College Quotes About Education To Inspire You

These university and college quotes will motivate you to study, learn, and succeed.

Attending college could be the most fun or the most stressful time of your life.

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A study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that students who read motivational quotes before exams perform better than those who don’t.

The study suggests that inspirational quotes can have a positive impact on academic performance.

The journey towards higher education is a path of dedication, patience, and hard work.

These college quotes will inspire you to get good grades while still having a memorable experience.

Throughout university, you’ll make new friends, learn a vast number of things, and experience unique lifestyles and perspectives.

Read this collection of college quotes to truly appreciate the achievements and struggles of being a university student. 

If you understand the importance of education, the college experience will appeal to you.

These college quotes about higher education highlight the realities of attending university.

Remember these inspirational sayings and proverbs the next time you’re walking around campus.

Whether you spend most of your time at parties or in the library, you’ll love these incredible university insights.

Share this list of college quotes with all the students, professors, and alumni that you know.

You might also like these graduation quotes on success, dreams and your future.

If you enjoy this article, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily motivation. 

If you want more motivational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

College quotes to motivate you on your quest for knowledge and success

Research by the University of Warwick found that reading inspirational quotes can boost motivation and self-esteem.

The findings indicate that inspiration quotes help students to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.

1. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

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2. “No man should escape our universities without knowing how little he knows.” – J. Robert Oppenheimer

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3. “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin

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4. “College has given me the confidence I need to fail.” – Jarod Klintz

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5. “Definition of a college professor: someone who talks in other people’s sleep.” – W.H. Auden

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6. “The aim of the college, for the individual student, is to eliminate the need in his life for the college; the task is to help him become a self-educating man.” – George Horace Lorimer

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7. “The things taught in schools and colleges are not an education, but the means to an education.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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8. “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X

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9. “Every year, many, many stupid people graduate from college. And if they can do it, so can you.” – John Green

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10. “Educating yourself does not mean you were stupid in the first place, it means that you are intelligent enough to know that there is plenty left to learn.” – Melanie Joy

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College quotes to open you up to new opportunities

According to a study by the Education Advisory Board, motivation is the most crucial factor in determining student success in college.

The study found that 90% of students cite motivation as crucial to their achievement.

11. “College is the reward for surviving high school.” – Judd Apatow

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12. “A college degree is not a sign of a finished product but an indication a person is prepared for life.” – Reverend Edward A. Malloy

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13. “You can lead a boy to college but you can’t make him think.” – Elber Hubbard

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14. “Education is the best provision for life’s journey.” – Aristotle

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15. “Months are different in college, especially freshman year. Too much happens. Every freshman month equals six regular months –– they’re like dog months.” – Rainbow Rowell

16. “College inspired me to think differently. It’s like no other time in your life.” – Lari Oleynik

17. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character –– that is the goal of true education.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

18. “College is the best time of your life. When else are your parents going to spend several thousand dollars a year just for you to go to a strange town and get drunk every night?” – David Wood

19. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou

20. “College is like a fountain of knowledge and the students are there to drink.” – Chuck Palahniuk

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College quotes that will motivate you to study hard

According to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2020, about 19.9 million students were expected to attend American colleges and universities.

This figure has been steadily increasing over the years, highlighting the growing importance of higher education in today’s society.

21. “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” — Chris Grosser

22. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”― General Colin Powell

23. “You have to stay in school. You have to. You have to go to college. You have to get your degree. Because that’s the one thing people can’t take away from you is your education. And it is worth the investment.” – Michelle Obama

24. “The American Dream is one of success, homeownership, college education for one’s children, and have a secure job to provide these and other goals.” – Leonard Boswell

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of American dream quotes that will inspire you to achieve your own version of success.

25. “College is a refuge from hasty judgment.” – Robert Frost

26. “Unemployment rates among Americans who never went to college are about double that of those who have a postsecondary education.” – Bill Gates

27. “The aim of a college education is to teach you to know a good man when you see one.” – William James

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28. “When I was in college, I wanted to be involved in things that would change the world.” – Elon Musk

29. “If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.” – Frank Zappa

30. “In my bright, utopian future world, they will hand out college educations like cups of water at the end of the L.A. Marathon.” – Henry Rollins

College quotes to inspire your academic journey

A survey conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that employers prioritize critical thinking, problem-solving, and written and oral communication skills when hiring college graduates.

These skills are often developed through a college education.

