For people pursuing personal growth rather than a starry transcript, challenging tests are more like "lifting to failure" or "grinding the boss on hard mode" th

For people pursuing personal growth rather than a starry transcript, challenging tests are more like "lifting to failure" or "grinding the boss on hard mode" than hazing. But on the other hand, yeah, for fragile egos and given the very high stakes associated with one's transcript, not everyone is there to get good and it can absolutely be devastating to never ace tests like you did in earlier years. Different programs/eductators may have more sympathy for one group than the other, but there's no viciousness involved.