<p>I don’t think you should be taking his college admissions process into account as a big factor in this. I agree with SteveMA. You are overthinking this. Let him decide, and support his decision. If he is happy and doing the activities HE wants to do, that will shine through in his applications.</p>
<p>And… rank is not everything! My D2 probably only ranks in the top 25% of her class, but got accepted EA to U of Chicago last week. And someone with higher rank in her class was deferred. Let him be true to his interests and passions, and pick the school he prefers.</p>