31. “My favorite college experience was probably leaving college.” – Marshawn Lynch

32. “In college, you learn how to learn. Four years is not too much time to spend at that.” – Mary Oliver
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33. “Success isn’t overnight. It’s when every day you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up.”― Dwayne Johnson

34. “When bright young minds can’t afford college, America pays the price.” – Arthur Ashe

35. “There are two kinds of people in this world: those who want to get things done and those who don’t want to make mistakes.” – John Maxwell

36. “I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.” – Ray Bradbury

37. “It is not hard for me to remember when I was in college. I loved many things about college life: I loved learning. I loved the comradery. And I loved football.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin

38. “Every young man or woman should weigh the matter well before concluding that a college education is out of the question.” – Orison Swett Marden

39. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”― Robert Collier

40. “Going to college made me realize you have to have real spaces of privacy, and you have to establish those early.” – Cole Sprouse

Other college and university quotes to inspire you

A study by the Pew Research Center found that college graduates are more likely to volunteer, vote, and be active in their communities than those without a degree.

This suggests that a college education not only benefits individuals but also has positive societal impacts.

41. “The same independence that got me into trouble in high school got me praise in college.” – Alan Dershowitz

42. “Free speech is the foundation of an open and liberal democracy from college campuses to the White House.” – Hasan Minhaj

43. “Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.” – Leonardo da Vinci

44. “If you have four years to complete your college education, do it.” – Bo Jackson

45. “The privilege of a university education is a great one; the more widely it is extended the better for any country.” – Winston Churchill

46. “The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” – Malcolm Forbes

47. “An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.” – Anatole France

48. “A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.” – Theodore Roosevelt

49. “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle

50. “Education doesn’t cease when you leave college or leave the university. Education is a lifetime process.” – Jim Rohn

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More college quotes and sayings

51. “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” – Brigham Young

52. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle

53. “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats

54. “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn

55. “Educate a boy, and you educate an individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community.” – Adelaide Hoodless

56. “Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow. Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human.” – Malala Yousafzai

57. “Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” – Joseph Stalin

58. “What you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.” – Norton Juster

59. “Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.” – B.F. Skinner

60. “Education is the movement from darkness to light.” – Allan Bloom

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College quotes to further your education goals and go further

61. “There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.” — Zig Ziglar

62. “A college education shows a man how little other people know.” — Thomas Chandler Haliburton

63. “College inspired me to think differently. It’s like no other time in your life.” — Larisa Oleynik

64. “College ain’t so much where you been as how you talk when you get back.” — Ossie Davis

65. “Colleges are places where pebbles are polished and diamonds are dimmed.”  — R.S. Ingersoll

66. “College is a place to keep warm between high school and an early marriage.” — George Gobel

67. “You will either step forward into growth, or you will step backward into safety.” — Abraham Maslow

68. “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest when you haven’t planted.” — David Bly

69. “The chief value in going to college is that it’s the only way to learn it really doesn’t matter. ” — George Edwin Howes

70. “A college education should equip one to entertain three things: a friend, an idea and oneself.” — Thomas Ehrlich

College quotes that provide perspective

71. “College isn’t in everyone’s hearts. I am living proof, though, that school doesn’t mess up your plans. It gives you more experiences to write about.” –J. Cole

72. “My college years are a blur.” –Robert Ben Garant

73. “All of my friends who have younger siblings who are going to college or high school – my number one piece of advice is: You should learn how to program.” –Mark Zuckerberg

74. “My college experience was like everyone else’s. I learned a lot. I gained a new perspective on the world and on people that I’m so thankful and appreciative for.” –Kyle Carpenter

75. “I think a college education is important no matter what you do in life.”  –Phil Mickelson

76. “College was especially sweet because of the positive, hopeful atmosphere of a college campus.” –Jerry Kramer

77. “Getting through high school and college was one of my greatest achievements.” –Ann Bancroft

78. “One of the great mind destroyers of college education is the belief that if it’s very complex, it’s very profound.” –Dennis Prager

79. “I got a wonderful college education. I went to Harvard. In those four years, I accumulated a lot of knowledge, but I also created a kind of habit of learning that has stayed with me my whole life.” –John Lithgow

80. “The most obvious purpose of college education is to help students acquire information and knowledge by acquainting them with facts, theories, generalizations, principles, and the like. This purpose scarcely requires justification.” -Derek Bok

College quotes for people who want a different kind of education

81. “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” -Theodore Roosevelt

82. “My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.” -Maya Angelou

83. “College isn’t the place to go for ideas.” -Helen Keller

84. “Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.” -Marian Wright Edelman

85. “I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver. Then they would really be educated.” -Al McGuire

86. “Many kids come out of college, they have a credit card and a diploma. They don’t know how to buy a house or a car or health insurance or life insurance. They do not know basic microeconomics.” -Jesse Jackson

