As a theater student, I think I can offer some perspective on this.
I want to differentiate between "acting" and "musical theater" programs. In an academic sense, they are EXTREMELY different.
Singing, dancing, and being articulate really say nothing of your acting ability. Acting is its own art form entirely and it's more literary than anything. It's completely different from singing and dancing in that it's all about generating emotions from a text and then using your body as a vehicle to tell a story and interpret a character. Singing and dancing will not help you in an acting program.
So it concerns me that the logic that brought you do "I should act" had nothing to do with its literary roots or a deep, intellectual relationship with theater.
Musical theater is completely different. A dramatic lit/acting snob will tell you musical theater lacks depth and represents mindless, fun entertainment rather than any meaningful commentary on the human condition. In other words, it's about the music and presence and creating "an experience" for the audience. Musical theater people will say acting people have a stick up their ass and take theater too seriously. For them it's about the audience enjoying themselves. They're more about the sound of applause and praise, less than performing for its own sake. Character study is less in depth and generally lighter. Think improv games and learning to exaggerate your emotions. Acting's more like reading a book about Alexander Technique or Mask Technique and self-exploration to come totally in sync with your emotions.
If what you have in mind is more glamorous, fun, lively, exciting, whatever-- musical theater's probably a better bet for you. I don't necessarily agree that it's less intellectually stimulating or inferior to straight drama, but musical theater seems more like what you're thinking of.
This is an acting program you're looking at. That means intense acting and drama -- intense scene study, heavy character analysis, hours and hours perfecting your speech. Again, I just want to emphasize how much more literary it is than musical theater. I know people who grew up with musical theater backgrounds and then went into acting and thought it was boring.
Another way to put it:
Musical theater is about performing and entertaining. It's fun.
Acting is about telling a story. It's more "intellectual," for lack of a better term.
Another point: If you are serious about acting/musical theater/whatever, you really need to evaluate what formal training will yield you. For nonperformance majors (technical, stage management, dramatic lit, etc) it's more essential, but for performance a lot of already talented people don't have a ton to gain from it. It's more about meeting people and networking with faculty. When Robin Williams went to Julliard, a professor told him to drop out because there's was nothing more to teach him. Really. So if you're already confident in your abilities, you may be better off going out and trying to get some experience. It sucks, but most actors do the auditions-by-day-waitress-by-night thing. If you do want the education I would suggest going part-time. Experience will get you to meet people who will get you more jobs. The degree/certificate doesn't get you all that far alone.
I don't need to tell you it's a risky career and very very hard to break into. I've acted since I was eight and I know I'm very talented -- but professional acting isn't for me. I hate the audition process and feeling like a number, but even more I hate putting up with directorial bullshit. People are surprised by how low on the totem pole actors really are in a production. And you need to grin and bear it because you are extremely replaceable. It's just not an environment I could see myself living in forever.
These are all things to think about, I guess. I'm personally planning to get into casting or talent management to meet people while writing plays on the side. My major is technically dramatic lit and playwriting (with a second major in Marketing.) I hope I don't sound discouraging, I just want you to know what you're getting into.