Justin Duncombe
Author · Speaker · College Planning Advocate
Justin Duncombe has spent his career in education and college planning, helping families understand a system that wasn’t designed to be easy to navigate. He wrote College Bound Strategies because he kept seeing the same thing: families making life-altering financial decisions without the information they needed to make them well.
He Saw the Gap. He Decided to Close It.
Justin Duncombe didn’t set out to write a book. He set out to help families — and after years of working in education and college planning, he kept running into the same wall. Families were sitting across from him with students who had real potential and real options, but no roadmap. The financial aid system is complex by design, and most people are expected to figure it out in a compressed window of time, often while managing everything else that life requires.
What he found, again and again, was that the families who navigated the system best weren’t necessarily the ones with the most money or the highest-achieving students. They were the ones with access to the right guidance at the right time. A counselor who went the extra mile. A parent who happened to know the right questions to ask. An older sibling who had been through it already.
Most families don’t have that. And that gap — between the families who know how to work the system and the families who don’t — costs real money. It shapes real futures.
College Bound Strategies was his answer to that gap. A plain-English guide that any family could pick up and actually use — whether they were headed toward a four-year university, a skilled trade, military service, or starting a business right out of high school.
Since the book’s publication, Justin has taken the message on the road — speaking at schools, community organizations, and events across the country, and appearing on television programs, radio shows, and podcasts reaching families in every corner of the United States.
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What Justin Believes
Information Is the Great Equalizer
The families who get the best outcomes aren’t always the most privileged — they’re the most informed. Every family deserves access to the same quality of guidance, regardless of their zip code, their income, or whether they’ve been through this before.
College Isn't the Only Right Answer
A four-year degree is a legitimate path for many students — but it’s not the only legitimate path. Skilled trades, military service, and entrepreneurship can lead to extraordinary lives and careers. Every student deserves an honest look at all of their options, not just the one society defaults to.
Strategy Beats Stress Every Time
Most of the anxiety families feel around college planning comes from uncertainty. When you understand the system — how financial aid is calculated, where scholarships actually come from, what each path really costs — the fear gives way to a plan. And a plan you can act on.
Bringing Clarity to Every Audience
Justin speaks to audiences ranging from high school students and parents to school counselors, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. His presentations are practical, conversational, and built around the real questions families are asking — not a rehearsed pitch.
He’s available for keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and classroom presentations. If your school, organization, or community group is ready to give families a real roadmap, reach out to discuss availability.
- Keynote Presentations
- Parent Workshops
- Community Events
- School Assemblies
- Panel Discussions
- Nonprofit Programs
How to Pay for College Without Drowning in Debt
Financial aid, scholarships, and loan strategy — the full picture in plain English.
Every Path After High School, And How to Fund It
An honest look at college, trades, military, and entrepreneurship as equal options.
The FAFSA Explained
For Real This Time What the form actually measures, how it's used, and how to approach it strategically.
Scholarships: Where They Actually Are and How to Win Them
Moving beyond the obvious search engines to real, winnable scholarship opportunities.
Military Service as an Education and Career Strategy
An honest overview of GI Bill benefits, service academy options, and military career paths.
Skilled Trades: The Case for the Path Less Talked About
Why the trades shortage is a genuine opportunity, and how to fund a trade education.