Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-10390252-20130728185452/@comment-10390252-20140502070421

I suppose at least some of what happened in Forever Fall was psychological. For the initiatition test, they would have psyched themselves up and been completely mentally and emotionally ready to face anything head on. During their little jaunt into Forever Fall, they were relaxed and maybe a little sloppy. They weren't expecting trouble beyond having to offer Jaune some negative reinforcement so when a Giant Ursa turned up, they panicked.

That's probably the long-term reason why they're likely to flunk if they don't have a major change of heart - They can't meet Professor Port's criteria for a Hunter to 'stay vigilant'.