u/SpecificSoft5529

I’m 21 and honestly feel really stuck in life right now. I did poorly in my A-levels at 18, but looking back, I had a lot of personal circumstances going on at the time and I don’t think my grades reflected my actual ability at all. I know people always say that, but throughout school I was naturally quite intelligent and when I actually apply myself I do well.
Now I’m seriously considering redoing my A-levels because I don’t want doors closed for me long term, especially for university and future careers. I’d be doing Cambridge CAIE International A-levels in the October/November session because they offer exams then, but that’s only around 4.5 months away.
The subjects would likely be:
Psychology
Business
Geography
I’ve studied all of them before so I’m not starting completely from scratch, although realistically Geography is the only one I’m genuinely strong at currently. Business and Psychology I have background knowledge in but definitely not enough right now to comfortably get high grades.
The issue is I work full time, so I’m trying to figure out whether this is actually realistic or if I’m being delusional. Has anyone here gone from poor grades / almost no revision to A’s or B’s in around 4-5 months while working? Especially with CAIE?
Be brutally honest, is it possible to scrape A/B grades if I dedicate myself from now until October/November, and roughly how many hours a day would I realistically need to study?

Is it worth going to a “bad” uni for accounting such as Greenwich, London Met or Westminster? Can you still become successful afterwards, or is it more worth resitting A levels for another year to try get into a better university?

I’m 21 already and honestly feel behind in life, so I really don’t know whether it’s smarter to just move forward now or spend another year trying to improve my options.

I’m looking for honest advice from people in accounting/Big 4 recruitment because I’m trying to figure out whether this path is still realistic for me or if my A-levels will permanently hold me back.
By the time I graduate in 2029 I’ll be 24. I’ve been working since I was 16 and currently work in sales/events in luxury hospitality in London. It’s very client-facing and fast paced, dealing with corporate clients, events, admin, sales, problem solving etc. So I do have years of professional work experience already.
The issue is my A-levels. Realistically they’re basically fails. During that time my dad had cancer and then suffered 2 heart attacks, and I became one of his carers while trying to study. I completely spiralled academically and mentally during that period.
I know people say “everyone has circumstances” and I understand Big 4 is competitive, but I also genuinely know I’m capable academically when I’m in a stable environment. I think if I got into university I could realistically achieve a First in Accounting & Finance.
I’m looking at universities like London Met / Greenwich through Clearing because I know I probably won’t have many options with my grades.

My questions are:
Firstly, do you think universities like this would realistically still let me in through Clearing with terrible A-levels?
Secondly, would summer internships / placements automatically reject me because of the A-level grades, even if I’m doing very well at university?
Do Big 4 firms still care heavily about A-levels by 2029 or is there more flexibility now?
If Big 4 is unrealistic, are there still good firms that would fund ACA while paying a salary despite poor A-levels?
Once ACA qualified, do employers still care much about A-levels or does experience + ACA eventually outweigh them?
Has anyone here actually gone from bad A-levels → weaker uni → ACA → good career outcome?
I’d appreciate realistic answers rather than motivation. I’m trying to work out whether this is genuinely achievable if I work hard from this point onwards.