University or Degree Apprenticeship?

University stands out to me because it is a chance to fully recreate myself, to get away from this claustrophobic little town and the unfair rumours that follow my name. It’s a chance to start again, to meet new people, to develop and mature a lot faster than I already have done. It would be a way to study a degree with people my age, to network, to develop socially. I thought for the longest time that I have social anxiety, only I realised not long ago that I’m super comfortable socialising with new people, only it’s the fear of old rumours about me that stops me from branching out to those in my own area more, I don’t want to call it bullying but the people who aren’t the nicest to me work more on pack mentality than reason, as I’ve not done anything cruel to them.
Or, I could do a degree apprenticeship. It’s only a little town, so socially I’d be ****ed for another 4 years. I’ve been suicidal before and this is giving me great anxiety about staying, this place makes me feel cripplingly lonely. Financially, it makes sense to do this. I’d be living at home with ideally a wage for the three years, not getting into student debt, resulting in a degree. But it’s a degree I’m not even sure I want.
I just want to live my life, protect my mental health, and meet interesting people. They don’t even have to be. nice, so long as they are interesting and don’t give me anxiety about interacting with them – something near everybody in this town gives me because of how everybody knows one another.
My parents both want me to study the degree apprenticeship, but just the thought of staying here makes me so incredibly uncomfortable. Like the type of uncomfortable where the back of your throat starts to ache and your skin feels gross and warm. I would love any advice or tips about this, I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately and just want the best for myself to live a happy life, thank you