Poor kid. I feel for him. The public honors program really amazes me too, midmo. On the other hand, Cal Tech and Rice are nothing to sneeze at.
I know a couple of kids who got into more than one of the schools that rejected him, and frankly they just aren't that special. I mean yes, excellent students, good kids, well-rounded and all that, but nothing fabulous: no state or national awards, no research in high school labs much less university labs, no incredible achievements or adversity overcome. And lower SATs. It's a puzzlement, it really is.
As someone always says, it must be the essays!
