So, I was a gifted kid and the pressure was intense. I went to a high school for gifted kids and here's some true facts about the experience there:
There was a test to get in. Lots of kids were forced to take classes to prep for the test by parents.
Once in, if your GPA fell below 3.0 you got kicked out.
They did not rank students because it caused so much stress.
An A was 94% and up. 90%-93% was a B+
It was scandalous when a couple kids my senior year didn't get into any colleges they applied to.
Extracurricular activities were baked into the school day and required.
Most students took summer school to take more classes. (Including me)
It was intense. And massively stressful. I got into every college I applied to, including very prestigious ones.
College was easier than high school. I still had a mental breakdown though and took a leave of absence from college.
I'm mentally well these days, but way too much pressure is put on gifted kids. I'm so disciplined and motivated that under that type of pressure I spent every minute working to learn/do better.
I'm still disciplined and motivated and am doing well in life. I just focus my motivation on hobbies and have to actively focus to not stress myself because I could have, say, put a puzzle together faster.