I understand that you want him to feel comfortable and don't want to push him to do anything he doesn't want to but if he is keeping his grades up while in a relationship then his parents don't really have any room to talk do they? My parents can't say anything to me because they used to always tell me that boyfriends would make me distracted and lower my grades and I still have really good grades. And being successful can mean different things to different people. I think that if you make him happy, then they should be accepting of that. Being successful doesn't always mean money. I will consider myself successful when I'm in a good place in my life which includes all things: healthy financial situations AND healthy emotional relationships.

And how does he get through a conversation everyday without mentioning you? I can't get through a convo with my parents without saying "Dave did this..." or "Oh yeah Dave and I did that the other day". It seems like thats a lot of extra effort just to keep your parents happy. And in the end, you have to do what makes YOU happy.