87. “In college, I used to underline sentences that struck me, that made me look up from the page. They were not necessarily the same sentences the professors pointed out, which would turn up for further explication on an exam. I noted them for their clarity, their rhythm, their beauty and their enchantment.” -Jhumpa Lahiri

88. “Universities used to prepare young adults for the real world. I dare say the graduates today go in without a clue and graduate without a clue. It’s time to acknowledge the college degree is not worth what it was in the past. Times are changing, and so is the way we prepare our youth to survive in a competitive world.” -Dale Archer

89. “Just because I don’t have a college degree doesn’t mean I am not smart!” -Emma Stone

90. “The best math lesson we can teach college students this year is to subtract a tuition increase and benefit from the dividends of higher education.” -Jodi Rell

Short College Quotes To Keep You Inspired

91. “And will you succeed? Yes you will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed).” — Dr. Seuss

92. “Struggling to decide what to do after graduation is… a sort of rite of passage to the next phase of your life.” — Gloria Davidson

93. “Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.” — Oprah Winfrey

94. “Develop a passion for learning… you will never cease to grow.” — Anthony J. D’Angelo

95. “College is fun as long as you don’t die.” ― Tsugumi Ohba

96. “The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.” — B. B. King

97. “Going to college offered me the chance to play football for four more years.” — Ronald Reagan

98. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln

99. “A little progress each day adds up to big results.” — Satya Nani

100. “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” — Ralph Marston

Thought Provoking College Quotes That Help You To Maintain Focus

101. “Focus on doing the right things instead of a bunch of things.” — Mike Krieger

102. “Discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” — Abraham Lincoln

103. “You will find the key to success under the alarm clock.” — Benjamin Franklin

104. “So long as your desire to explore is greater than your desire to not screw up, you’re on the right track.” — Ed Helms

105. “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” — Vidal Sassoon

106. “Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger

107. “You will never have more energy or enthusiasm, hair, or brain cells than you have today.” — Tom & Ray Magliozzi

108. “Life is an improvisation. You have no idea what’s going to happen next and you are mostly just making things up as you go along.” — Stephen Colbert

109. “Remember, when it comes to applying for jobs, books ARE judged by their cover!” — Patricia Akins

110. “With the realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.” — Dalai Lama

College Quotes For Celebrating Years Spent In College

111. “The first dream I had was just to get a college education. I got through college in three years, taking extra classes in summer school.” — Eli Broad

112. “When I was in my freshman year at college I took some acting classes and found that I fell in love with it again.” — Mary-Kate Olsen

113. “I love to box. I once took a kickboxing class in college and got totally hooked.” — Sophia Bush

114. “I’ve been composing music all my life and if I’d been clever enough at school I would like to have gone to music college.” — Anthony Hopkins

115. “I went to military college in Canada and graduated as an officer in the Navy but also as an engineer.” — Marc Garneau

116. “I studied the cello for a long time, from when I was little up through college.” — Lev Grossman

117. “I was known around the college for jamming in the lounge.” — Bernie Worrell

118. “I was always a good student, but I didn’t read that much until i was 18 and I was working my way through college.” — James Patterson

119. “I like college football, but I’m a huge college basketball fan. I could sit and watch every game of March Madness and be happy. That could be a vacation.” — Lewis Black

120. “If I’d stayed at college I would have become a teacher.” — Syd Barrett

College Quotes for Learning More About Life

121. “I had higher math SATs than in English – yet I became an English major in college.” — Christie Hefner

122. “My favorite thing is still journalism. I’m almost 50. This has been my life ever since I was in college.” — David Talbot

123. “I can remember at college, living on 30-cent meals.” — Sargent Shriver

124. “My parents put everything in a trust fund for me. I won’t get it until I’m 18, so I’ll use it for college.” — Heather O’Rourke

125. “I’m a big sports fan. College football is my favorite.” — Verne Troyer

126. “I don’t think that players learn how to play any other aspect of the game in high school or college.” — Oscar Robertson

127. “I remember when I was in college, I used to watch Julia Child’s cooking show during dinner and joke with my roommates about becoming a TV chef.” — Martin Yan

128. “I am often amazed at how much more capability and enthusiasm for science there is among elementary school youngsters than among college students.” — Carl Sagan

129. “Some people get an education without going to college. The rest get it after they get out.” — Mark Twain

130. “Chemistry is a class you take in high school or college, where you figure out two plus two is 10, or something.” — Dennis Rodman

College Quotes To Further Your Education

131. “So if a college education is indispensable, the challenge as I see it is how to make it more accessible.” ― Gordon Gee

