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<p>UMass - Amherst has a very good reputation in computer science and a good reputation in most other sciences and engineering. Sure, it is not the ticket to investment banking and management consulting that Harvard is, but it is a solid school for a student going into the various math oriented subjects.</p>
<p>If he only applies to super-selective schools, he will likely get shut out, and have to go to community college and transfer to UMass - Amherst as a junior. That is not necessarily a bad path, but if he is super-advanced in subjects like math, it may be limiting, since community colleges won’t have upper division math courses.</p>