You’re getting outstanding advice here. I second most of the school recommendations. (Syracuse sounds like a ringer, but I honestly don’t know it that well.) A couple of thoughts:
- He should apply ED if he is CONFIDENT a school is his first choice. Although there's certainly some sort of boost for ED, the scope of that boost is significantly distorted by the fact that a lot of ED accepted applicants are hooked -- athletes, legacies, etc. If a school is not actually a first choice and he's just going ED for the theoretical boost, I'd think twice. He may be better served by having choices later (tastes change).
- Don't wait until AFTER the decision date to work on additional applications. An ED rejection can be a real ego blow (especially if there are no EA or rolling acceptances in the bag), plus it's a busy, stressful time of year. Even if applying ED, have drafts of supplemental essays for other schools ready BEFORE decision day.