I agree that it happens and that when it does, smart, curious kids find ways to challenge themselves. My S for instance ended up at a pretty non-academic conservatory setting (honors student, 5th in class, very good but not Ivy-level SATs) and essentially AP’d out of his academic requirements. Last time I talked to him, he was working on three different plays, trying to figure out which one to finish in time to submit to that Phillip Seymour Hoffman contest. So don’t assume your kid will stop using his/her brain just because he/she doesn’t end up at Yale or similar.