School attended, Qur'anic education attendance, fathers' occupation, and some aspects of teachers' classroom actions make a difference for the adult life of the former learners. This paper presents findings from a longitudinal study of the career and life situations of Senegalese individuals who were of school age in the beginning of the 1980s. Data was collected on teacher ratings and predictions of school success as well as absenteeism during the academic year 1980/1981. In a follow up study in 1999/2000 the individuals were 25-32 years old and they were interviewed and tested on a simple life-skills test.