We did not have much luck with this with D15 until she linked up online with a group of gifted teens through the Cogito website a few years ago. Then all of a sudden she was crazy to "catch up" with them. She also went to THINK last summer, and has definitely been more motivated in school this year (she wants to go to college with "smart kids", and has figured out that good grades are key to that). So (if you can find "peers" smile ), some peer pressure can be useful.