^^
There may have been more to the story. The family may have thought that he’d get some scholarships, or they may have had a financial setback that they didn’t share with their child.
Once thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes ONE parents says one thing (we’ll pay), and then later on the OTHER parents gets wind and says “no”.
Some of us encourage kids to sit down with BOTH parents and get a clear figure. You’d be surprised how many families have one parent that can be somewhat naive or delusional about money and affordability, and the other one has to be the voice of reason (and be the “bad guy”) and say, “no”…unfortunately, for some kids the “no” comes too late in the college app process.