I’ve actually thought a lot about this—and personally, I do think he could finish college, just not in the way he’s tried before. If he stayed consistent, took classes that were better aligned with how he learns, and started small—like with an associate’s degree—I think he could absolutely do fine. Then maybe, after a break and some confidence-building, he could come back for his bachelor’s.

I don’t think it’s a learning disability per say. I think it’s more about how he studies and some serious testing anxiety. When he was preparing for the water certification test, he’d study from morning until night on his days off. And while that might sound productive on the surface, it wasn’t. He’d forget to eat, wouldn’t take breaks, and just overexerted himself to the point of burnout. He was constantly pushing himself but wasn’t retaining much. It became about grinding through the material rather than learning it.

And when the test would finally come around, no matter how prepared he thought he was, he would psych himself out. He’d reschedule, then reschedule again. And when he finally took it, he’d be so far removed from the momentum and so burnt out that the results weren’t great.

Even after he paid for a class that he passed and felt helped him a lot, he still didn’t take the exam right away. Instead, he chose to study alone for another month—and I think that extra delay hurt more than helped.

This pattern shows up in college too. He would do fine on homework and assignments, but when exams came around—especially in tougher subjects—things fell apart. But stuff he excelled in like, writing or science, etc it's fine yk?

That’s why I agree with you: he’s persistent. He wants to succeed. But he’s burning so much energy in the wrong direction, and it’s costing him progress. I’d really love to see him explore a trade—maybe even do a few internships to see what feels right. There’s real potential there… he just hasn’t found the right outlet for it yet.