Today I'm giving you 5 jaw-dropping debt-free college ideas in just 32 minutes. You'll learn these ideas by listening to me being interviewed on attorney Steve Richardson's Financial Freedom podcast. (Listen while you're getting ready in the morning or emptying the...
Your daughter's not choosing the career you want for her, and you're understandably disappointed. Take heart, there may be hope for her yet. Ask her if she'll take the career assessments I discuss in this article. (The professionally interpreted assessments I...
You've assumed for years that your kid would probably go to 4-year college. But what if your kid could make more money, have less debt, spend fewer years in school, and enjoy greater career joy by becoming skilled in a trade? Huge career potential for kids skilled in...
Most of my time on this blog is spent helping parents get their teens and college students to careers they'll love as quickly as possible. This makes sense—because years spent dragging feet in underemployment or treading water in undergrad can be expensive. But what...
Some kids decide not to go to college after high school. This can work out great—if they opt for high quality job training instead of heading off to 4-year college. But what if your kid wants to work a minimum wage job in the years after high school? Is there any hope...
You desperately want your kids to succeed academically in school and in college so they can have a shot at lifetime career success—but cajoling and hovering and pushing them is just so exhausting. Here’s fantastic help that will take you under two minutes to...
This episode also includes a hilarious idea for making your teen want to go out and get a part-time job!Join me, Jeannie Burlowski, for episode 4 of the Launch Your Teens podcast, and you'll learn: 1. How working a part-time job increases the odds that a teen will be...
Your daughter is starting her first real job after college. Or maybe it's you, the parent, starting a new job. No matter the age of a new full-time employee, bringing these three things on the first day of a new job makes a strong positive impression, and sets an...
Parents of athletes fork out thousands to cover sports expenses over the years. Many wonder, "Is all this time, effort, and money going to pay off big when this kid gets to college?" Here, the sweaty truth about sports scholarships. 1. The truth about sports...
Recently, a school district that's bringing me in to speak interviewed me so that students and parents could get to know me better. This article includes the best portions of that interview. To zoom straight to the key college planning strategy that most surprises...
Your child feels a lot of pressure to "get into a good college." Starting in 8th grade—or even earlier, he's had the lie pounded into his head: "If you don't get into a good college, you won't be able to get a good job when you graduate." This lie can cause...
To listen to my best debt-free college interview yet, click here. Listen while you're driving or getting ready in the morning, and you just might change the life of a student you love. In March of 2018 I was interviewed by Andy Earle, a Loyola Marymount University...
Back in 2009, researchers in Google's People Innovation Lab spent an entire year finding the answer to one question: "What makes managers wildly successful?" According to this Inc. article, Google put all the resources at its disposal into data-mining "performance...
Today I'm featuring a must-read article by Forbes contributor Jason Nazar on career advice for 20-year-olds. If you're parenting a child age 16–29, read this article and pick one or two topics to discuss with your child this week. And if your child is age 18–29? Share...
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...
In 2017, 12-year-old singing ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer wowed the audience and the judges on America's Got Talent. Before the 7-minute video was over I laughed, and I cried. Real tears. I am not kidding. And then I thought... What if Darci Lynne had never...
Parent, might you be ready for a job change by the end of this summer? If you make this job change decision strategically, you could save your kid $40,000 on college costs. "Really? How could my job change save my kids money on college costs?" Many colleges and...
The 20s are a critically important time of life. Young men and women who maximize their 20s tend to have far better lives than those who don't. I know this, because I've read the book The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them...
Recently, I was contacted by a freelance writer hoping to guest post on my blog. Her article was essentially a long list of reasons why electrical engineering is a great career for students to consider. The writer provided several great reasons for students to...
When you imagine your daughter's future, you probably don't envision her spending extra years in college. Yet, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 40% of college students earn their bachelor's degrees in four years. And only 60% of college...
Forbes has published a list of 17 college majors that carry high underemployment rates. Grads in these degree fields find it hard to get the jobs they went to school for. They tend to make less money than they should be making, and a lot of them live with this...
I love Dave Ramsey's video rant about student loan debt, which you can watch at the link I've provided below. (Listen for my favorite Dave line in this rant: "I missed where the lady got helped.") If you've got 9 minutes to listen to this while getting ready for work...
Today I'm featuring a guest post by internship & career success blogger Sharise Kent. Sharise spent 5 years managing a national internship program where she placed over 400 interns with some of the biggest media companies in the world. Her blog helps college...
So, your 20-something daughter wants to live at home in her childhood bedroom. Should you happily say yes and make a plate of warm cookies to welcome her back? Or could this put you (and your child) in a bad spot? I’ve written in a previous post about the horror of...
Your kid's in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade? It's time to set him or her free to feel jazzed and excited about college. Plus -- as a parent-- learn 8 things you can do right now to keep that kid's future college costs low. I'll be covering all this in this free live...
Today I'm announcing the extra bonuses your family will receive if you purchase LAUNCH by January 11, 2017. Bonus #1 You and your immediate family will be invited to attend an online MasterClass with live Q&A with me, the author -- at no charge to you. This online...
Military service isn't for everyone. But before you disregard the help that the U.S. military provides to college students, let's look at a few details about it. The U.S. military awards generous four-year college scholarships to students who: Are U.S. citizens...
