@Snowdog: Yes–I think that Hampshire would be a wonderful place for him in so many ways (one of his favorite elementary school teachers was a Hampshire grad, so he’s known and been interested in it since he was a child!). All of his other choices are music (jazz) schools, as that’s his great love right now, but he still loves to act and sing (and I have to say that he is truly talented in all three areas), and there are many other things he’d like to explore (he was really impressed that Ken Burns is an alum). We found out via educational testing in 9th grade that he has serious test-taking issues that have had a very negative effect on his GPA, and really put a hole in his confidence in his intelligence, even though he’s seen that he has a very high IQ. I think he compensated by focusing extra hard on his music and the acting, and the results have been remarkable, but the rest has been sketchy. So that will be his hurdle.
@Larensea : Thank you so much! Yup–the waiting is awful (as I’m sure you know by now!). As I told my son yesterday, I don’t recall worrying about my own college applications nearly as much as I worry about his! This whole being-a-parent thing isn’t for lightweights 
. But I have faith that it will all work out as it should–he’s smart, talented, and kind, and he deserves to be in a place that’s wonderful for him.
I really appreciate the support here, guys!