It’s certainly a hard choice–especially when finances come into play. More academically selective schools tend to be more expensive, and as an international student, I had a hard and fast limit of how much my family was willing and able to put towards my education per year. I had grades and scores in line with graduates of my high school who had gone on to Ivy League schools and the related ilk, but the programs on that academic level which offered BFAs in MT (and I did want that degree in particular, although that’s certainly a personal choice as well) were simply out of my family’s price range. I’m at a school that is not particularly challenging right now, and I will be honest: it can be frustrating. But I have to second the merits of being at a less academically rigorous school that @vvnstar mentioned, and also say that for a bright, academically-motivated student, he/she will find a way to enrich his/her education (if that’s what they so desire!) if the program is right for him/her and the faculty is on his/her side. My current work as a dramaturg in one of this semester’s mainstage productions feels like the equivalent of writing a thesis–and I’m loving it.