<p>My son and I were just dialoguing last night about how glad we are that we shot arrows in many directions - some known and some unknown. He started out emphatic he wanted a BFA MT program at a Division 1 school with great sports. Our first college trip included primarily those type of schools. He ended up getting into several that fit his requirements, but quickly discovered that he was more concerned with the quality of the BFA program than all the other things on his list. I was emphatic that he hadn’t cast a wide enough net and he applied to some schools that we knew VERY little about at the time. Yes it cost several hundred dollars more in application fees - but in the end…best decision we made!! He hasn’t made his final decision but he has it narrowed down to two (barring a miracle call from a dream school - and we aren’t holding our breath by any stretch!). Neither one of those two schools were anywhere on his radar - other than sure I will apply because I need more options as these programs are so selective. The two he is considering now rocketed to the top of his list after he visited post-audition. AND he is now almost certain he is going to pursue a BFA Acting degree instead of MT. Bottom line - encourage your kids to stay open to all possibilities. In hindsight he wishes he would have looked at conservatories as once Unifieds came and went he realized he would have been very happy to be in that type of environment.</p>