Talk to me about DS going to University: yay or nay?

I would suggest a year out, deferring a university place, hopefully getting a job and earning some money or volunteer work if he can' find a job. i think a year in the real world might help him focus a bit on what he wants and motivate him if he does decide to go to university (and help him earn some money for university living)

As a university teacher I would advocate a year of pissing up the wall elsewhere first. University is only going to be worthwhile if he applies himself; you get out what you put in. As a way of finding yourself I would say it is rather over-priced these days. If it is right for him and he gets and Education out of it then that is priceless. If he applies himself and gets a good degree, that is still marketable. If he scrapes a third and never understands what he is there for, then I'd say that money could be spent better in other ways.

I am a recent mature student at one stage the only one on the course. In my experience many boys however able they might be piss it up the wall at uni and emerge with a third at best and a pass at worst. My DS1 is clever but like yours does not apply himself. I am not mad about the idea of him generating a massive debt and emerging with a third rate grade at degree level. I suspect in this day and age of limited work prospects a third/pass is not going to be worth the paper it is written on.
Having said this some boys do do well and do apply themselves and even those who do not seem to have done this at school and as a friends whose son will go to uni next year said what are the alternatives? IME the boys that did better had taken a gap year sometimes a gap two/three years and got pissing it up the wall out of their systems!