A girl recently contacted me, asking me to explain to her how she could wrestle control of her 529 college savings plan away from her parents. "They are unreliable and untrustworthy," she told me. "What!?" I thought. "Are they drug addicts or human traffickers? Are...
What would you do—if you found out your son or daughter was failing college and dropping out? Today I'm sharing the frantic email I received from the mother of a South Carolina college freshman in 2016. (Read on to hear the update on what happened to this girl in the...
Does your child believe that myth, "If I don't attend a top school, I won't get a good job when I graduate"? (You can see the article I wrote debunking this myth here.) The graph at the bottom of today's post is going to make you both you and your child feel instantly...
The last thing you want to do is raise a child who's just a dull drone, pouring out memorized facts as though facts have the power to save the world. You want to raise a child who will be valued in a future workplace for being creative, confident, and innovative. But...
This post is a scary one. But read all the way down to the red print at the bottom and I'll give you a boatload of hope about college. 1. "If you don't get into a good college, you won't be able to get a good job when you graduate." This statement is completely and...
In 2015 I wrote about how some students could end up wealthier and happier by not going to four-year college after high school. It was a life-changing post for many. If you missed it, be sure to read it here. But what about this great idea? Your kid could go to...
"Jeannie, are you serious? We need to talk to 6th graders about career?" Yes. And if not in 6th grade, then as soon as possible after that. Why? Because when your child is in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, his or her brain is growing faster than at any time since...
Your 12th grader is in tears, desperate for you to give him the go-ahead to attend an elite university that’ll cost him $950 per month for 10 years after college. You want him to be happy. Do you say yes? Before you respond, you’ll need to be clear on the answer to...
I'm always most able to inspire people when I talk to them face-to-face. The video above gives me the chance to do that, for you, right now. Click the play button above now; watch for just two minutes. And let this excited, hopeful feeling wash over you: Kids at all...
On January 4th, 2016 I announced exciting news about my upcoming book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward. If you missed that exciting post, you can read it here. In that post I asked my readers to complete a short...
Most college students would love to earn significant money while home on a December college break. Tell the students you care about—UPS may be the place to apply (for more reasons than just the paycheck). What does UPS provide in addition to a paycheck? A lot. 1....
A few months ago I posed the question: "Could your child end up wealthier and happier by not going to college?" This question has sparked a national conversation that's helping many students choose good-fitting, well-paying, minimal debt career paths they might not...
"We need to see you right away," the anxious mom told me on the phone, her voice shaking. "Our son is $40,000 in debt from a history degree he's not going to complete, and now he's changing his major to music performance. At this rate, it's going to take him seven...
Parents nationwide are worried about how standardized tests for college entrance are changing. If your child is taking the PSAT exam this coming October 14th, you may be wondering how it will be different from the old PSAT, and what your child should be doing in order...
Imagine your high school age son up late at night, in his bedroom with his desk light burning, reading a book on software design or motivating employees or robotics engineering or building construction or funding service-oriented nonprofits -- just because he's...
Today I'm featuring a great "Sheldon" comic that I think everyone should read. To see the entire comic, click here: http://www.sheldoncomics.com/archive/150915.html To read and enjoy more wonderful Sheldon comics, click here. To find out how you can help your 15 -...
“Why the big emphasis on avoiding student debt?” some parents and school administrators wonder. “Everyone gets student loans, don’t they? That’s what my guidance counselor told me when I was in high school. Isn’t that just the way it is?” Is that just the way it...
About a month ago I wrote about how some students could end up wealthier and happier by not going to four-year college after high school. It was a life-changing post for many. If you missed it, be sure to read it here. Today's huge news is that starting next year,...
Today I'm featuring a 16 minute TEDx talk on student loan debt by Adam Carroll. This is a must-listen for every parent. Listen while you're getting ready for work in the morning, commuting, or cooking dinner. It'll change everything you've ever believed about...
Your son or daughter has started looking at colleges, and at this point the discussion is pretty much centered around how pretty the buildings are, what kind of sports they have, and "the quality of the business program." But are there even more important questions...
Would you like your child to have a Harvard education, but without the nerve-wracking admissions pressure or astronomical tuition cost? If this sounds good to you, you might seriously consider the Bachelor of Liberal Arts (ALB) degree at the Harvard Extension School...
Jon Acuff tells this chilling story, which should scare anyone thinking of ever applying for college, for a great job, or for graduate school or medical school. Jon writes this: "Recently, I talked to a CEO I know. During the conversation he told me his company had...
Parents nationwide are worried about how standardized tests for college entrance are changing. If your child is taking the PSAT exam this coming October 14th, you may be wondering how it will be different from the old PSAT, and what your child should be doing in order...
Hi, I’m Jeannie Burlowski.
I am a full-time academic strategist, conference speaker, and author of the book “LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward.”
My writing and speaking provide parents a clear, step-by-step checklist so they can set their kids up to succeed brilliantly in college, graduate debt-free, and move directly into careers they excel at and love.
For more than 20 years, I’ve helped students apply to highly competitive law, medical, business, and grad schools. I still do that from my website GetIntoMedSchool.com.
I am married, and my husband and I have a son and a daughter. We live in Minneapolis.