Let me clear you on this, the percentile depends on year to year. For IGCSE the percentile will be high, because there are sooooooo many people taking the course, an Astar here should be equivalent now as it was 25 years ago. So the percentiles change, its not always 5 percent, or 10. For bio, it goes all the way to 25%, so it depends, because of the number of people taking the course. See, the quota is not always dependant on the number, becasue some batches are extremely brilliant, but 3 lots of batches compete for the same job market. So the people have to be very carefeul on the percentile.
Just between you and me, an Astar in the Cambridge system is worth just a wee bit more than that in Edexcel.
And like i said, the best of the best on pen and paper is not always the best of the best on the field. Nerdy people who have no flair or passion for business or cannot be self motivated to believe in their ideas will never do well in the real world. An examination shows how much effort you put in, but it simply scratches the surface of testing what you really are.
Thats y wen u go to uni, they see so much.
1. Academics----Duh, its gotta be worth something
2. Extra curricular-----what do u do other than sit on a couch or table studying or watching tv??
3. Initiative----are you ready to step into uncertainty, simply believing in yourself??
4. Application essay---your passion
5. The interview, most important, tests everything.