Half of Americans Regret Their Higher Ed Decisions?! Why?

The last thing you want is for your child to make a series of expensive higher ed decisions, and then regret them later. How can you help your kids to avoid making regrettable higher ed decisions?

An epidemic of regret

Regret over higher ed decisions has reached epidemic proportions in the US.

According to a report from Gallup and Strada Education Network, a whopping 51 percent of Americans would change at least one of their education decisions if they could. This is an astounding, alarming high number.

More than 1/3 of adults wish they’d studied in a different field

Fully 36% of the report’s 89,492 respondents would replace their field of study. The article communicates this bluntly: “Major or field of study is greatest source of regret.”

People with “some college” and those with bachelor’s degrees are most likely to regret their major choices

A whopping 42% of students with “some college” and 40% of students with bachelor’s degrees feel regret about what they studied.

Staggering!

But this doesn’t have to be the story for your kid. Read on and I’ll help you.

Most shocking? How many people regret their liberal arts educations

According to the Gallup study, 48% of people with liberal arts degrees wished they’d made different higher ed decisions. Liberal arts education brings about the highest amount of regret.

This is astounding, considering that millions of high school counselors and teachers push high school students toward liberal arts degrees as though they’re the key to a happy, fulfilled career life.

It doesn’t have to be this way for your kid.

My 25 years of academic strategy experience show me—students can head off expensive higher ed mistakes by having a qualified, certified professional administer and interpret three specific career assessments before the student ever even applies to college. 

Sure, these students could wait until middle age to take these assessments and only then find out what they’re naturally good at and interested in—but why wait? The most strategic time to take these assessments is January of 10th grade, or as soon as possible after that. Doing this ensures that all higher ed decisions can be made by setting good-fit goals and then moving toward them strategically.

Genius.

Note: The lightweight “career inventories” offered at the local high school that are not administered and interpreted by certified professionals are notoriously inaccurate, and therefore are not recommended for our purposes.

I don’t administer the recommended assessments myself, but I explain exactly which ones to take and where to find them in the very first online class parents and students take when they join my TRIBE Membership. You can see parent and student testimonials and get on the waiting list to get into my TRIBE Membership here.

Taking my class on this subject is most highly recommended—but I do describe these assessments in brief in Chapter 13 of the book I wrote:

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:

bit.ly/burlowski

You can see why financial advising professionals love LAUNCHhere.

You can see the top 9 questions parents are asking me about LAUNCHhere.

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.

Take a step on this right now. Get regular, inspiring help from me—every Monday morning.

Subscribe to my free weekly email newsletter 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 and World Report, and on CBS News.

Jeannie also helps students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school at her website GetIntoMedSchool.com.

This article was updated on March 26th, 2024. No part of this article was written using AI.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Hi, I'm Jeannie Burlowski.

I'm a full-time academic strategist, speaker, and podcast host, and I’m the author of the book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward.

My writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free and move directly into careers they excel at and love.

My work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington PostUSA TodayNerdWallet, and US News and World Report, and on CBS News.

I also help students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school from my website GetIntoMedSchool.com. You can follow me on Twitter @JBurlowski.

My team and I are leading a debt-free college revolution. We hope you’ll join us.

Hi, I'm Jeannie Burlowski.

I'm a full-time academic strategist, speaker, and podcast host, and I’m the author of the book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward.

My writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free and move directly into careers they excel at and love.

My work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington PostUSA TodayNerdWallet, and US News and World Report, and on CBS News.

I also help students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school from my website GetIntoMedSchool.com. You can follow me on Twitter @JBurlowski.

My team and I are leading a debt-free college revolution. We hope you’ll join us.

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