Am I boned for FT recruiting?

OP, I was in the exact same position as you. Literally I butchered my interviews as well. I didn't know where the S&P 500 was during my S&T SA interview. I interned at a hedge fund that had no connections to BB firms during the summer. What I did - I shadowed alumni in NYC at several BB firms during the summer (the fund was in CT so it was close to NYC). Reach out to people via your alumni network and you'll be surprised how many people will respond to a cold email just for a chance to chat on the phone, which leads to you asking for their advice, which leads to invaluable information and their referral to HR. I networked my ass off in the summer and the fall and was in touch with FT recruiters via my contacts. Finally, even after several recruiters told me they weren't hiring, I got an email stating that they were hiring for a position, I flew out to NYC, and I got the job. Don't ever give up and take my advice, networking is the absolute number one thing you can do to help yourself. You need to paint the narrative that you screwed up once but that you are determined and able and you fell through the cracks, that you are absolutely interested in the position and are up to the challenge. But you need to bug people just to the point before it becomes socially unacceptable in order to be noticed. Email your contacts (HR, etc) every few weeks to see if there are any updates; you really have to give the impression that you want the job without being in their hair quite too much.