Roped In or Left Out: How First-Generation College Students Understand and Build Soft Skills at Universities of Varying Prestige

Emerging literature on higher education suggests that the benefits of prestigious universities may not adequately reach first generation, low income (FGLI) students. However, these analyses fail to examine student benefits of attending prestigious universities in comparison to peers at non-prestigious universities, where the majority of FGLI students attend. Research also fails to look towards non-academic measures of success and outcomes of university, such as the development of soft skills (applied intra- and interpersonal non-technical skills that relate to how one interacts with others and navigates their environment) especially among FGLI students. Drawing from 19 in-depth interviews with FGLI female-identifying undergraduates of color from 4 universities (2 prestigious PUs & 2 non-prestigious NPUs), this study aims to comparatively understand student experiences understanding and building soft skills using the following research questions: How do first generation students understand and build soft skills? How does this differentiate across universities of varying prestige? And, considering soft skills as built through interpersonal relationships and connections, do PUs provide an edge over NPUs in regard to soft skills despite fewer cultural connections for students on campus? The study finds more similarities across varying university types than differences. Firstly, students understand soft skills as adjacent to Whiteness and privilege. Secondly, students build soft skills through generalized university programming but were most successful when involved in FGLI specific, specialized university programming that emphasized and appreciated the unique needs of FGLI students. Regarding differences, students at PUs had more FGLI specific programming available but felt a larger cultural disconnect between themselves and the wider university, resulting in more successful relationships with university staff in service positions over relationships with professors. At NPUs, students faced the "commuter problem" where they lacked an understanding of campus resources due to limited time spent on campus and interactions with members of the university community. Further implications of this research emphasize the need of universities to recognize and address FGLI needs and that crucial interpersonal skills exist outside of traditional SS created by and catered to privileged, White, upper-class stakeholders. However, this is only the first step in truly providing a space to prepare them for social mobility in an ever changing and multicultural society.