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78 Expected And Surprising Life Paths The Smartest Kids In Their Class Took After Finishing School
Every high school had that one kid everyone was convinced would go far. They barely seemed to break a sweat over exams, had teachers singing their praises, and looked like they already had their future mapped out while everyone else was still figuring out what they wanted for lunch.
We found stories from former classmates who looked back and learned what became of the kids they once thought had the world at their feet. Grab a snack and scroll down to see how some of these high school stars turned out.
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#1
He was one of the smartest in a lot of my classes growing up for a few years until grade 11. Unfortunately he had a younger brother who was a bonafide genius. Like iq over 150 kind of genius. He was also from a typical asian family who expected him to be a doctor or lawyer. Unfortunately in their high expectations they constantly compared the two and he always fell short to his younger brother. Parents would pressure him often and constantly make him feel inferior.
I remember he came back in grade 11 after the summer and was suddenly completely goth, black lipstick, eyeshadow, choker, the whole deal.
I haven’t seen him in a long time but last i heard he first tried for medical school but eventually dropped out. He did graduate from a good college and became your typical office worker but struggled to hold down any particular career and has yet to have been in a relationship at the age of 39. Constant pressure and comparison to his younger brother absolutely shattered his self confidence and self worth.
If you’re a parent, please do not do this to your child.
Senjo Krane 5 hours ago
This is so wrong but happens so often. Every child has their own unique abilities and need to be praised for their own value, not their siblings.
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#2
A guy who never studied, slept through calculus, and casually won state science fairs without trying. We all assumed he’d end up working at NASA or CERN. Instead, he figured out how search engine algorithms worked in the late 2000s, built a hyper-specific digital marketing empire, and retired to Spain before turning 30.
#3
The top student was a quiet AP and science competition star. Now she works as a computational biotech research scientist, focused on disease research, living modestly.
KitchenToto 6 hours ago
Good career choice to help people rather than just make lots of money. A real hero
Think back to your high school days, and there was probably one student who always seemed to have things figured out academically. They could walk into a test looking completely relaxed and walk out with one of the highest scores in the class.
Everyone knew they were smart, and it was safe to assume that someone who stood out that much at school would go on to do something just as impressive.
#4
Girl who wanted to be a brain surgeon. She is now a double Ivy League grad and a brain surgeon. 🤷♀️.
#5
Had 8 kids and keeps messaging me about buying essential oils. I swore she could have become the president but nope, just an MLM mom.
#6
Buddy of mine, highschool valedictorian, brilliant kid. Went to a fairly prestigious university, got a bio degree, ended up teaching chemistry at our old highschool.
Being academically gifted does not automatically tell you what someone will do with their life. Someone can be great at solving equations, writing essays, or memorizing things from a textbook and still have no idea what kind of life they want.
School rewards certain abilities, while real life demands a much wider mix of skills, interests, experience, and choices.
#7
Two stood out (both got perfect scores in their VCE - Australia), and they're both surgeons (colorectal and neuro). Both have made a fortune in private practice whilst also keeping plenty of public hours. Good humans.
#8
She got a full life scholarship to Duke. She also graduated a year early. She went to college for one year, dropped out, and now she makes sandwiches at a coffee shop.
#9
Girl came first in EVERY course - seemingly without trying. English - 1st, Math - 1st, Latin - 1st.
Was also the first to be mentally sectioned and not heard of since. (Sectioning is involuntary admission to the psych ward in the uk.)
A study that followed students from Grade 8 to Grade 10 found that their career planning changed as they got older, with confidence and early work experience playing a role.
Figuring out what you want as an adult can take time. What someone thinks they want in high school may look very different years later, once they have had more time to learn what they actually enjoy and what they are good at.
#10
Friend of mine. Never studied, slept through most classes and aced every exam in school. Got an advanced scholarship to MIT, got bored in a year because he finished all the courses on his own. Dropped out, became a mixologist and bartender for a while. Got bored and is now a certified skydiving instructor and jumps out of planes every day. Legend.
