You are also one of the parents starting early for kid’s college process. We were like that, although we did not start the college list when our son was 16. We simply kept reading many books to understand the process. It was so good to start early. We were prepared well by our son was senior, although my son was not very motivated. He was very much enjoying coding for his robotic club, that’s what he wanted to do. For him, as long as he studied CS, he did not care about the college list, He was perfectly OK with the community college.
He ended up in a big university with the Engineering department.
Our second son, on the other hand, is an athlete. Like your son, he doesn’t know what he wants to study. He loves reading since he was a baby. He has a stock of knowledge and trivia. Sometimes he amazes me with his knowledge. I always though he should be in the debate team, but he quit in one year. He doesn’t discuss with parents, but he has his opinion about the social issues. He is inclining to major in English, but he is also open to social science, economics, data science, etc. He only knows that he doesn’t want to be an Engineer.
He also thinks he should go to a small liberal arts college. I agree that a student like him who doesn’t know what to study in college should consider LAC. There, he takes various classes, and discovers what is more interesting to him.
For some parents and kids, majors with high income forecast are important. I understand, but it is not the priority.
Medical doctor, for example, is high income, but you really really have to love doing it. Otherwise, you won’t survive with the life style they have. Similar to the high tech industry. You really have to have the passion.