[Alberta's Child]

Your son's story is probably much more common than you think. I found myself in a similar situation at one time, but since I didn't have an "education fund" at my disposal I ended up paying my own bills. It's amazing how much more focused I became once I was paying for that education out of my own pocket.

Based on my experience and stories like this that I've heard from others, I've concluded that sending a high school graduate directly to college is a bad idea. Every high school graduate should spend at least a year working menial jobs just to get a good sense of what the rest of his life is going to be like if he doesn't start thinking really hard about what he wants to do and how he intends to get there.

[tomjohn77]

I agree with your statement. If you work a year you would be more focused on studying.

[Neoliberalnot]

Actually, I suggested he might work for a year and I also mentioned the military option for the experience and discipline he needed. Coming from a small rural school to a major university was also part of the equation.