#11
My sister. Skipped 4th grade and joined my class in 5th grade( we’re one year apart by age). Graduated valedictorian of our highschool at 17 with a gpa of like 4.5 or something crazy like that, graduated undergrad at 19, grad school at 21, and is working on her PHD soon so she can be a professor. She’s 24 now and absolutely winning it!
As someone who was undiagnosed ADHD most of my life and struggled in school, it wasn’t always fun having a genius for a sister. But man, was she the best teacher and friend. I remember she would help with my highschool algebra and vocab quizzes. I could brag about her any day, I’m so proud of her.
#12
Valedictorian, lived next to me for several years in college. Talked about investing in bitcoin in 2009 but not sure if he did, became a software engineer for an oil drilling company. Rich as hell.
The subjects a student seems passionate about in school may not interest them forever. A study of more than 7,800 children in England found that many changed their science-related career plans between the ages of 11 and 14.
As students grow and are exposed to new subjects and experiences, what they enjoy can change too.
#13
She teaches piano and plays piano for her church choir. She was also on Jeopardy and won like five days in a row.
#14
My best friend. Dude never had to study or read stuff on the topics. He had a photographic memory. He made like the highest you can make on the ACT. Got a full ride to college. Dropped out after a few semesters because he wouldn’t go to class and didn’t want to do more school. Passed away in some sort of work accident at a super young age.
#15
Valedictorian became a corporate lawyer. He seems to be doing well, makes bank.
Now, one of my colleagues mentioned their valedictorian skipped college, moved to some Caribbean island and sells fruit on a beach or something.
Being known as the smart kid comes with a lot of expectations from family and basically everyone around you. When everyone keeps telling you that you are going to do something big, it can feel like there is a certain path you are supposed to follow.
And if you choose something different, you might start wondering if you are wasting your potential or letting everyone down.
#16
I will say this guy was legitimately extremely smart, but those of us in class with him could never quite figure out if he was as smart as everyone thought he was.
He was legitimately the top student in grade 9 and 10. In grade 11 and 12 he was on every committee at school and a few sports teams, and was given permission to do a bunch of random stuff in the community as well. He was never, ever in class but somehow always had high 90s grades. It didn't make sense to some of us, he never had to do the group projects (his extra curriculars were always accommodated) and even though the rest of us were held to an attendance standard thr school admin turned a blind eye. We always felt like he could smooth talk any teacher into giving him accomodation on an exam or a break on an assignment - the school got good publicity too from him being such a prolific volunteer.
I was on the yearbook committee with him, but here's the thing, he'd show up and give a great inspirational speech to the rest of us to keep working hard and that we were doing great, but would never actually contribute anything meaningful in terms of output.
He was our valedictorian and won a full ride scholarship to one of the best universities in the world. They gave out only a few of these per year.
He showed up to university and tried the same stuff - signing up for extra curriculars, volunteering, and trying to smooth talk the profs and admin out of attending class and doing work. Obviously didn't work out for him and he flamed out spectacularly.
I've fallen out of touch with him but last I heard he tried another come back at a less prestigious university but failed out again. He took a low level clerical role and at least according to LinkedIn has not really had much in the way of progressions / career advancement.
In retrospect I think he just halo effected hard. Everyone was caught up with a charming, athletic, intelligent young man. Everyone thought he was destined for greatness. But he never actually did much work or output anything and I think that caught up to him as an adult.
#17
One is an OB GYN.
Other has two degrees from two Ivy's. He is dependent on gambling and alcohol. Yet he has managed to hold down a six figure job.
Edit, In high school, thought two Ivys was a "good catch". I read through his divorce records. Multiple DWIs, $50,000 in debt to Casinos. I was so wrong.
#18
Harvard, MIT, Oxford, taught mathematics at Harvard for a bit, and is now a tenured professor of mathematics at Boston University. Won national Math Olympiads even back in grade school, got a letter from President Clinton. According to her wiki (haven't talked in over a decade but we still have common friends), she led a team in her 20's or early 30's in solving some incredibly difficult equation.
