There’s no question about it—the ability to focus and concentrate for extended periods is absolutely critical to college academic performance.
The problem is—college debt can actually hurt focus and concentration.
In this article by college student Ashley Bulchandani on dailytarheel.com, she tells adults exactly how she feels. “As a current college student, I am personally struggling with college debt and paying off my loans.” She worries that “debt accumulation can stress out students and lead to negative behaviors such as drinking, smoking, working a lot, and not focusing in class.” She points to research showing that “excessive college debt results in overall low academic performance in college and low graduate school attendance.”
The happy news is that parents can help. A lot.
1. Restrain your urge to push your child toward education that comes with a high debt burden.
Surprisingly, prestigious Gallup research concludes that expensive education does not lead to a happier life, more career success, or more money. See the exciting, liberating article I’ve written on this subject here. Or see me talking about this here.
2. Fill out the FAFSA financial aid form every October you’ll have a kid in college the following fall, even if you think you’re too wealthy to get anything.
Your child could get thousands extra to help pay college bills without loans. Even if you make over $200,000 a year and have significant assets. It’s worth a try!
3. If the stress is so bad that your child’s considering dropping out of college, here’s help.
You can see the gentle, practical advice I provided for a worried parent just like you, here.
4. Communicate with your child about the debt, and make a strategic plan together.
A research study at Montana State showed that when students with significant debt received letters warning and guiding them toward better actions and academic decisions, those students ended up with “improved GPAs, a higher number of credits completed, and increased retention in school.”
It would be helpful if your child’s college would send out a letter like this, but if it doesn’t—you can.
Or maybe you don’t know what to say to your kid on this subject? My STRATEGIC COLLEGE STUDENT class will do all the talking for you, in just one 3-hour session. To find out when you and (or) your child can next take this class either live or online, subscribe to my email updates at bit.ly/helpfulnewsletter.
This class can do great things for your child’s academic performance.
5. Let your kids know—it’s possible to drastically slash their student loan debt while still in college.
I provide free help on exactly that in the article I wrote here.
6. Remember, the best plan is to use multiple strategies so that student debt isn’t a problem for your child.
For clear, step-by-step help that provides parents every viable strategy for getting kids through college debt-free, 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:
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—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?
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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, as well as 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.
This article was updated on July 1st, 2021.