Wow. Wow! The best way I can describe how I feel right now is – overwhelmed with gratitude.
Just a four days ago, on Dec 5, 2016, I announced that my book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward is wrapping up and is going to be available for pre-purchase this month.
(If you missed the cool story on why this book’s launch date was moved into 2016 and how President Obama was involved in that, you can read it here.)
Today I want to answer two important questions parents asked me in the days following that post.
#1 What’s the very best way for students to earn inexpensive college credit in high school?
There are multiple good ways to do this, but the ultimate best way is a taking college classes that are part of a state sponsored dual enrollment program.
What is a “dual enrollment program?”
In a “dual enrollment” program, high school juniors and seniors take real college courses on actual college campuses during high school and have those courses count for both high school credit and college credit at the same time. Best of all, in many states the state foots the entire bill, allowing many conscientious high school students to walk across the stage at their high school graduation with up to two years of college already completed. Amazing!
Why is “dual enrollment” better than “AP”?
Dual enrollment courses tend to be a far better bet for students than the AP courses traditionally pushed on students by high schools. AP students can only earn free college credit if they do well enough on one comprehensive test administered at the very end of the course — something that, unfortunately, fewer than 50% of students nationwide are able to do. The saddest thing about AP, though, is that some students will study hard and earn the highest scores possible on AP tests only to have their eventual college tell them: “Oh, we don’t offer college credit for AP courses here. We want you to take real college courses.” Can you imagine how crushed students feel when they’re told something like this?
So why doesn’t every bright student load up on “dual enrollment” courses?
The answer is that in many areas of the U.S. “dual enrollment programs” simply aren’t well publicized. In some school districts counselors are told to keep quiet about dual enrollment options because local school districts lose tax dollars when students leave the high school campus to take courses at the college down the road.
Without gentle help from someone like me, many parents will never find out about this option.
The best time to start asking about dual enrollment programs is when your child is in December or January of 10th grade. To find out whether your state offers dual enrollment programs, click here. To read my recent post where I addressed the question: “Does dual enrollment in any way deprive a child of ‘the full high school experience’?” click here.
If you’re a Minnesota parent with a child in 10th or 11th grade there’s excellent news for you — there’s still time to register for the free dual enrollment information session being held at the University of Northwestern in Roseville, MN on January 30, 2016. The staff at UNW do a fantastic job explaining all the details about dual enrollment; the information you’ll receive there will be invaluable. Register for the session as soon as possible, though; space is limited.
#2 Jeannie, we want to pre-order a discounted copy of your book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward right away when pre-ordering opens January 18th. How do we do that?
My readers will be getting an early-bird opportunity to order discounted copies of this book through kickstarter.com starting at January 18th, 2016 at 6:00 am CST. Write that date on your calendar because quantities will be limited. You’ll be able to pre-order the book at JeannieBurlowski.com starting that morning. I’ll be taking pre-orders through March 18th, 2016 — but order yours as soon as you can while the most deeply discounted copies are still available.
Imagine your child one day graduating college completely debt free, with an exciting job offer in hand.
You and I together can get your child there, one small manageable step at a time.
For step-by-step help getting your kid through college debt-free and into a job they love afterward, get your copy of my book:
Important—> It’s a reference book, so nobody reads the whole thing cover to cover. Pick out what you need to read in it using the fast-paced, 10-minute video instructions here.
You can see hundreds of reviews of this book on Amazon by going to:
You can see why financial advising professionals love LAUNCH, here.
You can see the top 9 questions parents are asking me about LAUNCH, here.
Read just one chapter of LAUNCH every 1–3 months while your child’s in middle school and high school, and you’ll know every viable strategy for debt-free college at exactly the right time to implement it.
And if your child’s already well past middle school? That’s OK; you can run to catch up. But the process of getting your kids through college debt-free goes more smoothly the earlier you start it—especially if you’re not planning to save up any money to pay for college.
Let's you and I walk together toward the goal of debt-free college for your kids.
We can accomplish this no matter your current income level—even if your kids never get a single scholarship.
Your first step is getting regularly scheduled, free helpful articles from me—right in your email inbox. Quick, sign up here.
Do you have very specific questions for me about debt-free college and career for your kids?
My TRIBE Members get the most direct access to me—while feeling good that the pennies per day they spend on the TRIBE help me bring debt-free college strategy to families who could never afford to pay for it. Join my TRIBE Membership waiting list here.
Who is Jeannie Burlowski?
Jeannie is a full-time academic strategist, podcast host, and sought-after speaker for students ages 12–26, their parents, and the professionals who serve them. Her writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free, ready to jump directly into careers they excel at and love. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, USA Today, Parents Magazine, and US News & World Report, and on CBS News.
Jeannie also helps students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school at her website GetIntoMedSchool.com. You can follow her on Bluesky @jburlowski.bsky.social.
No part of this article was written using AI.