It is not condescending at all, the fact of the matter is that your Dad is the exception not the rule. Its not 1985 anymore where you can walk into anice job with no academic credentials but a high school diploma. The point is if you want to be able to compete with others for good jobs you have to make sure your education is the absolute best it can be. If you cannot get into the elite private schools, go to Madison, if you cannot get into Madison than go to the next largest state University you can...so on and so forth. Some people do succeed without higher education, but most who bypass college end up punching a time clock every Monday through Friday for forty plus years. That is completely false. College is not needed in every profession and the thing that determines whether or not you will be successful is aptitude and whether or not one wants to work hard at whatever they do, not that one jumped through hoops for four years and have a piece of paper stating that fact. You should really try and adjust your thinking and realize there are a lot of options out there other than going to college that won't lead you to a dead end job punching a time clock.