Please Advise on Uni Choices, and General

I've reapplied back to 1st year to Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham. I'm thinking to call up switch Nottingham to Manchester today if I can. Or possibly Loughborough. But I'm not well informed so I'd like more information and opinions to help if people have.
I ended up taking a gap year after A-levels as I didn't get guidance with UCAS, was told to apply in clearing, then went homeless after my final exam so I didn't get to apply.
Since I lacked guidance, I picked a shite uni (Derby) despite having A*/A/B with mitigating circumstances, for a unique course which wasn't worth it.
Even after arriving and realising it was a waste of student debt, I didn't know to switch as I didn't know if other unis were better - and people were telling me I was overthinking it. Hence, I was thinking to just drop to a degree apprenticeship.
Since touring uni of Bristol where lots of my friends are, I've seen that Russell Group unis are a different world - a world I've geared up my whole life to navigate. Notably, the social scene is one that inspires me rather than drags me down.
Well now I've wasted half a year at Derby, and I suppose I'll have to waste the rest of the year unless people have suggestions?
And I'm really not sure between Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Loughborough to be honest. I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to pick my unis, and would love advice and info.
My main sports are Muay Thai (kickboxing) and rock climbing. Social life is very important to me, but that doesn't have to be just nightlife - I just love to do random cool activities as well - as long as I can have a dating life. I prefer modern architecture (city). I prefer hands on learning, and considering how I've managed to muck up my life 2 years, perhaps I'm not so good at independence when it comes to career and would benefit from structure (hence considering Loughborough). I want to go into a career in AI (and data science seems to be a great way to enter).
Honestly any advice, information, or testimonials would be amazing. I should've posted this long ago, but hey I'm here now.

I've reapplied back to 1st year to Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham. I'm thinking to call up switch Nottingham to Manchester today if I can. Or possibly Loughborough. But I'm not well informed so I'd like more information and opinions to help if people have.
I ended up taking a gap year after A-levels as I didn't get guidance with UCAS, was told to apply in clearing, then went homeless after my final exam so I didn't get to apply.
Since I lacked guidance, I picked a shite uni (Derby) despite having A*/A/B with mitigating circumstances, for a unique course which wasn't worth it.
Even after arriving and realising it was a waste of student debt, I didn't know to switch as I didn't know if other unis were better - and people were telling me I was overthinking it. Hence, I was thinking to just drop to a degree apprenticeship.
Since touring uni of Bristol where lots of my friends are, I've seen that Russell Group unis are a different world - a world I've geared up my whole life to navigate. Notably, the social scene is one that inspires me rather than drags me down.
Well now I've wasted half a year at Derby, and I suppose I'll have to waste the rest of the year unless people have suggestions?
And I'm really not sure between Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Loughborough to be honest. I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to pick my unis, and would love advice and info.
My main sports are Muay Thai (kickboxing) and rock climbing. Social life is very important to me, but that doesn't have to be just nightlife - I just love to do random cool activities as well - as long as I can have a dating life. I prefer modern architecture (city). I prefer hands on learning, and considering how I've managed to muck up my life 2 years, perhaps I'm not so good at independence when it comes to career and would benefit from structure (hence considering Loughborough). I want to go into a career in AI (and data science seems to be a great way to enter).
Honestly any advice, information, or testimonials would be amazing. I should've posted this long ago, but hey I'm here now.

Hey,
It sounds like you've had to go through a lot to get to where you are and you've had minimal guidance. I hope other people also respond on here with other options.
The universities that you have reapplied to are really good options for Universities in general, they all big unis with big cities so you'll have plenty of opportunities to meet new people and try new things. So, in short they are all great places to go to. It depends on what is most important to you. The Northern cities (except edinburgh) are cheaper places to be a student so that is worth thinking about. Also have a look specifically at which courses suit your style of learning or have modules in areas you think you will like - this info will all be on the uni websites.
I know lots of people who like you, had very little help and just applied to anywhere. They took a year or two out or tried that Uni first before then reapplying to another that suited them better - and even another one. While a year feels like a long time at the moment, in the grand scheme of things it really is not a long time. You wont be behind compared to your peers. Also in terms of student finance, I'm not sure how it works but if you speak to the financial support people at the Uni they will help you, but I know you can still get funding if you start again elsewehere.
I wish you luck in everything that you do, it sounds like you have a much better idea of what you want now. Try to enjoy the rest of your time at Derby as best you can.
Evie (final year medic at UoS)

Thank you so much. Whats do you mean by style of learning and how do I find that out? Were the people you knew who transferred dropping back into 1st year transferring over to the next year?