Resit or go uni???

Predicted A*A*A for a levels, firmed LSE, but got ABC and lost my offer. Unsure on whether I go to queen’s university in Belfast for economics or I should resit and reapply to better unis. I had extenuating circumstances during exam season that explain the drop in grades, but i’m unsure if the universities I want to apply to (LSE, UCL, St Andrews, Exeter, Manchester [and potentially Oxford or Cambridge]) really take this into consideration. I don’t want to regret going to a worse university, but I also don’t know if a gap year to retake will be 100% worth it (although I know that my grades will definitely increase) - any advice?

Queens is an RG university and is a lovely campus university. There is no shame in saying you studied Economics at Queens. I agree with your assumption that the top tier unis like LSE or Oxbridge will not look kindly on someone resitting. Thus, you could end up resitting and getting improved grades but end up at a second-tier uni no better than Queens. Bird in hand . . .

The place you do your degree doesn't matter, so if you like QUB and think you can thrive there there's no reason to not go there. If you think that QUB isn't for you, then it's worth taking a gap year and resitting exams if you wish!

Queens is an RG university and is a lovely campus university. There is no shame in saying you studied Economics at Queens. I agree with your assumption that the top tier unis like LSE or Oxbridge will not look kindly on someone resitting. Thus, you could end up resitting and getting improved grades but end up at a second-tier uni no better than Queens. Bird in hand . . .

Oh I didn’t know that the uni didn’t matter! Even though it’s ranked low for economics do you think it’ll still be worth it?