Students are struggling not just to meet deadlines for essay drafts and letter of recommendation requests, but to even get started. Independent educational consultants (IECs) are faced with the task of decreasing the burden of the admissions application stress for students, but even with a reduction, we’re still befuddled.

I often tell my students that there is no one “right” way to navigate through high school. There are some wrong ways—let’s not fail classes or go to jail—but otherwise, it’s just fine to choose your own path (within reason).

Baccalaureate/MD programs, for which students apply in high school, offer the chance to earn a bachelor’s degree and a doctor of medicine degree in one go—and to apply only once for both programs, bypassing the regular medical school application process.

Whether your specialty is college, school, or therapeutic advising, I doubt there is a practitioner among us who has not encountered today’s youth mental health epidemic.

As we work together to create additional meaningful ways of collaborating among all independent educational consultants (IECs), we are strengthening our commitment to help young people thrive.