thank you everyone who responded and made suggestions.
After some rough patches this year, I am glad to say the young man graduated from high school last week. YAY!!!!!
Although he has friends (including a very pretty girlfriend) going away to all types of 4-year schools... he didn't have the motivation to pursue any of the leads provided. I also called the mother to the carpet because she didn't push him to follow through with anything, she was more concerned about filling out applications FOR him to schools she thought he might be interested in. Not like, any of the fifty-leven accredited colleges & universities we have in our metropolitan region. Schools that advertise on TV in the middle of the night.
They never filled out the FAFSA, he did not take SATs, he did not apply for any scholarships, so... he has enrolled in a local for-profit college that "offers career-focused education in high-demand fields." He'll be staying at home and his parents have taken out a 2nd mortgage to pay for this school. His tuition is MUCH more expensive than the community college and even a little higher than in-state tuition at the local 4-year schools (many of which are highly ranked but kinda lax on admission for in-state students).
I know everyone's path is not the same, but I feel an obligation to share with her family the notion that ya kinda have to follow a plan to get to your goals. I'll still offer to take the younger kids (16 and twin 13 y/o) to college fairs and sit down and talk about goal planning and whatever, but from this I learned to fall back, play my position and be quiet.
Linear Mode
