'Soft Skills' Pushed as Part of College Readiness To make it in
college, students need to be up for the academic rigor. But
that's not all. They also must be able to manage their own time,
get along with roommates, and deal with setbacks. Resiliency and
grit, along with the ability to communicate and advocate, are
all crucial life skills. Yet, experts say, many teenagers lack
them, and that's hurting college-completion rates. "Millennials
have had helicopter parents who have protected them," said Dan
Jones, the president of the Association for University and
College Counseling Center Directors and the director of
counseling and psychological services at Appalachian State
University in Boone, N.C. "They haven't had the opportunity to
struggle. When they come to college and bad things happen, they
haven't developed resiliency and self-soothing skills." College
enrollment is growing, but graduation rates remain flat. Among
industrialized nations, the United States ranks ninth in the
world in enrollment but last