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...
You'd love to help your teen achieve more this year—but motivating teens can be so hard. And you have limited time and energy for trying anything fancy. Here—2 sentences that can help your teen achieve more this year. Throw these sentences into family conversation...
It was 8:35 am on a Saturday, and I was standing at a whiteboard in a large classroom—drawing diagrams I'd need for the class I was about to teach. From behind me I heard a young male voice. "Hi, I'm early. I wanted to say hi to you." I turned to see a high school boy...
You've heard that two years of tech school education could get your kid straight into a well-paying career as early as age 20. Still, you hesitate to even suggest it. Mostly because you've always thought of your child as college material. How about this radical...
How can college students keep themselves focused and organized, so they're in the best position to get the highest grades possible—preferably while studying less than most other people? My recommendation to students is, use the Full Focus Planner. The Full Focus...
We've all had those days. You have a mountain of work in front of you that you genuinely want to get done, but you find yourself procrastinating. Struggling to focus. Failing to get tasks completed. What's the problem? It's probably not that your time management...
Ask any student, "How'd you like to study less—while still getting the highest grades possible?" The response will be a resounding, "Are you kidding? Yes!" A student who figures out how to reduce study time while still achieving high grades is freed to pursue paid...
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...
Which of these multiple choice testing strategies have you never heard of before? That's your new secret weapon. Share this article with a student you care about. 1. Before you start, note the structure of the test and plan your timing. Here's a nightmare you want to...
Books make great gifts. Why? Because a carefully chosen book can literally change a life. In this short article I share the top 9 books I most love for parents, 20-somethings, and students ages 12 and up. (Are you worried that your teen won't read a non-fiction book?...
Here it is—the meme every kid needs to see. Copy and forward this meme to the kids you love right now. Tweet this meme out to the people who follow you! [Tweet "Here it is—the #meme every #kid needs to see. #parenting #selfcontrol #boundaries #academics #k12 Thx...
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...
During high school, your teen didn't have to think much about how to make friends. Friendships developed naturally out of middle school connections, and with any luck they flourished in the classrooms and activities that were regular parts of the high school...
You've heard that your local community college can save you thousands on college bills due to lower tuition costs. But could community college hurt your kid's future career prospects? What if your daughter wants to get a master's degree some day? Or a Ph.D.? Will...
This article is for you whether you've got a high schooler or a college student experiencing college anxiety. When Samantha was in 10th grade, her Dad offered her a great suggestion. "Sam, why don't we get your guidance counselor to sign you up for...
What's the most important furniture item for college students besides the dorm room bed? It's not the dorm room desk (since quiet library study carrels tend to be far better for intense and focused studying than a dorm room will ever be.) The most important furniture...
Many families mistakenly believe that the most important thing about high school is getting good grades—so students can "get into a good college when they graduate." Not true. What is the most important thing about high school? In my work as an academic strategist,...
In their book Wellbeing, authors Tom Rath and Jim Harter outline what they call “the five essential elements of wellbeing." Think about your kids as you read this list: Physical Wellbeing Social Wellbeing Community Wellbeing Financial Wellbeing Career Wellbeing I...
On the surface, it seems as though multitasking would make a great productivity tool. After all, if you can book a plane ticket and quickly shoot off an email while you're on a phone meeting at work, why not? Haven't you just masterfully killed two birds with one...
Are you parenting a teen or a college student with a disability of any kind? If you are, you need to know about the wonderful services offered by the disability services office on your child's college campus. Whether your child has a physical disability, a learning...
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...
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...
You've got a mountain of work in front of you, but no energy to tackle it. You've already slept well and eaten energy-producing food, so exhaustion's not the problem. You're just feeling lethargic, avoidant, and lazy. We've all been there. Some of our kids seem...
There's one thing parents long for far more than straight A report cards. Parents want kids to do their own homework in a quality manner without the parent needing to prod, nag, oversee, or push. Want to increase your chances of having academically independent...
You already understand why college students and grad students need a high-quality college study skills class. You can even see why it makes sense for high school students to take one. (Especially if they'll be taking dual enrollment college classes in 11th and 12th...
One of the best money-saving ideas I suggest for college students is, "Don't take a car to college." Most college campuses provide easy access to safe public transportation—and when a student really needs a car she can always call Uber. (Anyone, anywhere, can use this...
If you're about to take the SAT or the ACT—or a big test for a class—or the LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, or GRE exam—and you just want fast advice on what to eat before testing, zoom to the numbered points below. It was my happiest phone call of the day. "Guess what!?!" said the...
From the time students are in middle school, they're told the big lie. That colleges and grad schools are looking for students who are "well-rounded." "Don't commit too deeply to any one thing," well-meaning parents and college counselors tell students. "Instead, do a...
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...
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...
Quick. Picture your son sitting in a college class. Got that picture in your mind? Let me guess what you just imagined. You pictured him absorbed in his college lecture. You pictured him paying close attention to every word the professor is saying. You pictured him...
Every parent needs to know: teens in crisis can use texting to get immediate, confidential, compassionate crisis help for themselves or for their friends. Tell your kids. Be sure your kids all have 741741 entered into their phone contacts. (Read on to learn more.) The...
Your son is about to leave for college, and there are a thousand things you want to talk to him about before he goes. This month, take him out for a special celebratory dinner—and include these 6 things in the dessert conversation. You'll make the next four years...
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...
Mary's father entered the library through heavy glass doors and started looking through the stacks for his daughter. He finally found her, bleary-eyed and exhausted, surrounded by books, notebooks, a laptop, and a half cup of cold coffee. "Honey, it's late," he said...
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...
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...
"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...
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...
You're a loving parent—so of course you want to make your kid's future college breaks as warm and memorable as possible. But will you be able to do that if your newly-flown offspring comes home snarly and inconsiderate? What if your newly-minted college student...
Your college-age daughter calls you, sobbing, at 10:00 pm. She's feeling overwhelmed by exams and paper deadlines, and she's begging you to let her quit the part-time job she's been working while taking her full load of college classes. You want her to be happy, of...
Every day since your child was a toddler, she’s been bumping into and forming relationships with professional people who have careers in every sector of the job market. Do you realize this? Your daughter may have met a software engineer at a technology company when...
A week ago I asked parents to imagine a 19-year-old girl walking into an enormous 10-story library, choosing four books at random, and then walking up to the checkout desk and paying $25,000 for the chance to check them out. A week ago we talked about how this sounds...
We've all had those days. You have a mountain of work in front of you that you genuinely want to get done, but you find yourself procrastinating. Struggling to focus. Failing to get tasks completed. What's the problem? It's probably not that your time management...
Your teen's schedule is already filled to bursting with sports practices, homework for advanced classes, and—of course—enrichment activities that will supposedly "make her look good on college applications." Your family has plenty of money to provide this girl...
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.