She was telling me even back in junior high that she wanted to be a mathematician and develop theorems, which I thought was weird. I just said I wanted to be rich lol
I greatly respect her, she actually seems to be doing something that's advancing collective human understanding in the math and sciences which is really cool. I was in the same classes as her, but the gap between her and the rest of the class was fairly apparent. I actually told my parents I could never be valedictorian... like that was a statistical impossibility, and they understood lol. She's likely the most gifted academic our locality has ever produced and likely will produce for decades.
The 2nd smartest was actually a close friend back in high school. He was a "cool" kid, girls, was pretty good in sports. I actually don't know how he's doing at this point, but he wasn't doing too well last I checked, just getting high and on retail jobs. His standardized test scores were high enough that Stanford even contacted him. His family was really poor. It's one of the few friend's houses I went to where I recoiled a bit by the stench. He at least had the potential but yeah... sad story.
Having people expect great things from you does not mean you have to follow the script they wrote for you. A student everyone thinks will become a doctor might discover they would rather build a business, work in the arts, or do something completely different.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do is build a life that actually feels right for you instead of trying to live up to everyone else’s expectations.
#19
He's a chicken farmer in Canada and if you know anything about chicken farming in Canada, you know it's a license to print money.
#20
One of my friends graduated top of the class scored extremely high on ACT/SAT, voted most likely to succeed, received a full ride to a great school then flunked out after a year. He just partied too much. I think he is a delivery driver now.
I was the complete opposite, partied a lot in high school didn’t really take class serious, scored below average on the ACT. I got my life together in college (still had a lot of fun though, just with discipline) I’m a physician now.
#21
Our valedictorian. For the rehearsal for our graduation none of us knew who the hell he was. He was this tall lanky Indian kid with glasses. It turns out he graduated mid term to start college early and came back just for the graduation. He's now a math professor at Harvard. For a small rural high school of idiots I'd say that's pretty good.
There is a big difference between knowing what you are good at and knowing what to do with it. Research on high school career planning has found that confidence and early work experience can shape how young people explore their career options.
Having someone in the real world to guide you, or getting a chance to see what a job is actually like, can give you information that sitting in a classroom cannot. That kind of exposure can set someone up for success later in life.
#22
Valedictorian. She went to college to become an elementary school teacher and graduated in 3 years and Suda Cum Laude. She married some average dude, guess she thought he was a good human or something. They adopted a baby with special needs and she is set to become the Director of Special Needs at a local not-for-profit. She also published a successful children's book and has written two adult books. She's currently trying to get published.
My wife is pretty great.
#23
For me it was a guy who flew under the radar and was incredibly brilliant. In high school, he programmed Zelda into his Texas Instruments graphing calculator played it during lunch. He is now a ranking member of the U.S. Army.
#24
Crashed out after high school due to expectations didn’t do any further study and now works as a yoga teacher. I think she’s happy.
The student everyone thought was headed for some huge, glamorous career might end up doing something completely simple and different and end up loving it.
Meanwhile, someone who was never the obvious academic star could build an impressive career in a field nobody saw coming. A report card can tell you how someone did in school, but it cannot tell you what they will choose to pursue or where that choice will take them years later.
#25
My high school's valedictorian randomly called me a few months ago and said he was driving across the country and wanted to see me (I've moved thousands of miles from my hometown). He showed up smelling like he hadn't showered in months and was slurring his words like he was on something. He burnt out at his high paying tech job and then had just been doing nothing and driving around aimlessly for 9 months.
#26
Went to an esteemed private university with full scholarship and got his chemical engineering degree. I’m attending his wedding tomorrow.
#27
One of my best friends, graduated top of our class and got a perfect score on his ACT. Got the national merit scholarship. Instead of going to college for biomed right after high school like he had planned, went on a 2 year mission trip to Jamaica and went into the nonprofit world as soon as he got home.
Life has a funny way of working out, especially in our uncertain world. Sometimes things go pretty much as expected, and other times, one decision, opportunity, or twist can send someone in a completely different direction.
Which of these stories had the wildest plot twist, and what happened to the brilliant kid in your own class? Tell us in the comments.
