, but her priorities were different than most folks above so they may be worth mentioning. Her thinking was that she may spend the rest of her life “studying” MT (voice, dance and acting classes), but she will probably only have 4 years of college. With that in mind, her priority was getting the richest college experience possible (which for her meant very strong academics on a traditional college campus) in addition to solid theatre training. Her top 3 school choices were Northwestern followed by Yale then Brown. If none of those had panned out she also had UMich, Penn State, CMU, CCM, etc, on her list.
I would instead say that academically selective schools offer less MERIT aid, since all admitted students deserve merit aid, but many are VERY well endowed so they may offer far better need-based aid than other schools. We have also found that well-endowed schools may offer admitted students many other perks including travel, masterclasses, etc. once they are enrolled.
Many very smart MT kids opt for BFA’s in less academically-selective schools, but not all do. There is no single “correct” path. 