Yeah, I totally get that :) But you know, just about every single good university has an orchestra - lots of them have multiple (symphony, philharmonia, etc).

Yeah, I totally get that :) But you know, just about every single good university has an orchestra - lots of them have multiple (symphony, philharmonia, etc). There are way more kids playing music for their school than will ever be professional musicians. And there is a need for 2-3 times more violin players than cello players. If your kid enjoys playing violin and wants to play in college, that will count for a lot more than someone who plays a cello just so they can write it down on their application.