OP here. I think this thread has been great and has generated lots of wonderful stories. I want to explain that in this case, the worry was not about getting into a specific school or jealousy of others’ achievements. It isn’t about thinking regular people can’t be happy or do good for others. Its hard to describe exactly since I’m interpreting for someone else, but I think some of it the fear of starting out behind. When kids are taking 3 years of college math in high school, along with AP everything else, how does she catch up?
AND then there is the fear that if there are so many truly brilliant people out there, what contribution can a regular kid make – not to the world, or to her community or family – but to science. (I’m going to keep the exact goal vague for confidentiality reasons.)
Why would any lab or academic department want a “regular” hard working kid when they can have geniuses working for them. And if a regular kid were able to find their way into a lab or academic department, what could she hope to achieve next to those extraordinarily gifted kids.
I think this thread has done a good job of answering that question, but I love the stories so if you have them, keep them coming.