--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When it came time to go to college, I had…" description: "\"When it came time to go to college, I had been accepted for Harvard when my father was offered the position of head of the Metropolitan Life Insurance ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/douglass-north-23172_accepted_when-it-came-time-to-go-to-college-i-had_1026262.png" --- # When it came time to go to college, I had been accepted… ![“When it came time to go to college, I had been accepted for Harvard when my father was offered the position of head of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company office on the west coast, and we moved to San Francisco.” quote by Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/douglass-north-23172_accepted_when-it-came-time-to-go-to-college-i-had_1026262.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/douglass-north-23172_accepted_when-it-came-time-to-go-to-college-i-had_1026262.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/douglass-north-23172_accepted_when-it-came-time-to-go-to-college-i-had_1026262.png) > “When it came time to go to college, I had been accepted for Harvard when my father was offered the position of head of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company office on the west coast, and we moved to San Francisco.” [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects a personal decision influenced by family circumstances and geographic relocation for education and career opportunities. **In simple terms:** Family moves can shape educational paths. Key Takeaway Consider how location impacts choices. Themes family education career migration opportunity Mood reflective nostalgic Type personal narrative historical anecdote When to use this quote - college enrollment - family relocation - career planning - adjusting to new city Key Concepts socioeconomic mobility decision making geography Questions to Reflect On - How did the move affect your academic goals? - What role did family expectations play? A Different Perspective The quote lacks broader context about personal agency beyond family influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Metropolitan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metropolitan/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [West coast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-coast/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe I was accepted to Harvard only because of my tennis skills, since I definitively had no great academic achievements. I was 17 and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-paulo-lemann/maybe-i-was-accepted-to-harvard-only-because-of-my-tennis-skills/) [Jorge Paulo Lemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-paulo-lemann/) > [Thus, the technique of metropolitan life is unimaginable without the most punctual integration of all activities and mutual relations into a stable and impersonal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-simmel/thus-the-technique-of-metropolitan-life-is-unimaginable-without-the/) [Georg Simmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-simmel/) > [“When her father offered him her hand in marriage and a fortune in gold and jewels as a reward, Burke informed him that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-medeiros/when-her-father-offered-him-her-hand-in-marriage-and-a-fortune-in/) [Teresa Medeiros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-medeiros/) > [My father offered me a dollar for every pound I would lose as a kid. It didn't work. And it doesn't really work in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/my-father-offered-me-a-dollar-for-every-pound-i-would-lose-as-a-kid-2/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [My father had not even completed high school when he started as an office boy working for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/my-father-had-not-even-completed-high-school-when-he-started-as-an/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [If there is anyone dependent on your income - parents, children, relatives - you need life insurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/if-there-is-anyone-dependent-on-your-income-parents-children/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [I started thinking about life insurance and how nice it would be if you could get insurance that your life would be happy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-started-thinking-about-life-insurance-and-how-nice-it-would-be-if/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [There is a clear link between protecting your car and home and protecting your life. So life insurance was a logical addition to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sinclair/there-is-a-clear-link-between-protecting-your-car-and-home-and/) Kevin Sinclair > [Life Insurance: A contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die rich..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-insurance-a-contract-that-keeps-you-poor-all-your-life-so-that/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-could-never-work-out-whether-we-were-to-view-religion-as-a-life/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [You can get up to a million dollars or more in life insurance in case you die. But can only get about seven or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/you-can-get-up-to-a-million-dollars-or-more-in-life-insurance-in-case/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [For almost seventy years the life insurance industry has been a smug sacred cow feeding the public a steady line of sacred bull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/for-almost-seventy-years-the-life-insurance-industry-has-been-a-smug/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Get affordable Car insurance, save up to 30% on your car insurance http://insure-n-save.co.za/index.php/car-insurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/get-affordable-car-insurance-save-up-to-30-on-your-car-insurance-http/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just took a life insurance thought that when I die they gonna bring me back: or get the new me to earth...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sim/i-just-took-a-life-insurance-thought-that-when-i-die-they-gonna-bring/) [Sim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sim/) > [The chief beneficiary of life insurance policies for young, single people is the life insurance agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/the-chief-beneficiary-of-life-insurance-policies-for-young-single/) [Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/) ## More by Douglass North > [I went back to graduate school with the clear intention that what I wanted to do with my life was to improve societies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/i-went-back-to-graduate-school-with-the-clear-intention-that-what-i/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [To predict the future we would have to know today what we will learn tomorrow which will shape our future actions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/to-predict-the-future-we-would-have-to-know-today-what-we-will-learn/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [The evolution of government from its medieval, Mafia-like character to that embodying modern legal institutions and instruments is a major part of the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/the-evolution-of-government-from-its-medieval-mafia-like-character-to/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [I went to elementary school in Ottawa, and then to a private secondary school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/i-went-to-elementary-school-in-ottawa-and-then-to-a-private-secondary/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [Information costs are reduced by the existence of large numbers of buyers and sellers. 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