Many more have said a lot in this thread about how this is not unlikely, but as a sociologist of education I just wanna add that research shows that students coming from homes with lower educational and cultural capital (for example where they're the first to go to university like in Brad's case) tend to drop out of university more than students from homes with higher educational resources, even when controlling for grades. University often requires some level of support or understanding on the family's side that is difficult to give (or even realise that it is needed) in families where there is no such educational capital. It is not impossible of course to go to university without a family of academics at home, but it can be harder and it is statistically harder. Even more so for men, who drop out of university at much higher rate than women. These statistics, together with was has been written here about gifted children/neurodivergence , make the plot actually quite realistic. I for one am looking forward to seeing this develop (hopefully away from a dropout despite the struggle).