132. “It occurred to me in my junior year of high school. I got my first letter from a big college. I still have that letter to this day – a letter from Indiana.” ― Bo Jackson

133. “I went to a Canadian college for performing arts and then I auditioned for Canadian Idol. That honestly was my golden ticket.” ― Carly Rae Jepsen

134. “I guess when people ask what is the biggest transition to the NBA from college, it is definitely defense and the mental part.” ― Magic Johnson

135. “I’d done recordings, little demos, since I was in college, which I used to get gigs. But I never thought I’d have a record label.” ― Norah Jones

136. “In college I had a weekend gig at a restaurant, a solo thing that was the best practice I could have ever had. That’s where I learned to coordinate my singing and my piano playing.” ― Norah Jones

137. “In college, I had a lot of friends who were writers and wanted to be writers and I felt intimidated by it. I just didn’t know if I had any gift or voice and I had no confidence about it.” ― Rashida Jones

138. “I always wanted to be some kind of writer or newspaper reporter. But after college… I did other things.” ― Jackie Kennedy

139. “I was lucky to have a successful career as a model, but that was just a way to pay off my college loans.” ― Padma Lakshmi

140. “I went to college because I felt like I was supposed to. I graduated from public high school and I did all the things that I was supposed to do.” ― Mila Kunis

College Quotes To Help You Self Educate Yourself

141. “Colleges don’t make fools, they only develop them.” ― George Lorimer

142. “The college graduate is presented with a sheepskin to cover his intellectual nakedness.” ― Robert M. Hutchins

143. “A college boy cannot successfully go through life by graduating in football, baseball, or highballs, for the responsibilities of life are not ball-bearing.” ― William H. Murray

144. “A college degree is not a sign that one is a finished product but an indication a person is prepared for life.” ― Reverend Edward A. Malloy

145. “By making college unaffordable and student loans unbearable, we risk deterring our best and brightest from pursuing higher education and securing a good paying job.” ― Mark Pocan

146. “That’s what college is for – getting as many bad decisions as possible out of the way before you’re forced into the real world. I keep a checklist of ’em on the wall in my room.” ― Jeph Jacques

147. “Fathers send their sons to college either because they went to college or because they didn’t.” ― L. L. Henderson

148. “Never get married in college; it’s hard to get a start if a prospective employer finds you’ve already made one mistake.” ― Elbert Hubbard

149. “Don’t ever dare to take your college as a matter of course – because, like democracy and freedom, many people you’ll never know have broken their hearts to get it for you.” ― Alice Duer Miller

150. “It is not my wish to lounge about the college and fatten on a fellowship all my days. I am always trying to look upon a college life as a medium not an end.” ― Thomas Edward Brown

College Quotes on the Value of College Education

151. “College is a time to challenge yourself and to grow, both as a person and as a student, and to find your place in the world.” ― Taylor Swift

152. “College is a time to form lifelong relationships and to create memories that will stay with you forever.” ― Sheryl Crow

153. “College is a place where you can find your voice and use it to make a positive impact on the world.” ― Bill Gates

154. “College is a time to take risks, to make mistakes, and to learn from your experiences.” ― Mark Zuckerberg

155. “College is a place where you can learn from others and from the world around you, and where you can find the courage to make a difference.” ― Hillary Clinton

156. “College is a time for self-discovery and for learning how to think critically and independently.” ― Malala Yousafzai

157. “College is a place to experiment, to try new things, and to find out who you really are.” ― Steve Jobs

158. “College is an opportunity to challenge yourself and to push beyond your limits, to explore new ideas and to find your passions.” ― Ellen DeGeneres

159. “College is not just a time to party and have fun, but it’s a time to learn and grow, to discover yourself and your place in the world.” ― Oprah Winfrey

160. “College is a place to keep your mind open to possibilities and to strengthen your resolve to pursue your dreams.” ― Sheryl Sandberg

Which of these college quotes inspires you to go back to school?

A college degree is an extremely valuable asset to have in life.

Being well educated can boost your potential and open you up to new opportunities.

This collection of quotes about university will motivate you on your quest for knowledge and success.

If you want to expand your horizons, attending college is the perfect path for you.

Remember these inspirational quotes throughout your academic journey as a student.

If you need some motivation to help you study, take a break and read this collection of inspirational college quotes.

The university lifestyle can be hectic and stressful, so it’s important to remember your goals and maintain a positive attitude.

Keeping these words and insights in mind can help you keep a clear perspective. 

What are your favorite college quotes about education?

Let us know in the comment section below.