I’m going to stick up for your father a little. You’ve had a year to figure out this FA stuff, but he’s had a week or two. He may remember how things were in the good old days when students just became independent and paid for their own school, or used the custodial parent’s income and assets. I’m sure he’s also thinking you have two fantastic options in UM or UW for instate tuition levels.
I was pretty involved in my kids’ applications and FA, and I was still saying ‘That can’t be right’ every time a school asked yet another question about ME - how much did I make, how much did I have saved for retirement, how much did I have tucked under the mattress. Then where did I go to college! It really is a lot of private information. I got over it and I think your dad will too.
But I think you should involve him in the decisions more. Go out to dinner, show him your stats and the types of schools you can get into, show him why you want to go to USC (program? professor? reputation?) or why it is better for YOU than UM (and just because it is sunnier is the LAST reason, not the first, on the list).
One of my kids recently told me she didn’t want to have children because children just use up all your money. She’s correct, they do, be parents are willing to share if they get a little respect and are part of the process.