I was in six different shows between August and December my senior year of high school. I didn’t have to apply to college because I was going to the University of Montana to which I would be automatically accepted as a graduate of a Montana high school.
My 10-year-old daughter is applying to public middle schools in New York City and I have turned down performance opportunities in order to be available to guide her through the process. Already she has done more work to get into middle school than I ever did to get into college and she is only just starting the interview/audition/test phase of the process.
Next Saturday she will have to miss a soccer game in order to take a test.
She doesn’t have a zoned school. There is no default option. We can’t quit the charade.