107 Motivational Quotes for College Students to Inspire You

The best inspirational quotes for college students

Today, I want to share with you some of my favorite inspirational quotes for college students.

 Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed with your studies lately? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We’ve all been there, buried under a mountain of exams, essays, and deadlines.

But guess what? I’ve got something that might just lift your spirits and give you that extra push you need to keep going.

Today, I want to share with you some of my favorite inspirational quotes for college students. These quotes have helped me stay motivated and focused during those tough times, and I’m sure they’ll do the same for you.

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My favorite motivational quotes for college students

1. “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” – George Washington Carver
2. “Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.” – Virat Kohli
3. “You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” – Ed Cole
4. “The more you give away, the happier you become.”
5. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
6. “Today, a reader. Tomorrow, a leader.” —Anonymous
7. “The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
8. “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Karim Seddiki
9. “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford
10. “Nothing great ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. “There is no substitute for hard work.” – Thomas Alva Edison
12. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi
13. “Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success.” – Shiv Khera
14. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings
15. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
16. “I think it’s possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.” — Elon Musk
17. “Teachers can open the door, but you must enter it yourself.” — Chinese proverb
18. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” —Jim Ryun
19. “Procrastination is the thief of time.” – Edward Young
20. “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” – Gail Devers

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21. “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” —Beverly Stills
22. “Tell me and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin
23. “How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank
24. “Wake up with determination and go to bed with satisfaction.”
25. “Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to those who dream and work.”
26. “To be an overachiever, you have to be an over-believer.” – Dabo Swinney
27. “Self-discipline is self-caring.” – M. Scott Peck
28. “I think it’s possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.” —Elon Musk
29. “That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” – Jhumpa Lahiri
30. “Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” – Christopher Germer

31. “Success is the sum of all efforts, repeated day-in & day out.” – R. Collier
32. “Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” – Carol Burnett
33. “There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.” – Ralph Marston
34. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been given a no. Only to find that a better, brighter, bigger yes was right around the corner.” – Arlan Hamilton
35. “Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin.” – Victor Kiam
36. “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg
37. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
38. “We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” – Ariana Huffington
39. “Wisdom…. comes not from age, but from education and learning.” – Anton Chekhov
40. “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” — A.A Milne

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41. “The man who does not read books has no advantage over the one who cannot read them.” —Mark Twain
42. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
43. “Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
44. “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” – Dalai Lama
45. “You want to have a future where you’re expecting things to be better, not one where you’re expecting things to be worse” – Elon Musk
46. “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” – Minor Myers Jur
47. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
48. “Every day is a second chance.”
49. “Opportunity does not happen; you need to create them.”
50. “You have to be odd to be No.1.” —Dr. Seuss
51. “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited.” – Plutarch
52. “The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest (people) of the past centuries.” – Descartes
53. “Education is something we have to keep pursuing day after day.” – Premier Brian Gallant
54. “Make each day your masterpiece.” – John Wooden
55. “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” – Margaret Mead

56. “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
57. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. ” – Steve Jobs
58. “End is not the end if fact E.N.D. Means “Efforts Never Dies. – Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
59. “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” — Chinese Proverb
60. “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn
61. “None of us is as smart as all of us.” —Ken Blanchard
62. “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” — Andy McIntyre
63. “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” – Mary Lou Retton
64. “The best revenge is massive success.” – Frank Sinatra
65. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

66. “I am indeed a king because I know how to rule myself.” – Pietro Aretino
67. “Genius is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration.” —Thomas Edison
68. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”– Japanese Proverb
69. “Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t pretend that you do and, at some point, you will.” – Venus Williams
70. “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
71. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
72. “I think I can. I know I can.” – Jennifer Wittwer
73. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder
74. “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
75. “You can’t have a better tomorrow if you’re still thinking about yesterday.” – Charles F. Kettering

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76. “Procrastination makes easy things hard and hard things harder.” — Mason Cooley
77. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
78. “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” – Stephen Covey
79. “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” — John Wooden
80. “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino
81. “A little progress each day adds up to big results.” – Satya Nani
82. “Learning is never done without errors and defeat.” – Vladimir Lenin
83. “Don’t wait for the opportunity. Create it.” – George Bernard Shaw
84. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
85. “A man’s mind, stretched by new ideas, may never return to its original dimensions.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

86. “You cannot change your future, but you can change your habits, and surely your habits will change your future.”– A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
87. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
88. “Skill is only developed by hours and hours of work.” – Usain Bolt
89. “An ounce of patience is worth more than tons of preaching.” – Mahatma Gandhi
90. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
91. “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” — Jennifer Dukes Lee
92. “If you get tired, learn to rest not to quit.” – Banksy
93. “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” —Thomas Jefferson
94. “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” — Victor Hugo
95. “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

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96. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
97. “The more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss
98. “I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.” – Neil Armstrong
99. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstien
100. “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” — Helen Hayes
101. “Never let the fear of striking out stop you from playing the game.” —Babe Ruth
102. “Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein
103. “Instruction ends in the schoolroom, but education ends only with life.” – Frederick W. Robertson
104. “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” – Margaret Fuller
105. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe
106. “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
107. “Everything’s always ending. But everything’s always beginning, too.” – Patrick Ness

Why should I read these motivational quotes for college students?

With the internet overflowing with all sorts of feel-good messages, it’s easy to feel a bit skeptical. But hear me out—these quotes aren’t just your average pep talk.

They’re like little sparks of inspiration that have the power to ignite something magical inside you.

Think about it this way: We all have those moments when we’re knee-deep in deadlines, drowning in textbooks, and feeling like we’re running on empty. It happens to the best of us.

But that’s where these quotes come in handy. They’re like tiny reminders that you’re not alone and that you’ve got what it takes to conquer whatever challenges come your way.

And here’s the thing: they’re not just empty words on a screen. Each of these quotes has a story behind it—a nugget of wisdom that’s been passed down through the ages.

They’ve stood the test of time because they speak to something deep within us: our resilience, our determination, and our unwavering belief in ourselves.

So, if you’re feeling a bit stuck, a bit lost, or just in need of a little pick-me-up, give these quotes a chance. Who knows, they might just be the push you need to keep going when the going gets tough. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

What are your favorite inspirational quotes for college students?