Let him choose his course schedule, not you. Your son is wiser than most. And he’s young, be prepared for him to change his mind many times over the next three years.

I went to a top college and wasn’t happy there. I’ll always remember the advice of two relatives. One told me from the beginning it would be a terrible fit and I didn’t listen because I wanted to go to the best. When I was thinking about transferring, another said “there are a lot of places where you can get a great education.”

I’m in my 40s and have no idea where most of my colleagues or adult acquaintances went to college. It’s not important now.

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of hard to get into schools where the hard part is getting in. There are also easier schools where you have to work to get a decent GPA. Make sure he's not expecting to go to a 'good enough' school, do nothing and then graduate with a great GPA and be handed a job or admission to a graduate school

+1

It also is very dependent on your major. Everyone I know who majored in history, sociology, etc. had plenty of time to pursue 'interests' (most of which was partying). Everyone who majored in math, nursing, engineering, pre-med, etc.? They worked their tails off in college. So all of the anecdotes on this thread should state whattheir kid/nephew/cousin's friend's brother majored in.