D18 had 14 applications and 11 auditions, while doing 4 APs and competitive dance, so it was definitely very hectic (and we had twins applying at the same time). But it was also very busy in college trying to do a double major and honors thesis (155 semester credits in 4 years), so it was good practice having to be that organized. I agree OP has to know what she’s getting into and basically become her D’s scheduler/personal assistant from October to February.
Some scholarships (eg Oklahoma, Fordham for her) were auto-merit but the ones listed above were much more than that: UC Regents is holistic, the Austin tuition waiver was apparently the only one given for the whole college of fine arts and her full ride involved a separate application and competitive interview. USC would be another one where getting more than NMF auto-merit is holistic. So in all those cases course rigor is very important.