Hey!
I've applied for Bolton as my first choice too... Loved the whole open day experience!
From what I hear Bolton is one of the universities that kind of flies under the radar. In terms of your choices, have you considered Birmingham City University (BCU) for a criminology degree?
I went to their open day a week ago and the university itself seems pretty good! the only bit that put me off was the price of accommodation but it's something you should look into!
I think we may be in a similar situation in regards to A-levels and UCAS results, I dropped out of college after my first year and came away with E grades in 3 AS levels, however I went onto study an AAT course (this is for accountancy) and have been told that I stand a good chance of being accepted by uni's (to date I have conditional offers from Chester, Keele & BCU.
I've heard a few bad things about Bolton as well but maybe the best way to think of it is "it is what you make of it". the accommodation prices at Bolton aren't too bad, everything is relatively close together. Also, from what I gather a lot of the lecturers have a good amount of working knowledge, this could help you get placements and potentially set you on the path of a career.
This probably didn't help at all, but figured I'd put my 50pence in on the situation!
Good luck for the future, Maybe I'll see you around Bolton Uni!
Jack.