Big A-Level Resit & Uni firm dilemma

I’m a third year returning A level student (a retread as they call it) taking Business, Graphics Communication and Economics looking to do Business in Uni. I returned because I failed to get into a preferred uni in 2023 and didn’t know about foundation courses at the time.

I’ve received conditional offers from Cardiff (ABB) and Manchester (ABB but BBB if firmed). I personally prefer Cardiff because it’s only about 40 mins away and Manchester is far away and I’m very unfamiliar with it. However here’s the dilemma:

I currently have a C in Economics but I have the option to either
a) drop Economics and keep the C but aim to get two A’s in Business and Graphics which is manageable as I am on track towards that atm.
b) resit both year 1 & year 2 of Economics this summer (4 units) to aim for a B

I talked to my teachers and they said option A is easier if I wanted Manchester but option B is the route to take for Cardiff. However, I prefer option A yet I’d like to go to Cardiff instead, but keep Manchester’s BBB offer if things don’t go right.

What should I do?

Talk to Cardiff about what would happen if you got AAC or ABC against their ABB offer.

They might be able to reassure you.

You’ve got lots of time to think about this (and visit Manchester in person to see what you think)

Thanks for the response. That’s a good idea I’ve contacted Cardiff now to enquire whether I could get away with AAC or ABC. In this situation which option would you go with?

And unfortunately I don’t have much time to decide whether I’d like to resit or not, the decision has to be in by the end of the week.

Ahhh - could you enter yourself for the resit for now but just decide to half-arse it (or withdraw) later on? Worse case scenario you can go into the exam with no preparation and draw pictures and you'll still have your C grade from last year - it's just the cost of the exam entry that might feel like a waste (but then it gives you some thinking time so could be a good investment!)

It's pretty common for universities to have flexibility to go one or 2 grades below an offer in August - there's no guarantees (and Cardiff won't be able to guarantee it) but usually admissions staff will be willing to let you know if a course will normally have some flexibility.