So grateful for all the advise here. I’ll get on it right away TempeMom!
I would not worry about clubs given he has had extensive experiences that are unique and would have made sustained effort in a particular club or EC nearly impossible. Sounds like he has been very involved in interesting things-and that is the purposes served by ECs anyway.
This isn’t important but you mention “His Math teacher told me he had to teach the entire course in 8 months”. well that is about the time span most US students have or taking AP classes since the exams start the first week of May and schools in the Northeast often don’t start until the 1st or 2nd week in September-and then they usually have, totaled, a few weeks off for vacations and holidays-so it is actually less than 8 months.
I don’t understand why people are suggesting to hire someone. I’d direct your son to the various on line resources related to choosing colleges. I would guess you are fairly well educated so you’d know the US system and can read about the Canadian one. The less you spend on tutors and on consultants the more you will keep in your pocket unless you miss things you are eligible for in terms of financial aid-but you can become informed about that too.
Because so many schools and transcripts will be involved in this young mans application, I think it would be wise to hire a very experienced college advisor. I hired one by the hour for a few hours, and both of us knew masses of information, but there are definitely going to be hiccups on the way. OP can of course save a lot of money, but a good advisor will know about various colleges and if her son is a good fit, likely to get merit (which will save potentially thousands on tution), unique aspects of various colleges, etc…
My private advisor sensed my D would really love a particular LAC that wasn’t on our radar. It has turnd out to be the top choice for my D, and if she gets in it will be worth the money spent.
OP, in regards to the mailings, don’t want to burst your bubble, and of course be proud they are sending personalized mail, but it is still probably just advertising. My kid (who is now done applying) got a handwritten envelope just yesterday, and a letter addressed to her. Macalester is very good at doing this, even so far as sending her a personal letter saying “Professor X would love to teach you about ____”. They do it by sneakily gaining access to everything your son clicks on:-) Last summer, she recieved this beautiful gold embossed packet with a seal on it, inviting her to some sleep-away leadership thing that only ? kids are invited to, because she was clearly a leader, blah blah, with heavy stationery, etc… It bet it cost $5 just to mail. But of course, it was really an invitation to spend $4000 during the summer. Anyway, just want you to see it for what it is-- advertising.
Thank you for your input. My son does not like us to be too involved with what’s going on at school. He hardly have any complains and he must be doing something right since his grades reflects it. It could be the Math teacher’s excuse for his only 5 students doing so poorly last year. This year my son had no issues and he’s one level higher. We definitely felt it was a good decision to come back to finish the last 2 years of high school which is so critical.
This thread really helps and everyone that has contributed has been such wonderful support.
Did he do the IB Diploma program?
We moved to Germany from the USA right before my DD’s Junior year. She did the IB Diploma program (HL Math, HL Physics, HL Chem, SL English, SL Business, German Ab Initio). Her extra curriculars were things she did for the CAS requirements (community service, volleyball, etc) and other math tutoring activities she did.
I think that colleges know that students living abroad aren’t as EC crazy.
She was able to take PSAT and SAT at her International (English based) HS. To take the AP test, she had to go to a US Army base.
Junior year spring break, we went back to the US and did a tour of schools.
She ended up choosing a school that gave alot of credit for IB Diploma…SUNY Binghamton.
“Students in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program may receive up to 32 credits. To receive the full 32 credits, the following conditions must be met:
The IB Diploma must be completed with a score of 30 or more points; and
The student must complete at least three Higher Level exams with a score of 5 or higher.
Diploma holders who meet these conditions receive credit for their individual exam scores plus additional liberal arts elective credit to total 32 credits.”
She was able to graduate early (and do a masters) with her credits.
If he’s willing to go north, but still stay in the states, have him look at U Rochester. They have a more open curriculum that he might enjoy and there’s a decent number of foreign students there too. His stats fit in and I suspect they’d like his unique experiences. You would want to run their NPC first.
If he wants to stay in FL, Eckerd is a good school with an active sailing team. My youngest goes there though is not involved with sailing. My middle son is at U Rochester. Both really enjoy their schools.
Wow (Bopper)!
My son did 2 years of IB (9 & 10th grade) and he left the school last Summer. He seems to excel in both conventional and non conventional education. From what I gather from his teachers and friends over the years, he’s a quiet kid but somewhat popular. Not sure how that works.
We’ll definitely look into U of Rochester and Eckerd. Do they offer merit scholarship (Creekland)?
U of Roch offers merit and my D has applied there because of the open curriculum. It is a very rigorous school though.
Music to my ears (Lindagaf)!
I second the Rochester suggestion. Great school, beautiful campus.
Both Rochester and Eckerd offer merit scholarships. Both offer research options too, though with URoc it’s much more of a research culture. I believe more than 3/4ths of undergrads participate in it and there are oodles of options. At Eckerd it’s mainly students who are interested and being a smaller LAC, one would really want to check out what profs are researching. (Some there have very interesting projects, but the smaller size makes options more limited.)
Eckerd has an interesting J-term for sophomores - seniors. My sophomore is currently in Greece on his and loving it.
Eckerd is nicer to visit this time of year. 
Rochester is gorgeous in the fall.
Thank you!