Bear in mind that the minimum hours were set to cater for the Genius ace from space who was born to fly, and who does a lesson or two every day. He/she is at the absolute top end of the bell curve of populations. 98% of the world's people reside below this person.
Therefore, do not plan on getting through on the minima. An average person will take the averge time, 10 or 15 hours more than the genius. I flew with a retired airine pilot, 20,000 hrs+, who owned his own H500 and had 700 hours on a private licence. He was UNABLE to meet commercial standards and gave up.
Another student pilot was a successful lawyer (and therefore perhaps not too stupid) and he took 70 hours to go solo.
So, don't blame the schools for having bad instructors or for being greedy, just because you aren't in the top 2% of the world and passed your test in the minimum hours. They will put you up for a test WHEN YOU ARE READY FOR IT. Any Chief Flying Instructor who does less is not performing his duties correctly.
