[LibertarianLiz]

And, three hours a day of practice really is a minimum!

Yes, she was telling me about a senior who is about to graduate and that she is practicing 8 (!) hours per day. She is working her way up to more practice time.

As for the 5-6 years to graduate with a Bachelor's degree; due to the AP and college credit courses she took in high school, my daughter is technically finishing her sophmore year, but is rated a Junior. She figures to have enough credits to graduate after the first semester of her senior year. She is thinking of using her time after that preparing for auditions for graduate school.

[CatoRenasci]

Consistent with what I hear. Our younger daughter seems to be conservatory bound (trumpet) and it's scary. We're trying encourage here to do a liberal arts college with a conservatory, rather than a free-standing conservatory. Cost will be a factor, but we'll see.