Not another Oxbridge decision post...

Hi! I’m sorry to fill this thread with another one of these questions but believe me, I have been agonizing over this for months now, and I really need to be able to talk about it with people. Quick context; I’m both an international student and potentially a reapplicant, as I applied to Oxford last year but was unsuccessful. The first time around I chose Oxford largely because I just didn’t really consider Cambridge, and I’m not sure why. This time I have, and things are much more complex. I want my choice to be rooted in the course that I prefer (which I believe is sensible) but the problem is that both seem great, and I think I would be happy doing either.
So far from my research the key difference appears to be that Cambridge’s course is regarded as more flexible – at the Open Days they emphasised their non-literature options (for the languages side) and that British history was not mandatory (for the history side.) I was never forced to study British history as someone who isn’t British and so I am actually interested in it, not knowing as much about it. I also really enjoy the literary side of studying languages, as I had originally considered History and English, but after learning that Oxbridge MML degrees were very similar (just in a different language) I settled on my chosen course. Oxford’s emphasis on literature doesn't bother me, in fact, I hope that I would be able to study medieval and 17th century French to a high level and not being able to do so would be disappointing. On the other hand I know that at Cambridge you study the film Cléo de 5 à 7, New Wave being one of my favourite film genres (the other is German expressionism.) I also know that I would like to write a dissertation which Oxford as far as I know doesn't offer (unless a student can correct me on this), and that Cambridge does, but their description of the dissertation reads to me like an equivalent of the Bridge Essay. Oxford has the option of an additional thesis, though they have clarified it is rare for a student to actually take it.
What I would appreciate clarified is if Oxford has a ‘Year Abroad’ project like Cambridge does, and if there is the possibility of writing a dissertation (separate to the Bridge Essay.) Though reading how the Cambridge course describes their dissertation (“drawing on your linguistic and historical skills”) is it possible that their dissertation is the equivalent of the Bridge Essay? Or am I misinterpreting? Unhelpfully also I have heard conflicting information, such as Cambridge MML not actually involving any study of history or politics, nor linguistics. One of my key motivations for studying French, besides a love for the literature and culture is to be able to read and translate historical sources in my academic career, if anyone thinks either university would be better at developing that skill. I adore translation studies in general.
I have also heard that at Cambridge you can borrow papers from other disciplines, and that does appeal to me as I have been considering textiles conservation, archiving and dress history as future professions, thus being able to take papers from Art History, or even Chemistry (this one I doubt would be possible because it's significantly more different) would be useful. However I have also heard that there is merit in being ‘forced’ to study everything, as is supposedly the case at Oxford, and I have spoken to students who say that doing so makes you a better academic. Obviously I value becoming a good academic and so that comment has stuck with me. I’ve also seen people claim on this site that Oxford’s course is more broad.
The Oxford application process is also more familiar to me having already been through it once, and I have a slight reassurance in knowing that I did decent on the MLAT last time. What I don’t have is this same reassurance for the HAT, which I did embarrassingly poorly in (like below the average level bad) and to be honest, am scared at the thought of having to take it again. Largely because I did prepare for it, and used many of the recommended resources, so I don’t know where I went wrong. Many colleges at Cambridge no longer ask for a History test, but their languages test intimidates me more (unfamiliarity), and choosing a university based on not wanting to do a certain test seems lazy to me, as would applying for sole French at Oxford.
Some other pros of Oxford (in varying importance) are that it has more ‘iconic’ sites, and is possibly more internationally recognised (though I can’t really verify that.) I should mention though that as I don’t drink and am autistic, night life isn’t important to me at all. When I went to the Open Day I also had a chat to one of the French tutors whom I thought was lovely, and was actually interested in what kinds of books I liked to read in general. Yet also at the Open Day I was talking to one of the History tutors and when I mentioned my interest in Dress History he mentioned that whilst Oxford doesn’t have any historians working in that field, Cambridge does, so I may want to check them out. I did plan on doing that already, but I am curious to know if anyone has any ideas on how big of an impact being in the same university as them would have on my education. Also yes, I did look the academic up and discovered I had already read and listened to a lot of their work without ever realising which was quite a surreal experience. I got to speak to a lot more academics at the Cambridge Open Day as well, and found the tutor who helped create the History and Modern Languages degree fascinating, to the point where I’m really starting to be convinced that I should learn German (I keep getting signs.) I think I’ve said everything, or certainly enough at least. I don’t know anyone who goes/went to Oxbridge, and my teachers at school didn’t know much about it either, so if there are any students here (studying History, French, both or something similar) you input would be more appreciated than you know.

French with Arabic would be a nice course perhaps?
Also, Oxford only asks for AAA and just gets 400 applicants for languages and you have a very high chance of being made an offer.
Cambridge colleges can vary with their offers from A*AA to A*A*A or even A*A*A* or more in some cases?! 😧
Why not choose the Oxford colleges from: St. John's College? University College? Hertford College? 😉

I’ve actually already achieved my grades as I’m currently on a gap year, but I’m also an international student so I didn’t take A Levels.

So re-apply to Oxford as all you need to do is impress in the interviews and achieve a high score in the MLAT. 🙂

May I ask why French and Arabic though? Despite not doing well in last year’s HAT I definitely do not want to give up History