^ Definitely.
A university with a good reputation is important, but so too is enjoying the next three years (& £18,000) of your life.
It's easy to get bogged down by the stress of it all, but take your time, visit places - one of the best things I did, too, was to draw up almost my own "league table", of where I would like to go, reputation, location, pros and cons of each place, etc. It just made things a lot easier to work out and decide between.
As difficult as it is, remember that this isn't the end of the world; I got in to one of the top 5 universities in the country, through clearing. Some people on my course have taken one, two, three, four years off - you don't have to go in straight away!
Take care, and good luck
x x x
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