Stanford Dean Shares Eight Essential Skills Every 18-Year-Old Should Have

Post date: Apr 21, 2016 8:29:06 PM

Based upon observations as a university dean and the advice of parents and educators around the country, Julie Lythcott-Haims former Stanford Dean and Author of NYT bestseller How to Raise an Adult, recently shared examples of practical things 18-year-olds need to know how to do before they go to college:

1. An 18-year-old must be able to talk to strangers — faculty, deans, advisers, landlords, store clerks, human resource managers, coworkers, bank tellers, health care providers, bus drivers, mechanics—in the real world.

2. An 18-year-old must be able to find his way around a campus, the town in which her summer internship is located, or the city where he is working or studying abroad.

3. An eighteen-year-old must be able to manage his assignments, workload, and deadlines.

4. An 18-year-old must be able to contribute to the running of a house hold.

5. An 18-year-old must be able to handle interpersonal problems.

6. An 18-year-old must be able to cope with ups and downs of courses and workloads, college- level work, competition, tough teachers, bosses, and others.

8. An 18-year-old must be able to take risks.

Guess what? If your son is a Cub Scout, he has probably learned about and practiced all of the things on this list already. Good job, parents! 

If your son is not a Cub Scout, learn more about how we are preparing our young boys to grow up to be successful 18-year-old men. Come to our Information Meeting/Join Night on May 13th at Fisler!