There’s little that’s more trying for a parent than December college applications.
If your 12th grader has put off completing college applications until the busy holiday season is breathing down his neck—you know what I mean.
If December college applications are currently adding to the stress at your house, here’s what to do.
1. If your daughter keeps putting off finishing December college applications, pay her to finish them if necessary.
(This article I’ve written on Should You Pay Your Teen to Do Things will help.)
2. If your son threatens to just sit out of college for a year after high school, living off of you and doing nothing instead of going on to college or job training, read this. (It’s an article I wrote titled, 5 Good Reasons to Take a Gap Year and 2 Bad Ones.)
3. If your daughter is balking at filling out college applications because she “doesn’t yet know what she wants to do with her life,” please get her help right now. I urge you to read Chapter 13 of the book I wrote. It explains how to access three gold standard career assessments—administered and interpreted by a certified professional—that will help your 17-year-old child choose a career path based on their deepest interests, specific personality type, and top 5 strengths based on Gallup research. You can take care of this this month. You’ll find the certified professional I most recommend for this here.
4. Fill out the FAFSA financial aid form as soon as you can, even if you’re rich. (You may get more free money for college than you think you will!)
5. Remember, your kid may not need college at all! Two years of tech school might get him or her to a great career in 2 years or less. Read the helpful article I’ve written on this topic here.
6. For your younger kids, commit to following the directions in the book below. When their time comes, they’ll end up getting all college applications completed before the senior year of high school starts.
This will feel better for all of you!
I’m Jeannie Burlowski, and I’m the author of:
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.
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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 November 20th, 2025.