#28
It was me. I went to the big name school, ran the corporate rat race, burned out big time, and bailed on it all. I'm a stay-at-home parent now, which is even more exhausting than corporate America in many ways, but at least when my bosses ask me to wipe their asses, it's because I'm actually supposed to. Nobody from high school has heard from me since I left town unless they happen to be working at the grocery store or coffee shop when I go home to visit my parents every half decade or so.
#30
He became a billionaire at 20 for founding an AI company and also ended up being roommates with Sam Altman during the pandemic. He was a jerk in high school.
#31
She went to Duke. Graduated and went to UNC school of medicine. Then went to Harvard. Graduated and is now a researcher doing things many, many, many times beyond my I.Q. level.
She was so kind to me over the years and we had a brief crush on each other in middle school. But she’s happily married with kids and I’m so proud to say I know her. She’s an amazing human being.
#33
I never thought about it. I just checked and he’s doing B2B marketing today, after graduating from the best Engineering school in the country. He’s doing good, but kind of a pity that he didn’t do more. I also checked the guy who had to repeat Senior year due to video gaming obsession. He got a PhD from Princeton and is now a University Professor. Happy for him! .
#34
Smartest guy, nicest guy, and a helluva basketball player. Doing quite well in the Chicago suburbs.
#35
Allegedly myself - was valedictorian and got into a program for my major at the top university for that major that only accepts 100 students a year. Got my PhD and now I’m so incredibly burnt out and have zero ambition left in me and just want to escape from my very mediocre career and open a cafe on a beach somewhere 🙃.
#36
Stephanie was our class valedictorian. I went to elementary school with her as well. She was very quiet and shy. She apparently blossomed into an outgoing person in college. She is now a pediatrician. We are Facebook friends and chat every once in a while.
#37
She left her wall street job to focus on her social media presence after going viral on posts about financial literacy - now I see her in commercials and interviews! She definitely had the brains and drive, so it's well deserved and not a big surprise haha.
#38
Me. Diagnosed as "gifted" but was never diagnosed with depression, ADHD, and anxiety at the time as I should have been (those diagnoses came much, much later). Instead of doing something I enjoyed, I pursued a STEM degree because I figured I was capable. I soon discovered I was wrong; I never needed study skills in high school so I never developed them. Earned my degree by the skin of my teeth, ended up with a job I was not passionate about, got laid off from said job when work was outsourced overseas, and now I'm chronically underemployed and broke as a joke, because my neurodivergence makes finding a job difficult.
#39
There was this guy who was unbelievably good at literally every class, top of the class, top of the whole school even, and everyone thought he was going to go to engineering or something like that because it's the thing everyone expects from super smart people but he went and studied linguistics, last i heard he is fluid in 3 languages and is traveling the world.
#40
Went to Harvard. Accomplished a lot of things. Is probably famous in his niche technical field but is not a household famous name.
#41
Moderately successful commercial insurance agent that wasted a lot of time early in his life. Type of kid that fell asleep during the ACT after partying the night before and still scored in the 30s. Dropped out of college despite full ride + a stipend, bounced around jobs with nothing steady or promising due to depression and ADHD he never actually got under control until later on life.
#42
His name was Brandon Gomes. Out of high school he went to work with a particle accelerator. Then he suddenly vanished and was never seen again, still missing to this day. You can google his name.
#43
The guy who was always at the top of our class, like you could pretty much guarantee his name would be number one. Sadly, his parents couldn’t afford to send him to college, so now he’s working at a convenience store.
#44
Had a classmate who was our valedictorian. She was crazy smart and everyone thought she’d be super successful. Last I heard, she’s in a mental health facility because the pressure and reality of life got to her. She didn’t even finish college. Kinda crazy how life turns out—she was literally the last person I expected to struggle like that.
#45
Ours was the kind of kid everyone assumed would cure cancer. Last I heard, he’s working a completely ordinary office job and seems perfectly happy.
#46
Valedictorian went to Harvard, got a PhD in chemistry, and is now a machine learning engineer in robotics.
Salutatorian went to Stanford, then medical school, and is now a doctor.
The rest of the top of my class all did well. A few doctors, one leads an economic think tank, plenty of engineers, a few lawyers, and a few in financial services. One guy a few years under me really hit it big and is one of the co founders of a household name food tech company, he’s a retired billionaire now.
