Deadlines like that are zero-sum games, and so the impact is limited - it shifts around who wins the exams/auditions at a substantial cost (whatever it takes to use the HTC over just living in the real world). On the macro scale, I'm not sure how much it matters at the margin: if someone needs a HTC just to study for an exam...
Deadlines like that are zero-sum games
So is poker, but it doesn't mean there's no point in playing it. (Also, they are only zero-sum if the number of candidates who will pass is fixed in advance.)
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