Would I be stupid to apply next year with better grades?

Any differences in future pay or what not will not merit a 6K per year hike in fees you'd have to pay. So to answer your question, yes you would be stupid. And anyways Southampton is a great uni.

If you feel its the right thing to do for your own personal satisfaction I would say do it. Its your life and if you can justify the higher fees then why not?

under normal circumstances, i'd say no it isn't stupid, and in fact, its a great idea. i took a gap year to improve my grades, and because of that, it seems likely that i will be able to go to southampton next year, but it also depends on how you interview, and your grades now. i rolled out of school with BCC, but i'm guessing you did a little better. on my ucas i said i was doing more a-levels, but with my current situation, i got 2 unconditionals, one being bristol, and 2 conditionals, one being BBC from southampton. so even with not-the-best grades, you still can get into pretty good uni's if you have a strong personal statement and perform well in the interview. it also depends on your course some, like medical or science you may need the better grades. your aspirations wont affect your ucas, but your personal choice. i would advise you to, unless your the son/daughter of a millionaire to rule out oxford, cambridge and maybe others like ucl, durham - that kind. lets face it, if you are considering to take a year out to improve your grades, you wont get into ox-bridge this year. and with the fees set to rise next year, if you try to improve, you will likely be priced-out.if your grades are AAB then you stand a good chance for UCL, Bristol and duhram this year, and you will escape the fee rise but you may not have the finances to go next year. If I were you I’d also question Exeter- they recently closed their archaeology unit, so seem unstable. As they are in financial difficulty, they will charge highest fees. Taking all that into account, I wouldn’t attempt to improve. But whatever you do, always have a safety option – a uni that is low budget, or doesn’t require A* across the board in case things go tits up. Hope that helps

Here's me situation. I have an offer for Southampton of AAB. Those were the predicted grades I applied with in January. However, in January I achieved 100% in each exam and now my predicted grades are A*, A*, A. So my question is, after I do my exams, and if I achieve those grades, should I take a year out and apply next year to a better university, such as Oxbridge, Bristol, Durham etc...

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You woud be stupid to do that. I mean, what if you get rejected next year?

ah i see - um, it really depends on your financial situation. i mean, if you will be able to afford it and realistically, you won't be in debt for the rest of your life from it, then it is definitely worth some consideration, but you will have to come from a relatively rich family for it to work. however, on the flip side, it is very risky as you may be priced out of the better uni's, if you don't take your place next year, you may lose southampton completely (or be priced out of there as well). also every year more people cannot get a uni and re-apply the next year, so there will be more competition. if you cant afford oxbridge, then due to the competition, you may lose some of the 'lesser universities' that you later rely on for a place. so you may come out of it with no universities however, this is the worst case scenario and if your grades are as good as you claim this is unlikely. as only you know your family's financial situation. only you can evaluate it if is worth the risk. if you are a medium-income family, i doubt you can afford the extra fees though
just remember, if you do get the grades, and oxbridge and durham do reject you or u can't afford them, you may be left with nothing unless u keep a safety option. southampton is a very good uni, and in some cases i think it is better than oxbridge, even if it doesn't have the name. i dont think it is worth it.