#47
We had twin sisters who were valedictorian and another guy who was salutatorian. They were the smartest people without a doubt, although there were a few who weren't far behind.
The sisters live on opposite sides of the country and one became an attorney and focuses on environmental law. The other sister got a few degrees related to microbiology and does something along those lines. The guy who came in third is a mathematics professor and specializes in probabilistic combinatorics and something else.
#48
He got into Yale but not Harvard, went to Yale and then to Harvard for Law School to just rub it in their face. Lived in Hong Kong and NYC working for a high level Capital Firm doing amazingly well. Then one day he suddenly passed away. Married, 2 kids. I guess the stress of the job, but heck, way too young. He was doing so amazingly well for himself. Very sad to hear about all of it.
#50
Here's a rundown on the smartest people in my high school graduating class of approximately 350 students.
*1 had a nervous breakdown freshman year in college, got married soon thereafter, and sank from sight.
*2 are deceased.
*11 graduated college and have/had successful, meaningful careers in various fields.
*1 earned a law degree and became a Republican legislator. In other words, wasted her talents.
*3 earned doctorates and are now practicing medicine, teaching classics, and studying astronomy, respectively.
*1 earned a doctorate and is now working in government.
*5 earned professional certifications and have meaningful careers, mainly in the legal and medical professions.
*2 dropped out of college and are now pursuing meaningful careers in non-traditional occupations.
*5 finished college and are now pursuing meaningful careers in non-traditional occupations.
*2 vanished.
*1 pursued a career in TV writing/directing/showrunning and recently married a supermodel/actress.
*Too many to count thought they were hot shots, went to a state university, and graduated but never lived up to their potential.
I am one of the above who beat the odds and succeeded despite generally low peer expectations.
#53
Her name was Janine and last I heard, she was going to Stanford University. I haven't kept track of her since then but if I recall correctly, she was going into a science field.
#55
He graduated from a top state school and wanted to be a Navy Seal, but during the candidate school / training he developed psychosis and was dropped from the program.
His psychosis led to him making some serious threats in Twitter and is now facing 5-10 years of jail.
#56
Worked for a hedge fund out of college and bought bitcoin early. Got fired from his hedge fund, and became a crypto coin advisor for banks and funds. He gets paid like a hundred thousand dollars to come and give a multiday presentation to some entity and then takes weeks off and does it again. He's got a small office in silicon valley with a bunch of people making charts and graphs and he can pick them up pretty quickly, but mostly he just spends time with his kids.
#58
Valedictorian became a journalist
Salutatorian got an engineering PhD super smart woman
#3 was me. I’m just a regular old engineer.
#59
A friend of mine, he is not just smart, he also has good social skill. He only has bachelor degree from one of the most reputable university in my country. He is now working for an international company, married, one kid, has a good life from my perspective.
#60
She became a really great surgeon with a beautiful family. Brains and beauty.
Another guy went to MIT, top scorer and all, accepted into a really prestigious job. Quit a couple years later and became a motivational speaker. Albeit a not very successful one.
#61
Had a perfect score on the SAT in 7th Grade.
Full ride to Stanford.
Was an executive for Apple and Google in a span of 10-15 years after graduating college.
I went to one of the highest achieving schools in the country, but she was on a completely different level than everyone else. It was fascinating.
#62
The top student two classes in front of me proclaimed they were going to medical school. They’re a drag queen now.
#63
He developed schizophrenia while in college, dropped out, and now lives with his parents who care for him.
#64
He was one of my best friends, absolutely brilliant at every subject. He decided to study History and later specialized in Asian History. He worked at a local museum before his PhD.
I’m not sure what he’s doing now, which is a sign that I should probably reach out. Miss him a lot.
#65
Valedictorian. Scientific genius. Passed away a few years ago because of cancer. He didn't even finish his degree that he got a full scholarship with.
