Bottom of a talented bunch at music college., Can you rise to the top? Options

[MNW]

I was wondering, if when a student enters music college do they always remain in the same position (all things being equal) compared to their peers? What I mean is: there are lots of musicians entering music college having just passed grade 8 and then there are some who have FRSM and others with considerable performing experience. Do the latter always stay ahead of the former and how would this manifest itself? Does it mean they are better players or get more performance opportunities? I am intrigued because with standard university courses most students are on a level playing field with 3A's at A'level, for example, but music college is different. And if the more advanced student always stays ahead, is this not frustrating for the student of lesser ability and do they feel disadvantaged?

I am not trying to start a heated debate but I am intrigued because if I entered a course knowing I was considerably weaker than most of my class then I'm not sure I would be strong enough to put myself in such an environment. Of course I could be the weakest on a standard academic course but I wouldn't necessarily know this until a couple of years in. I assume with music, especially performance, it becomes quite obvious fairly quickly. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[MNW]

That's rather arrogant to assume a large number of parents are "daft" to opt for specialism for their children. I would like to think that I wouldnt judge anyone for the choices they make even if it seems bizarre or conflicts with my ideals. Dig deep and one tends to find that it is the child that is pushing for specialism and the parent has tried to dissuade them or ignore their child's passions or talents for a long time. As long as the child is informed and continually made aware of the pro's and cons and is allowed to opt out at any point then I do not see the harm. Luckily the music schools in the UK offer a traditional academic education minus subjects such as media studies or psychology which seem to get one nowhere with uni applications. Sport is an issue but some children hate sport and some parents have to work around these issues.

Anyway this is way off topic and not relevant to the original post!