The first solo has changed a lot over the years, olden days it wasn't unheard of to solo with 3 hours. When I learnt about 10 hours was the norm, now 20? When I learnt the instructors were hour building for airlines and not interested in in the students progress, one of mine used to read a book and smoke most of my training. It's also common now to milk the student all you can, 40 or 50 hours before solo is also common. As usual there has to be a middle road, find a career instructor who cares about the job rather than just adding hours and maximizing the flight school income. Are they still around?
Solo is a step in many towards gaining a license, an important one yes but just another step.