Yes, teen boys can be quite immature. (I was one once, so I know 
)
In any case, there are a lot of success stories from many different places. There are also stories of failure, but you wonāt hear many parents trumpeting those.
Without knowing the school(s), program, and goals, itās really difficult to say much useful. After all, how many job offers a CS major gets out of a regular state school may have little relevance to a social science major aiming to enter Wall Street.
How wonderful that heās found a fit so easily. Hopefully, heāll get merit aid or scholarships if heās at the top of the admitted class. And as long as heās going in with eyed open - no Nirvanas on offer here - and understands the trade-offs, Iād trust him to make this call. There is much to be said in favor of a kid who isnāt swayed by false gods like prestige and bragging rights. Youāve done something right.
We have one kid who made a similar choice and has never regretted it. Being comfortable that he was academically at the top gave him self-confidence, a bit of slack to pursue his ECs, and the kind of academic record that opened doors when he graduated. And we got merit aid - and a really happy kid - which is always nice.
OP, my daughter fell in love with her safety too. Even though she was accepted to ābetterā schools, she never once considered attending those colleges. She did go to her safety, loved the experience, did well in class and formed lasting friendships with some of her profs. She graduated summa cum laude and had several job offers before graduation. And yeah, she got merit money too. Whatās not to love?
We kept dragging her to other schools and other tours, but she never budged. In retrospect I should have trusted her more and worried less (the story of my parenting life!)
Thanks for the info, everyone. The school is a good regional school (but perhaps lacks a national reputation), and I would hope for generous merit aid.
I think part of this is due to his being very independent minded. He is not a real leader, but heās also not a follower. He sees many of his classmates doing things just to pad their resumes in hopes of getting into Ivys, and he doesnāt care to play that game (even if part of me wishes he would, at least just a little.)
At this point, there are 3 or 4 schools Iād like for him to see, preferably in the fall when school is back in session. Then I guess Iāll offer advice, but stand back and let him chose his own path.
Without indicating what his prospective major(s), career interest(s), and/or graduate or professional school interest(s) are, there is no way to comment on whether your concerns are valid.
In general, if his first choice is a true safety (assured admission, assured affordability), then you should be glad that the college selection and application process is not a huge amount of work or a stress-filled one up to March 31 (waiting for decisions) or April 30 (deciding between choices, if any) or later (trying to figure out what to do if shut out).
But make sure that it actually is a true safety. If not, he may need a few more schools to ensure that he is not shut out.
Not sure what you mean here. Do you mean that, for the major in question, his AP scores would not be allowed to substitute for required courses (e.g. if he took non-calculus-based AP physics 1 or 2, but needs calculus-based physics for his major)?
My kid applied to three schools that most said were safeties for herā¦applications sent before October 1. They were her favorites. We insisted that she apply to one parent choice, and she then asked to apply to a reach. Those last two applications were a waste of time and money.
She had acceptances to the three initial schoolsā¦her top choicesā¦before Christmas.
She didnāt get accepted to the reach. She got accepted with urge merit to the parent choiceā¦but it wasnāt her choiceā¦at all.
She graduated from one of those three āsafety schoolsā. Had a great four years, learned a lot, was able to double major in two areas of interest, made awesome friendsā¦and was well prepared for her future.
Let me add hereā¦D will attend a āmatchā LAC school that was at the bottom of her top 10 choices (out of 19 applications). I was thrilled with the package they offered, trying to entice STEM students, and encouraged her to choose it. Because we are beginners in the process, I hadnāt given much thought to where she would place in classes. She placed into pretty high math classes. They dontā do advanced placement for science classes so she will be reviewing her bio classes for the first two semesters. I think sheāll run out of math classes before her junior year (assuming she can get the classes she needs that are reserved for upper classmen) although she has been working with both the science and math dept heads. She is concerned that she will be taking classes in which she will be very bored or placed with junior students. In the end, I have to be happy with her choice, as does she, because financially her only other choice was the state honors program (plus a step higher into a more advanced science program) and she was adamant not to go there because of the size. She hasnāt stepped foot into the college yet and we are already researching junior year transfer schools UGG.
NEPatsGirl, she could also take courses in the summer at the state U, or even a semester, to get the higher math classes.
OP, I know plenty of boys (it always seems to be the boys) who see a school they like early and they are done. Thatās it - a few other apps go out to provide options but they donāt play the game and donāt make a big deal out of it. If heās happy, itās OK, just make sure you have a few other choices so that you have some financial fallbacks if the merit at the #1 choice doesnāt come through.
@Cameron121 the behavior related to the lack of a āshopping geneā is usually most pronounced in the teen males of our species.
Female here who fell in love with safety, went to safety, excelled at safety, and doesnāt regret it for a second. (only applied to safety and one other schoolā¦ Got into both but the other school wasnāt even a contender.)
Strong students will do well wherever they go imo and comfort will allow a student to excel even more. I say, good for him. Good luck 
Cameron121, I agree - it hadnāt occurred to me before, but I think thatās part of it, at least for some guys. S just doesnāt have the bandwidth to deal with college drama (or any kind of drama for that matter). He see itā¦he calls itā¦he plays it. Done.
I went to my safety school, where I was probably in the top 1% of admitted students (I got the top university-wide scholarship), had a great time both socially and academically, and got amazing research experience that netted me both great mentorship and an ongoing research collaboration that has netted me 5+ peer-reviewed publications and counting. Having that quality of research experience in undergrad really prepared me well for grad school, both admissions and day-to-day work. Iām entering the probably final year of my (fully funded) PhD program, although I donāt know how Iāll fair on the academic job marketāIāll know this year, for better or worseāI did have one of our faculty, whoās incredibly successful and talented, look at my CV and tell me, in complete seriousness , āyou know, you could go up for tenure with this publication recordāand youād probably get it.ā I credit any success Iāve had or will have in academia largely to the great start I got at my safety, third tier alma marter.
Always love it when people generalize male/female behavior - with one data point.
My daughter also focused only on the safety, never has had any doubts, never a complaint. She is not a top student and feels it is a good challenge for her without feeling defeated.
It is not college drama. It is being well informed and making the right choice and not necessary making the easiest choice. I donāt think every boy out there is like that.
DS scored 2240 with a math 800 (GPA 3.75/4.0 UW). In the major he seems to like, his APs in Calc and Physics would not carry over, because the program does require Calc or Physics to graduate."
Frankly at this point Iād be more concerned about making sure his choice of major is a good fit. He sounds like a kid with STEM talents interested in a non-STEM major. That of course can be perfectly ok for a student that excels in many areas (evident by his high GPA and terrific composite SAT) . Just ensure that he has done due diligence on career research etc.
āSo if this were your child, what would you do?ā