She told us her grades were bad because "right now, I'm concentrating on socialising and getting used to Australian culture."

HA HA HA HA! - I should have known!!! They are slippery little suckers aren't they??
Look it sounds like she knows you aren't going to cut her any slack, I suppose you just gotta keep the screws on when she gets here...

Seriously, it's hard to know what you want to do, I worry they pressure the kids into choosing a career too early. DD says - "how the hell can I know what I want when I haven't experienced anything?", and I agree with her.
You might want to catch up with Sushee - I remember her eldest wanted to leave school totally and I'm sure she came up with some plan.
Actually I'd like to hear how it panned out myself.
I try to find the thread.