Do you mean October of 2018? Sorry, as proficient as I should be in English (immigrated at 5 years old) for whatever reason I have issues when it comes to the whole, "last", "following week" verbiage.
If you do, then my point stands that he should wait until January of next year so that in case he does not apply next year for whatever reason, he is still approved until the following year. If he were to apply today, he would only be approved up until December 2020.
If you meant October 2017, then I am wrong, which would be a great thing as it would make his life easier. I just remember the customer service lady telling me specifically to wait the 3 weeks I needed for the new year as I was trying to apply to December and would lose a year.
When you get approved, it's for 2 years, but it starts counting from January of the year you apply.