>The downside is for most of school they're bored out of their mind, and this can develop bad habits for when school eventually catches up to their abilities.

>The downside is for most of school they're bored out of their mind, and this can develop bad habits for when school eventually catches up to their abilities. This is something that I noticed as a significant problem when living in the freshman dorms during undergrad. You had a lot of smart kids who spent most of the school day bored, and they spend most of the school day reading novels in class before going home to spend 40+ hours a week playing video games or browsing reddit, all while maintaining perfect grades and never having to ask for help from teachers or peers. Then, they get to college where they encounter material that actually challenges them, but they're still in the habit of spending the hours of 3 PM to 11 PM playing World of Warcraft or League of Legends, and when they start falling behind they're still in the mindset of "I'm the smart kid, I shouldn't need to ask for help." You have kids who were high school valedictorians who end up failing classes during undergrad because they never learned how to properly function in a challenging academic environment. It can be quite a shock to transition from an environment where you might be in the 99th percentile of performers (top marks without having to try hard) to be one where you may not even be in the top 50% and actually need to put in more effort than your peers.