Quibbling before departure about college (13)
I believe the answer is:
prevarication
'quibbling' is the definition.
(both can mean avoiding giving a straight answer)
'before departure about college' is the wordplay.
'before' becomes 'pre' (prefix meaning 'before').
'departure' becomes 'variation' (variation can mean a departure or divergence).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'college' becomes 'c'.
'variation' enclosing 'c' is 'varication'.
'pre'+'varication'='PREVARICATION'
(Other definitions for prevarication that I've seen before include "Evasive speech or deeds" , "Evasive behaviour" .)