He’s obviously well-prepared! And, UNC and NC State do value test scores. If you look at their data of in state kids accepted, about 75-80% of kids who submit scores are accepted to UNC whereas about 30% who go test optional are accepted (and your kid’s scores are obviously stellar). I haven’t run the numbers for NC State, but his scores + GPA combo were likely lower than most applicants to engineering, despite being amazing stats! GPAs aren’t created equal, but as a previous person said, it’s hard to know what kept him out, but his scores were definitely part of the mix!