I agree with this. The quant shops are very meritocratic in terms of hiring among the people they look at, but the toughest part for the OP’s son is getting considered.
It’s not impossible, as a top 100 USAMO score will be noticed, but will require substantial outreach to the firms.
I’m sure this was very challenging for your family. You have every reason to be very proud of your very accomplished son. At this point, don’t ask about “how many leaders we need in our community or country” as you put responded, instead simply recognize that colleges seek leaders in their pool of applicants. For your son to stand out, it is important for them to see he has experience as a leader. Wherever he goes to college, please encourage him to join some clubs and/or service leagues both to get to know other students and also to seek leadership opportunities. This will matter for grad school too. If he takes a gap year, he should consider starting or joining a group that provides tech and/or chess lessons to disadvantaged kids so that he can align his interests with making a difference. I’m hardly an expert but I think the “leadership piece” is what was missing from his story. Also, he could always attend one of these wonderful schools like Virginia Tech, etc and then transfer. Or he can stay and do very well academically and attend a top grad program. There are lots of resources and videos online (look at youtube) regarding crafting a compelling college essay to help if he takes a gap year.
@davidng - Thinking of you and your son! Hope things are looking up for you. How are things going so far this week?
I hope things are going well on your search this week. I just found out one of my son’s good friends is going to UTexas-Dallas on a full ride scholarship for CS. She, like your son, is a National Merit finalist. I hope you can get something similar! Good luck!
Sadly, taking a year off to determine if his essays weren’t up to par or he doesn’t fit into some other category, seems a bit wasteful.
Sounds like he has great abilities and has done many great things. What about attending a school this year and planning to transfer in a year or two?
Some commenters don’t seem to be grasping that all of OP’s current acceptances are unaffordable. They are fine schools but they weren’t well-chosen for a student with high financial need. They are not worth drowning in debt for.
The options at this point are 1) find an NMF full ride that is still available, 2) start out in community college, or 3) take a gap year and not only improve the essays and other aspects of his application, but also and more importantly choose a better list of schools to apply to.
Whether the community college option is a good path depends in large part on the state of residence.
I think there’s consensus that if a full ride to a school like UT-Dallas can be secured, then that’s the bird-in-the-hand to go with. If it comes down to gap year vs. community college, then a gap year may be the better plan… but time is of the essence vis-a-vis option 1, so that’s the first order of business.
I think the original poster is long gone. Hoping things work out for his son.