--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When Jim was growing up, good colleges…" description: "\"“When Jim was growing up, good colleges were challenging to get into, but it wasn't like it is today, when being a solid, diligent student is no longer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/kate-fagan-33091_wishful-thinking_when-jim-was-growing-up-good-colleges-we_142455.jpg" --- # When Jim was growing up, good colleges were challenging to… ![“When Jim was growing up, good colleges were challenging to get into, but it wasn't like it is today, when being a solid, diligent student is no longer enough. Students today must display excellence -- not just competence --- in numerous areas. The pressure to be great, not just good, is…” quote by Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/kate-fagan-33091_wishful-thinking_when-jim-was-growing-up-good-colleges-we_142455.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/kate-fagan-33091_wishful-thinking_when-jim-was-growing-up-good-colleges-we_142455.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/kate-fagan-33091_wishful-thinking_when-jim-was-growing-up-good-colleges-we_142455.jpg) > ““When Jim was growing up, good colleges were challenging to get into, but it wasn't like it is today, when being a solid, diligent student is no longer enough. Students today must display excellence -- not just competence --- in numerous areas. The pressure to be great, not just good, is unrelenting. Believing this pressure will disappear once kids arrive on campus seems like wishful thinking.”” [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. College admissions now demand excellence across many areas, not just solid academic performance, creating relentless pressure on students. **In simple terms:** Students must excel in many fields, not just grades. Key Takeaway Develop diverse skills and manage expectations. Themes education competition excellence pressure student life Mood stressful motivated Type advisory critical When to use this quote - career counseling - mental health support - academic advising Key Concepts holistic admissions multidisciplinary talent well‑being Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions reduce undue pressure? - What defines true excellence today? A Different Perspective Pressure may cause burnout and inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colleges Challenging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleges-challenging-1606664/) [Diligent Student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligent-student-1606665/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Good Colleges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-colleges-1606663/) [Longer Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer-students-1606666/) [Student Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/student-longer-1606667/) [Wishful thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishful-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The longer our students stay in school, the less engaged they become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-longer-our-students-stay-in-school-the-less-engaged-they-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I feel like there is a lot of inherent humor in the stress and insanity surrounding that process. People lose their minds, trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/i-feel-like-there-is-a-lot-of-inherent-humor-in-the-stress-and/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [Clearly, once the student is no longer a student the possibilities of relationship are enlarged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/clearly-once-the-student-is-no-longer-a-student-the-possibilities-of/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Deepika asked questions like a diligent student. She talks little and saves all she has for the shot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-leela-bhansali/deepika-asked-questions-like-a-diligent-student-she-talks-little-and/) [Sanjay Leela Bhansali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-leela-bhansali/) > [I was not an especially diligent student but nevertheless obtained a reasonable education in physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coleman-richardson/i-was-not-an-especially-diligent-student-but-nevertheless-obtained-a/) [Robert Coleman Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coleman-richardson/) > [I know there are limits to what a coach can accomplish in improving speechmaking unless the subject is a diligent student of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/i-know-there-are-limits-to-what-a-coach-can-accomplish-in-improving/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) > [I cannot say that I was a particularly diligent student, especially during the lower grades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koichi-tanaka/i-cannot-say-that-i-was-a-particularly-diligent-student-especially/) [Koichi Tanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koichi-tanaka/) > [“I was a diligent student with integrity, so I didn't talk to anyone in class and passed the time in silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wataru-watari/i-was-a-diligent-student-with-integrity-so-i-didn-t-talk-to-anyone-in/) [Wataru Watari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wataru-watari/) > [The most learned, acute, and diligent student cannot, in the longest life, obtain an entire knowledge of this one volume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/the-most-learned-acute-and-diligent-student-cannot-in-the-longest/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [I went to Illinois. Most people think I went to Princeton or something. But I was never a diligent student.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-holzhauer/i-went-to-illinois-most-people-think-i-went-to-princeton-or-something/) [James Holzhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-holzhauer/) > [“Anyway, I thought, it's wishful thinking, all this talk of ghosts. If the dead wandered among us, their spirits still present on this earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/anyway-i-thought-it-s-wishful-thinking-all-this-talk-of-ghosts-if-the/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [Providence and Manifest Destiny are synonyms often invoked to support arguments based on wishful thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/providence-and-manifest-destiny-are-synonyms-often-invoked-to-support/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Theorems often tell us complex truths about the simple things, but only rarely tell us simple truths about the complex ones. To believe otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/theorems-often-tell-us-complex-truths-about-the-simple-things-but/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [Maybe it's wishful thinking, this snaggly faith of mine, or maybe it's Miles Davis saying, Don't play what's there, play what's not there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/maybe-it-s-wishful-thinking-this-snaggly-faith-of-mine-or-maybe-it-s/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“What would be the use of distributing millions upon billions upon trillions of sublime rasa-saturated scriptures if, as a result of all the hustle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aindra-das/what-would-be-the-use-of-distributing-millions-upon-billions-upon/) [Aindra Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aindra-das/) ## More by Kate Fagan > [“Introspection means talking to yourself, and one of the best ways of talking to yourself is by talking to another person. One other person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/introspection-means-talking-to-yourself-and-one-of-the-best-ways-of/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“Digital life, and social media at its most complex, is an interweaving of public and private personas, a blending and splintering of identities unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/digital-life-and-social-media-at-its-most-complex-is-an-interweaving/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“And to make matters worse, those with the least empathy are often teammates—peers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/and-to-make-matters-worse-those-with-the-least-empathy-are-often/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“Some stories simply touch us more deeply as they reach right into our hearts, settle there, and never leave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/some-stories-simply-touch-us-more-deeply-as-they-reach-right-into-our/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“Much of young adulthood is presented as a ladder, each rung closer to success, or whatever our society has defined as success. 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And consider the idea that not every struggling teammate is weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/recognize-that-empathy-might-be-in-short-supply-educate-yourself/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“of being okay, and having everything together, and almost, like, say, even though I’m stressed, I still have time to have a perfect social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/of-being-okay-and-having-everything-together-and-almost-like-say-even/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“tiring, but it is not confusing. You are never left wondering if you’ve made the wrong choice, or expended energy in the wrong direction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/tiring-but-it-is-not-confusing-you-are-never-left-wondering-if-you-ve/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“how it was fostering an increased dependence on outside validation, and consequently a decreased ability to soothe themselves. In 2013, these were just beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/how-it-was-fostering-an-increased-dependence-on-outside-validation/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“One study found that an average high school student today likely deals with as much anxiety as did a psychiatric patient in the 1950s.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/one-study-found-that-an-average-high-school-student-today-likely/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) > [“The parameters of the actual world are expansive, and people can view you from any angle (literally and metaphorically), while online you need only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-fagan/the-parameters-of-the-actual-world-are-expansive-and-people-can-view/) [Kate Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) [Explore all 15 Kate Fagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-fagan/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. 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