#66
Dropped out of college. Discharged from the army for mental health issues. On the registry for repeated public exhibitionsim that started in his 20s and has persisted over 20 years. Never held more than minimum wage food service jobs. Probably unemployed or barely employed for past 20 years. Was homeless and living in shelters (or in jail) for at least the past 20 years. Now has an apartment in a lousy town. Each year, a new picture of him appears on the registry page. Sad to see his decline. His crimes are abhorrent, but before that, he was a brilliant and actually nice person.
#68
I don’t know if I was the smartest, but I was the top student and now I’m in medical school.
#70
Two girls who were super competitive. Used to cry for missing even one mark, during 5,6,7,8 grades.
Always the toppers.
We all thought they will become very famous doctors or scientists.
For the 11th and 12th grades they both went to a top private school in the region while most of all studied in Aided or government schools.
Something happened there or after their 12th.
Nobody heard from them as much as we thought we would, especially after their 12th grade, being atleast district toppers or such.
One of them as far as we know , works in a local bank, as a regular bank employee. No idea about what the other person is doing.
They didn’t show up for school reunion.
I met one of them while walking by the road. I smiled at her but she didn’t even recognise me.
So sort of crashed from their great trajectory and promise they showed during the school days.
On the other hand, the so called academic laggards from school are doing pretty well socially, financially and is super active still in school WhatsApp groups.
I am kind of a middle in all of this. .
#71
He is a cardiologist, sadly his dad said “my son’s will always be doctors” so I don’t think he had much of a choice. I remember he got in trouble for getting a B+ in a college math course while he was a sophomore in high school.
#72
My high school class was huge. Lots of high performing kids.
A few went to Harvard, more to other Ivy Leagues. A lot went to Stanford and Berkeley because they’re kinda local.
Some made it in law, tech, or other ventures. Some are deceased, in prison, or disappeared. I met one guy on a pre-bid walk for a construction project. He had joined the military and then bounced from job to job around the country because he could never get on his feet after the ‘08 crash like many of us. Doing ok. I saw a girl I used to like was in some Netflix pilots, but her acting career never went anywhere.
I figured out something recently. Something about intelligence that has bugged me for a very long time. I was bored and waiting for my kid to finish a class, so I downloaded a puzzle game. I had an idea of a set of rules for how to complete the puzzles, but then I started clearing them in seconds. I switched to the hardest puzzles and I could just see the solutions without much time or effort. I’ve always been a deliberative type, so this flow state was a rare experience for me.
Is this what it’s like for the smart kids? They learn the outline in class and then start blowing through all the problems until they get to the more advanced material? And they don’t often need to really think about it? I think maybe someone can have too much inner world and it holds them back, while some other people have fewer distractions. I don’t know.
Intelligence is not simple. You don’t have a smartest and dumbest in your class. Only performance and outcomes. A lot of people just aren’t where they need to be, or aren’t getting what they need, because our world is built for one narrow type of person and even many of those fail as they grow up and fall out of the favored mould. There are so many ways to not be the “smart kid” and so few to get yourself into a place where you can perform.
#73
There were two people in my high school who both were pretty much equal in terms of academic performance. One went to Columbia University and later became a teacher. The other went to UC Berkeley and did comedy.
#75
She was this math genius and was taking classes at MIT while we were all learning calc. Last time I checked, she is currently navigating supervised release after serving some time in federal prison. She was in the news a few years ago (there were reporters at our 10 year high school reunion actually) for helping her ex-boyfriend "accidentally" misplace $8 billion in customer funds at their cryptocurrency trading firms. She got a reduced sentence for serving as a star witness against her ex in the federal case.
#76
There was this one girl who barely spoke in class but always scored perfect on everything. Last I heard she became a professor at some Ivy League school. Kinda wild how some people just keep climbing while others plateau right after graduation.
#77
We graduated HS in 1997. She graduated valedictorian. She went off to college with a full ride. Came back home for Thanksgiving 97. Hung herself from the ceiling fan in her old bedroom. We all have our theories but we think she let her grades slide after moving the violent lifestyle. And her strict Indian American parents didn't approve.
#78
Our valedictorian was a Filipino girl. She became a nurse... and ended up married a rich Jewish doctor.
So she's doing well!
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