when 8 As are not enough

I have read a reply in the Straits Times forum by Choo Lee See, Director of PSC Secretariat. She said that students vying for PSC scholarships should have 11 or more subjects (at presumably O levels).

When 8 As are more than adequate, I thought it would be better for the bright students to spend their times exploring the stars or some other interests, maybe smelling the roses, instead of chasing