<p>OP, Your son is ranked #1. If his parents aren’t pushing him into AP classes, then he sounds like he is self-driven, and loves the challenges of classes (that he chose to take), and all that HS has to offer. </p>
<p>Then yes, all the work in HS is worth it for him.</p>
<p>Similar to one of our friends, whose only child was a self-driven high achiever in HS (not #1), but his parents worried like you - would he burn out? No, he loved the challenge and the work. And when he applied and was accepted to Yale, he thrived there too.</p>
<p>Let your son pursue his dreams. And as other posters said, step in only if he looks like he needs help in pulling back.</p>
<p>Make sure when he applies to Harvard, he also applies to some top state universities too.</p>