Budgeting, voting and cooking are all tasks many see as commonplace. Yet few young adults feel prepared to do these things by themselves.
When entering adulthood at age 18, young adults in Florida are the least prepared in the U.S. This group ranked last in preparedness, with a little more than 75% of young Floridians saying they felt prepared, according to a study by Preply, a language-learning app that connects learners with live tutors.
Of the more than 2,000 adults surveyed throughout the country, about 35% of respondents said they felt prepared for financial independence and just 24% felt prepared for property ownership.
An article that appeared in Salon argued for a return to home economics classes to teach children self-sufficiency skills. The author lamented that only 3.5 million students were enrolled in home economics classes nationwide in 2012, “a decrease of 38% over the prior decade.”
Locally, the University of Florida is implementing classes and programs for students to learn how to adult.
Taylor Stokes, senior lecturer who teaches the Art of Adulting course at UF, said her course helps students learn to budget, create professional connections and explore career opportunities. The course, offered through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences during the fall semester, started in 2020 and currently has 30 students enrolled.
Stokes stresses the importance of students learning these common adult practices.
“My hope is that they will finish the course, feel more confident in taking ownership in these parts of their life,” she said, “and then seek out more information to develop those [skills] more fully.”
Defining who is an adult
Stokes said that everyone has a different definition of being an “adult.” And it’s crucial that each person identify what that definition is for them. Some of the key points for most students are financial independence, marriage, buying a home and education.
One topic discussed in the course is budgeting and financial planning. Assignments range from keeping a spending journal and creating a financial plan to learning about investments and loans.
The most important skill in adulting — and often the one that students have the hardest time with, Stokes said — is networking and building strong mentor connections. A mentor can be a coach who is dedicated to helping with success, a role model to look up to, a sponsor or a friendship-like connection.
“People get scared about mentorship, about networking, about connecting with other people,” Stokes said. “But all it is just building connections with other humans.”
Stokes is also the director of Beyond 120, a program through UF that teaches students to explore different career opportunities and apply their academic knowledge with real world experiences.
“We focus on undergraduate research,” Stokes said. “We focus on internships, global experiences, community engagement, and wanting our students to gain a lot of skills that will be beneficial for them in the work force.”
Working through the obstacles
However, many students don’t even know these classes and programs exist.
Students in North Central Florida are finding other ways of learning to adult.
Like Brooke Bastedo, a sophomore at UF. Bastedo said she did not vote in the last national election because she felt she did not have enough reliable information on the candidates. Bastedo said she wishes college-aged students would talk more about state and local government, not just student government, which she hears about frequently.
While there is an online system in Florida to register to vote or look up registration information, Bastedo is not alone in shying away from voting. In 2024, a report by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 58.3% of young adults aged 18 to 24 are registered to vote compared with 80.5% of older adults aged 65 to 74.
Aside from voting, Bastedo tries to keep up with recent events. Bastedo said she listens to daily podcasts like “Morning Brew Daily.”
“Not everyone has access to a news station,” Bastedo said. “Podcasts are really easy to put a headphone in and listen to on your way to class.”
Other universities are also taking action to increase young adults' knowledge of common adult practices.
Gencie Houy, an assistant professor at Texas Tech University and author of “Adulting for Dummies,” has been teaching students how to adult for nearly a decade in her class Adulting 101.
“There has been a noticeable gap in preparedness, especially in basic life skills,” she said. “I believe this stems from a combination of factors [like] increased academic pressure, reduced emphasis on Family and Consumer Sciences in secondary education, and the fast-paced nature of life.”
Houy said she notices common weaknesses among students in financial literacy, time management, communication and mental wellness.
Houy conducted a study in which she found that student's self-confidence scientifically increased after taking the Adulting 101 course.
Overall, she stresses that adulting starts with awareness and education.
“Adulting is not about perfection. It’s about progress, balance and learning through experience.” Houy said. “I always tell my students: you don’t have to know everything, but you do need to be willing to learn.”