My thinking is that he likes Duke and Durham isn’t exactly NY or LA. UConn has daily, on-the-hour bus service back & forth to Hartford, so you can easily get off campus and get to the city for restaurants, museums, concerts, etc. For basketball fans, there are very few places like Duke. UConn is one of those few.
The reality is that college students spend the vast majority of their time on campus doing stuff with their friends. At UConn, there’s plenty of things to do with tens of thousands of other students, and there’s easy access to the outdoors for all kinds of other activities. If he wants to continue his involvement with theater or play intramural baseball, there are lots of opportunities for both. In addition to Hartford, Mohegan Sun Casino is also only half an hour away with lots more entertainment options there.
Unless he plans to apply to some schools that still allow test optional, he, as you know, will need to bring those standardized test scores up quite a bit. There really are better options for engineering than Duke, given the restricted number of engineering majors that they offer. Tulane has certainly brought up at sports of programs and their football and basketball teams have been quite impressive and recent years. New Orleans is a fun city and certainly plenty warm. My chemE son did well there. I have another engineering son, but he attended a school that is too small based on your criteria. But it was excellent and they both offer excellent programs excellent support and excellent guidance for internships and career opportunities.