| He and you need to get to the bottom of why his grades are low. He likely knows why and needs to admit it to you and needs to work up a plan to resolve it. He might not want to admit what's wrong but he needs to - especially if he's asking you to support him financially.
I wouldn't focus on difficulty of the courses at first since you stated he did well in HS. I'd focus on -
- Partying/drinking. This is especially true if he's involved in any way with frats. Is he out drinking and staying up all hours and thereby not studying and sleeping in instead of going to class?
- Not studying. Even if not partying/drinking, is he consuming his time elsewhere, such as gaming, hanging out talking, watching sports, etc., rather than studying?
- Not attending class. Even if not partying/drinking, is he sleeping in and skipping class? Lots of students do this but it doesn't work well for engineering/science/math students in particular.
- Missed mid-terms. Did he miss some mid-terms or other major tests?
Beyond the above, yes, some of these classes are likely difficult and there might be a curve to deal with but it sounds like there might well be something else going on. You need to figure out what it is and you have a right to know if you're paying for his education. This could be a wake-up for him though and he could well improve from this point forward. He should also switch out of CS (if that's what his major is) if he's not interested in it and is finding the material too difficult. |