And probably even more so nowadays. My violinist daughter and her cellist friend were students at those schools in the late 1990s. She gave up skating as a hobby in high school when she broke her wrist falling on her hand. It was a fairly clean break that healed quickly, but I had to explain to the intern in the ER why she was being so hysterical about it, that she was a violin student (at the Toronto Conservatory at that time) and had an important recital scheduled in a couple of months. And that was before she was even old enough to apply to Juilliard.A friend of mine in Europe had a hard time getting a deferral : his reason, broke his arm playing football.... after several weeks of back and forth, they accepted to give him a deferral. It's no joke. These school are so competitive, not just to get in, but during education and also to get out in style... But it shows how talented as a dancer he is, and often, very talented individuals need to make difficult choices. Sometimes, money can be a factor too in these decisions. Julliard with (and perhaps even without) a scholarship is probably cheaper than figure skating.