To all saying they understand doing this for the money if his family needs it, I hear you, but supposedly his mother wants him to stay. If your mom wants you to stay, then in my opinion, throw the "need the money immediately" argument out the window. If she's not being shortsighted, why should he - he's got room and board and food paid for by school.
if his Mom needed the money on the other hand, then I agree completely with Theo et al. But that's not the case here.