Rejection from University of Manchester for BAEcon Economics and Finance (LN13)

I recently applied for Economics and Finance (LN13) at UoM, I was really eager to go there as I love the Uni and the city as a whole. However, after 2 months of waiting, my application was unsuccessful due to not having a stronger educational profile. This is the exact reason why they rejected me:
'Whilst your application was strong, competition is extremely high, and there were a number of applicants whose educational profile was stronger.' I applied with AAA as my predicted grades and despite the entry requirements also being AAA, and UCAS saying that majority of applicants got offered a place with AAB. Additionally, I also got a 7 in GCSE Maths and 6 in English (with my other GCSE's ranging from 5-7). I am disappointed that I got rejected as that was my firm choice and I still don't believe (although there are smart people that have really high grades) that everyone that applied and got offered a place applied with higher predicted grades than the entry requirements.
HOWEVER, I am also thinking that everyone that got offered a place for this course might not:
1) choose it as their firm or insurance choice
2) get the grades required to get in
So, as I am still really determined to get into that Uni and study that course, I have come up with the following options:
- I could try and get in through clearing on results day if that is a possibility (because they technically didn't say that my grades weren't bad, they said that other applicants had higher grades that me)
- I could take a gap year and re-apply in 2026, especially that then I will have sat my A-levels and would have the grades needed for the course.
Please give me advice on what I could do. Anything will be appreciated and would help a lot. Thanks!