In the QA Kazuki-sensei said that someone who has a not omni-elemental schtappe can still pray at the shrines in the Royal Academy and that it would improve the schtappe, but only for the elements it already has.
That means there is hope for Hildebrand. He won't be able to make it omni-elemental, but he at least won't be stuck with his schtappe's current child-like capacity, but will be able to improve it to at least a certain degree, maybe even to what it would have been like, had he gotten it at his graduation. So while he will never be a Zent candidate, he might at least be able to not be handicapped by a schtappe that can't handle his mana capacity... assuming someone tells him about this, or he finds out himself in some way.
And it's also good news (or again, would be if they knew) for those that got their schtappe in their first or third year.