<p>I agree completely that the arts can be a hook -- I just don't think it necessarily will be, which is why I am both a lover of the arts and a believer in the concept of art for art's sake. There simply is no guarantee that arts will ever pay off, whether in college admissions or in terms of financial gain from employment -- even though there are many situations where the payoff is great. I'm sure you are delighted to see your son as an art major, but at the same time if he had asked you which major would get him the highest paying job at graduation... you might have urged something more, er, practical. One of my college classmates is an art major who pursued his love through a masters degree, and some of his works sell for as much as $30,000.... but I don't know whether that gives him a steady income or a lot of ups and downs. </p>
<p>Given the choice, I'd rather see my kids eking out a minimal income while pursuing their passions, then doing something they hate for the money -- but those of us who choose the less financially secure paths, also need to be flexible with our other goals in life. So the kid who pursues the art may find he has a hook to a top school -- or not -- and if he can be as happy with his safety college as long as the art program is good, then he'll be fine. Some of the best arts oriented programs in the country are actually at colleges that are not particularly prestigious or highly selective, simply because art programs do not always go hand in hand with strong core academics. I certainly know with dance that very few top, highly selective college have strong programs -- except for a handful of elites (such as Tisch or Julliard), prospective dance majors are better off looking way beyond the US News top 100. </p>
<p>You and I are both fortunate because our kids "won" the admissions game - pursued their arts and got into top colleges. But I think of Andison - who seems to have amazing talent as a pianist, but lost out the year of his graduation because he seemed to have targetted schools that either didn't care, or were full up on their quota for pianists that year. So it just is one of those life strategies that's like rolling the dice... wonderful for those who feel that their love for what they are doing is its own reward.</p>