re: Does LSU not give a crap about smart, in-state high school students?

Congratulations to your son on his success.

Does Louisiana have a lottery scholarship? I didn’t apply to any Louisiana schools, but I do remember states without very powerful lottery scholarships seemed to be more active in recruiting and give more lucrative offers to the top students.

I had similar scores as a Tennessee resident and got a better deal from UA than UT about a decade ago.

This isn’t entirely related, but I’d caution your son about the elite schools like Vanderbilt. They’ll solicit you to apply to make their acceptance rate numbers look lower, and their admissions processes are largely based on things unrelated to academic performance.

If he really wants to go to a school like that, you almost have be a non-Asian minority, be well connected, or apply early decision. I don’t think those schools are worth it anymore for undergrad because most people in his test score range get Masters now.