If your S really would prefer one of the colleges that wait listed him, I would check the common data set to see which takes the highest percentage off the wait list. Then have him pursue that wait list and explain again what happened, acting apologetic.
@BigSigh I find this post interesting and I’m sorry for what you’re going through. My son switched schools in the middle of 10th grade because he was so miserable where he was. He didn’t have any disciplinary actions against him but I’m wondering if schools assumed the worst. He went from one private school to another. He had an interview at USC and they kept asking him why he switched MID YEAR. I never thought anything of it, but now I’m wondering if this could explain his unpredictable outcomes. He got accepted to 2 schools we considered reaches and was rejected/waitlisted at 3 schools we considered safeties/targets. This process is crazy. I hope your son is happy wherever he chooses to attend. This post will be helpful for students in the same predicament and helpful to students like my son. I’m wondering if we should have had his school send a letter saying he was welcome back at any time and left in good standing. Too late now but it never crossed my mind!
Go to whatever seems to be the best fit among the colleges he gets into, and take it from there. My son was on disciplinary and/or academic probation for almost all of his four years at a private boarding school, and was very, very fortunate to evade expulsion as a senior. His choices as a high-school senior came down to our (respected) state flagship, a private arts college, and an open-admissions college. He chose the arts college, but left after his third semester. College has not been a straight, flat road for him, but he’s still on it, with a degree from another respected university in sight.