I think that is a little unfair to the kid, really. I know a person who came from by all appearances a great background who made poor decisions as a young adul

I think that is a little unfair to the kid, really. I know a person who came from by all appearances a great background who made poor decisions as a young adult and failed to achieve a lot. But then their sibling went on to a top tier college, enter NY finance and marry the child of a nobel laureate. I also know someone who was raised by a single father who was abusive, but went on to put themselves through a BS in engineering and has done well for themselves at least professionally. Origins do not dictate futures, and just because you don't get good grades early on doesn't mean you aren't a promising person.