Dealing with super religious Hindu parents

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post it, but how did many of you balance your duties of being a devout Hindu with the demands of college? I plan a schedule weeks ahead of time but it is thrown off balance by my dad's impulsive decisions to go to the temple. Our daily activities center around going to the temple, but being isolated from everyone else. I'm trying to study for a very difficult exam, the MCAT but I've had to reschedule my exam twice as we went on weekend trips to temples in another state. When I ask for a week's notice or even two day's notice, he says I'm asking for too much. I have a few questions:

1. How did you balance going to the temple for daily, 4 hours at a time with schoolwork?
2. Praying three-four times a day takes almost 2 hours a day from my study time. How do you meet the demands of an insanely religious Hindu father while trying to reach greater academic goals?
3. How do you stop your dad from giving your life savings away to the temple- for something that will basically never happen?

I'm afraid I'm losing my connection with my religion because I'm now seeing it as a "nuisance" in my life.