Let me take a stab at this.
Bro-in-law is a young elder, probably 30 ish - out to make a name for himself as a put 'em right zealot with a KS elder book in one hand, branch letters to elders in the other and an eye to being "used" at circuit or district regional level on items as a circuit overseer's golden boy.
Dad has been round the block - say 50+, and by his comments re: the GB he truly knows the score (has his KH given up thousands of dollars of saved up funds recently?) He remembers how his own Mother (and unbelieving Father?) argued about getting an education and that he believed heavily in the 70's and 80's and his best years have passed him by.
I would say Bro-in-law (new breed of elder not aware of '75, the generation of 1914 pre-1995 and is happy with the rubberband overlappy crap cuz it's a comin' so soon!) has been needling for a while and is well aware of the "examine qualifications" letter of an appointed man who "approves" of a son or daughter going to college for non-society approved reasons. (i.e. property law and pedo damage limitation law)
There will be fall-out and I reckon Dad will resign or get pushed over this. The wild card is the Mother. Where is she in all of this?
To the OP - college is good but like a previous poster said, don't discount other options. Running your own business whether based on selling solutions, a trade or a profession like e.g. accountancy can be good too.
I'm probably miles off target, but hey!