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Mark, your son could always start with something inexpensive like that, and work while going to school. One of my kids was admitted to the only top 20 university to which he applied, but he decided to go in a different direction...totally his call, and he made the case, and we supported him. He will do fine in life. He is not a huge fan of class work (although he does fine), but he loves doing real work in real life, so his employer will love him. He went to a smaller specialty state school that was much cheaper (and he had some academic scholarships), and he worked summers, and he took a semester off for a co-op job (mostly because he wanted to do that, not because he had to do that)...and he saved most of his earnings. Take fewer courses, and earn the degree while working, and take longer to graduate. When I interview people, I always give them a bump up in my estimation if I see they worked their way through school. They may have taken longer than normal to do it, but they have a great reason to do so, which I happen think makes their resume look better.

Just make sure your son is working for a degree that will get him a good paying job. For example, a major in engineering or business. There are a lot of hobby degrees out there, but those are for the very rich.