Blackburn Mentoring, mentoring since 2014, works one-on-one with teens 13 and up, college students and young adults by video across New Jersey, with in-person mentoring and coaching in Los Angeles. Everything starts with a free 20 minute intro call, and families are matched with a mentor within 2 business days.

Best for:

A teen who will listen to another adult on school and plans more readily than to a parent
A student heading into a big step, such as senior year or the first year of college
A young adult building routines around work, money and independence
Busy or rural households where getting to an office every week is not realistic

Families, students and young adults anywhere in New Jersey can work with a dedicated Blackburn mentor by video, from Bergen County to Cape May. New Jersey is on Eastern time, and every session is scheduled in your local time, with text and phone check-ins between them. Our team is based in Los Angeles, so everything happens online.

Dense, busy, and pulled in two directions

New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country, and much of it lives in the orbit of two big cities. North and much of Central Jersey look toward New York; South Jersey looks toward Philadelphia. The commute is a fact of life: trains, buses, the Turnpike and the Parkway. Adding another drive for a weekly appointment rarely works for families already running on tight schedules. Video sessions start at the kitchen table and end when the call does.

Four parts of the state

North Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Morris counties, from the Hudson River waterfront to the hills of the northwest.
Central Jersey: the Route 1 and Route 287 corridors, Princeton, New Brunswick and the suburbs of Somerset, Middlesex and Mercer counties.
The Jersey Shore: Monmouth and Ocean counties down to Atlantic City and Cape May, with towns that swell every summer.
South Jersey: Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties near Philadelphia, plus the Pine Barrens and the farmland that gives the Garden State its name.

Where the jobs are

Pharmaceuticals and life sciences have long been central to New Jersey’s economy, along with finance and insurance, technology and telecommunications. The port and the warehouse corridor along the Turnpike make logistics a huge employer. Health care, education and government are big everywhere, and tourism carries the Shore. Many residents work in Manhattan or Philadelphia. For young adults, the jobs are close but the cost of living is high, so living at home after college is common, and so is the feeling of being stuck there.

Schools, colleges and the out-of-state pull

New Jersey’s public schools are organized into hundreds of local districts and are widely regarded as among the strongest in the nation. Independent and parochial schools are common too, especially in the north. The state has a public research university system with campuses in several cities, other state universities, county colleges in nearly every county and many private colleges.

New Jersey is also known for sending a large number of its high school graduates to colleges in other states. That means a lot of families have a student far from home, often for the first time, and a lot of graduates deciding whether to come back. It also means parents are often the last to know when a first semester is going badly.

What a mentor does for each stage

High school

Weekly goals, a calendar the student actually uses and a calmer way through demanding coursework and the college search, with a parent joining the intro call if they wish and receiving regular updates. See mentoring for high school students.

College

Steady contact by video wherever the student is enrolled, help with routines and classes, and with permission, updates to parents in New Jersey. See mentoring for college students.

Young adults and professionals

A job search plan, a budget that makes moving out possible, a first-job routine that survives the commute, or a career change. See young adult mentoring.

Sessions are 60 minutes, weekly or several times a week. New Jersey is three hours ahead of Los Angeles, so a 7 pm session after work is 4 pm for the mentor. Read more on our online mentoring page and mentoring for families.

Pages for areas in New Jersey

South Jersey families may also find our Philadelphia page useful. All states are under mentoring by state.

Growing up in the Garden State

Many New Jersey teens grow up with a parent catching a train or bus before sunrise, and that commuting rhythm runs the household. In towns like Montclair, Westfield, Ridgewood and Cherry Hill, academic pressure starts early, with test prep, travel teams and a crowded calendar of activities, while other districts work hard simply to keep students engaged. County vocational and technical high schools are a familiar option, and some are highly selective, so families begin thinking about them in middle school. Summer for a lot of teens means boardwalk jobs, lifeguard stands and weekends down the Shore.

Rent and home prices run high across most of the state, so moving out after college can take years, and plenty of graduates ride into New York or Philadelphia from their childhood bedroom. Families look at the in-state public universities and county colleges with a close eye on cost, and starting at a county college and transferring has become a common plan. State grant and scholarship rules change, so check New Jersey’s official higher education site for what applies now. Young adults here often carry two pressures at once: a high bar set by their peers and a cost of living that slows every step toward independence.

What New Jersey families and young adults often face

A high schooler stretched thin by advanced classes, a club sport and an hour of homework after every practice.
A graduate living at home in Bergen or Essex County, commuting into Manhattan, with savings that never seem to grow.
A student starting at a county college who wants a clear transfer plan instead of drifting from semester to semester.
A South Jersey young adult choosing between a job across the river in Philadelphia and one closer to home.
Parents unsure how much to step in when a senior’s college list, applications and part-time job all collide in the fall.

New Jersey runs on Eastern time, so we book sessions by your local clock even though the mentor sits three hours behind. All mentoring for New Jersey happens over video; we only meet face to face in Los Angeles. Commuting graduates may like our guide to living at home after college, and county college students can read starting at community college first. See also how education works state by state, plus Northern New Jersey, Princeton and Central New Jersey and Monmouth County.

Common questions

What time zone are New Jersey sessions in?

Eastern time. Sessions are booked in your local time, and our mentors in Los Angeles work three hours behind, which leaves plenty of evening availability.

Our child goes to college out of state. Can a New Jersey family still use you?

Yes. The student meets the mentor by video wherever they are, and with their permission the mentor keeps parents in New Jersey updated.

Do you meet in person anywhere in New Jersey?

No. In-person sessions are only in Los Angeles. Everyone in New Jersey works with us by video, with text and phone contact between sessions.

Can you help a graduate living at home in New Jersey?

Yes. Mentors help young adults build a job search routine, a savings plan and a realistic timeline for moving out.

Get started

Want to talk about a student or young adult in New Jersey? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.

Last updated November 2, 2026.

Book a free intro call Text us

Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.

Online Mentoring and Coaching in New Jersey