Need advice - Potential strange path to IB

Hi everyone, today, I was rejected after a super day at a MM firm that I thought would be my best shot of breaking into IB. I have taken a shotgun approach to the recruiting process and have focused my efforts on NYC and another smaller city. I made deep connections at two firms: one in NYC and the other was the one that rejected me. I asked for advice from two of the interviewers that I trust the most, and I am hopeful that they are able to provide areas to improve on for the future. I thought the super day went overall well, but I guess not, so I want to get their advice so that I do not make the same mistakes in the future.

Realistically, I do not think that I will be able to break into NYC at this point, so I am hoping that you all can provide some guidance if I do not get a super day at the NYC firm. The kicker is that I leave for my study abroad in 5 days which I know is the absolute worst timing imaginable. I will network my ass off at the local MM firms that I applied to but if that fails here are potential options:

• Network at local small boutiques and hope to land a SA role to lateral elsewhere FT
• Do commodities trading (at a good shop) for a summer and try to break into IB from there
• Corp dev at a F500 and try for FT IB
• and the weirdest...intern in VC....which is the least likely option, but still
• Other (TAS, etc)

The bad: Non-target 3.5 GPA The good: Decent experience and great ECs, and from what I have been told from networking, a relatable personality

I will reach out to my cousin who is an MD at a MM firm for advice but I do not want to use nepotism to break into his firm - especially since I have not been in contact with him for years. Any thoughts on what route is best if MM recruiting fails?