This year the early study program in Austria is celebrating its 15 years anniversary. Since then more than 300 pupils in Austria have had the opportunity to enroll at university and take courses while still attending school. This academic acceleration and enrichment program was initiated by both the former Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture (BMUKK) and the Austrian Research and Support Center for the Gifted and Talented (ÖZBF). The program intends to provide gifted pupils with the opportunity to enrich their high school experience and to help them supplement, not supplant, their academic endeavors. Following graduation from school, pupils receive full credits for completed courses as soon as they enroll as full-time students at a university. However, even though the number of universities and colleges that support this program is increasing, the number of participating pupils has been stagnating at a rather low level when compared to e.g. German program participation rates. A recent evaluation of the program assessed the causes for this development. Here, all 71 pupils currently participating in the program were surveyed in an online questionnaire (response rate = 74 %). Results indicated room for improvement regarding the awareness of the program, especially on school level. Only a minority of the participants had knowledge about the program through information provided by their school teachers or headmasters. Moreover, some pupils reported disapproval and poor support on the part of their teachers. These and other results of the evaluation are discussed in comparison to evaluation findings from programs in other countries. On this basis, key factors for success or failure of early study programs are summarized and the implementation possibilities of these factors on both school and university level are discussed.