I have known plenty of MT kids who wanted the academic selectivity more than the BFA itself. So they applied to the likes of Northwestern, Yale, Brown, etc. and perhaps just a couple of BFAs like NYU and U of Michigan.
In my D’s case, she only applied to BFAs because she wanted a BFA program. Luckily she landed at NYU and so she got the mix of a BFA program but a pretty selective academic school as well.
There are a great many top talented MT kids who land at BA schools that don’t have a MT degree. I happened to see a Hasty Pudding Theatricals show this past weekend at Harvard and the talent was top notch. Off the top of my head, I can think of two MT buddies of my D’s who had the talent to attend a BFA, but opted for Yale and one is the standby for a lead on Broadway right now and the other is playing a major role in a National Tour right now. I know others who attended too, but just mentioning these kids.