^ sorry, I wasn’t clear : a 17 year old who lives without parents/guardians/on his own and attends high school has a special status whereby parents’ residency wouldn’t matter when he applies to college (trying to explain in simple terms). If he initiates that now or while he’s a minor, he has special rights and protections that continue till he graduates high school (even if he’s 18 1/2 by then). If he puts it off and waits, it’s too late: it cannot be done for an 18 year old.
Had forgotten title: the subject he’s interested in CS. Any other interest? Music, languages, anthropology…?
He should register for fly ins as a low income (first gen?) student. Perhaps Questbridge if he enrolls in hs (Questbridge is a 4-year full ride scholarship to elite colleges reserved to high achieving, low income HS seniors.) For that, he’d need to register for the August sat (very quickly) and study for it assiduously in order to ensure a high score (1250-1300 for a first attempt may be OK for Questbridge and fly ins?)