If you’re concerned that you’re currently LATE to college planning, read this article now.
College planning can feel like being lost in a jungle. And sadly, your kid’s high school guidance counselor (nowadays more properly called a “school counselor,”) can’t help much with hacking through the underbrush. Oh, he or she would love to, but budget cuts have slashed the amount of time counselors get to spend with college bound students, in some cases down to just eight minutes per year.
And your child, smart as he is, isn’t in any position to handle the complexity of college planning either. The stakes are high, both financially and career wise, and his brain won’t be fully developed until age 24.
And the internet? You sure don’t want to depend on the internet for college planning advice.
Don’t rely on the internet for college planning advice.
It’ll take you years to sift through everything the internet has to say about college planning. The bits and pieces of info and conflicting messages you hear from online resources will drive you insane. Plus, a huge percentage of what’s currently on the internet regarding college planning is sorely out of date, since President Barack Obama drastically changed US college financing on September 13th, 2015, and most of the world has not yet caught up.
You need a resource that will give you fast, accurate, specific instructions that the internet can’t provide. (I’ll provide a resource for you, below.)
7 things to do when you feel lost in the jungle of college planning
1. Don’t put off college planning because you feel overwhelmed.
I understand that you feel overwhelmed by the college planning process. Every parent does. But if you wait until your kid’s sophomore or junior year of high school to get started on college planning, 75% of the strategies you could have used to get your kid through college debt-free will be gone. Starting early is the best strategy, even if you can’t save a penny.
(If you’re worried that you’re currently late to college planning, read this article now.)
2. Start where you are.
Even if your child’s currently a senior in high school, it’s not too late to get to work on solid, strategic college planning. My writing will help you.
3. Sit down with one (and only one) full and complete list of all the tasks necessary for college planning.
(I’ll provide you a resource for this below.)
4. Select just one first step, and complete it.
You’ll feel great about your progress, and you’ll feel momentum to keep going, straight to the finish line.
5. Make a regular recurring appointment in your calendar to sit down and work strategically on college planning.
If your child’s in middle school, the appointment you’ll make with yourself will be approximately every three months. If your child is a senior in high school, your appointment may be every week. Remember, the time you’re putting in on this will pay off not just for decades, but for generations.
Strategic work on college planning is absolutely worth your time.
6. Check off the tasks you’ve completed, and congratulate yourself on your progress.
Other parents have started at exactly your same point with college planning, and have had great success. You can do it too.
7. Use this book as your fully-featured, step-by-step guide for college planning.
Just read chapters 1 and 2 only to start, and you will feel on fire and inspired about debt-free college planning—and you’ll know exactly what to do next.
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.
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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, 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.