All of this so they have a better chance of getting into a better college, all so they drop those extracurriculars on day 1. Pretty ridiculous.
Not all of them played instruments in youth or had formal training. And if you have a bad experience you may not want to continue. I wouldn't hold that against anyone.
But it's not unheard of among band geeks to play in adult hood.
Ugh, on a related note, I'm a bad friend because I haven't kept in touch with them for a long time. Good fucking people.