I'm very bitter about academia in general, so I'm not the best one to be giving advice here. I agree with everyone that said about being really sure about what he wants to do, because it is a hard lesson to get into a PhD program and realize that you hate it. I hope he can get some lab experience somewhere in a tech position. The reason grad programs want this is so that they know that you know what you're getting yourself into. They don't want to take a chance on you if you haven't actually done research before because it makes it that more likely that you will quit.
Re: I need vibes! (Possible opportunity for BF)