He wasn't a bright student at his former school because of his parent's constant fight which led to him failing his final year exam making him repeat that year and with his parents being rich, his dad wanted to buy his way through college to go study abroad and to follow his footsteps at the oil company, to his surprise, Carlson declined both surprising and making his dad mad and disappointed in him.
He was a kid who preferred being by himself thinking about a lot of things at his very young and timid age.
This caused a much more downward spiral in his parents since his father couldn't get him to do what he wanted, in his normal authoritative voice he ordered his wife to make their son see reasons with him, but she refused to say he had a mind of his own and was one to choose what he wanted to do.
The quarreling began.
He was determined to buy his way through school.
But he refused.