Social intelligence and popularity are surprisingly more important than grades and smarts. The smart ones might be able to secure a good medical or technology job but the popular ones can get connections and weasel their way up the corporate ladder. If you're good with people, you're destined for an easy CEO or spokesman position.
They're also usually the happiest of the two groups
I have an excellent social life but the way things are over here is a bit different, the popular crowd are throwing their lives away by becoming violent, having love and constantly causing fights over very silly things. I know various girls in my year/grade who will perform loveual acts at parties. In terms of my social life I have a good group of friends and we know many other people and get a long very well. I also have a lot of social intelligence as I go to many social clubs outside of school and I also go to cadets, I met my girlfriend through a friend at cadets and this is where it's led me to. So you are 100% correct on that depending on where you live and how the school is