The backlash of Indecision

Hey guys,

I find myself in a bit of an inconvenient situation at the moment guys. As I'm sure many of you have seen a post by me before I'll just keep things brief:

Graduating May 2012 with double degrees in Finance and Statistics (GPAs of 3.80 and 3.65 respecively) from a Canadian school.
MM IBD internship and two 6 figure startups

and most recently... a BB S&T internship. Which leads me to where I am now; I really did not enjoy my experience with S&T and it was definitely not for me. I received a return offer but turned it down as I was so disenfranchised with the sector and in fact with the finance industry that I tried to make an (ill-advised as I look back on it) hard right turn to the consulting world. I tried to prepare and network but starting to tackle a new industry in September of your final year is just hard. Took 1st rounds at MBB and a couple other close competitors but the process has more or less ground to a halt as I just wasn't sufficiently prepared for consulting interviews.

Luckily, I was aware of the risk and had as my backup attending a top MSF (or similar) program next year. As I'm trying to steer clear (if possible) of the US until at least the post-MBA level. I'm applying to Cambridge's M.Phil in Finance, Oxford's MSc. Financial Econ, and LSE's (MSF, MS Finance and Econ, MS Accounting and Finance? ANT's site and other hearsay doesn't confirm which is best).

Clearly, now that the fog of war has settled I think I'll be "going back to my first love" and returning to the banking rat race come 2013 but I have some questions for the more knowledgeable among you, namely:

Is my reasoning correct, will it be better for me long-term to get a top Masters degree and target BBs/elite boutiques then, rather than settling for Big 5 Canadian/MM Canadian at this point?

How would I recruit in the Western Hemisphere from the UK should I be seeking full-time opportunities on this side of the pond? Virtual Interviews?

*N.B the basis assumption is that recruiting for BBs for FT is too far underway to depend on it; I'm planning on finding a structured internship post-convocation before a September 2012 MSF start I imagine....

 

just posting to subscribe...

‎"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns or dollars."
 

I think all three of those schools are great. Maybe the edge to Cambridge/Oxford since LSE is a masters factory. Personally, I would go with Oxford since it will open doors all over for you and boost your MBA application.

 

Thanks ANT, I had a feeling Oxbridge had the greatest cache globally followed by LSE. Nevertheless, how is New York/ Toronto recruiting accomplished from England other than informal networking? Conversely how are North Americans treated in terms of London FT recruiting vs. British residents at the same schools?

‎"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns or dollars."
 

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