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July 31, 2026
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Don't delay graduation - that would create a whole new list of questions in future interviews that you don't what to get asked, so wouldn't make your life easier next year. Would agree that MM IBD and Corp fin are good options and those would actually be enough to position yourself for Business School. Actually I'd say that regardless of what you do now, Business School will remain an option given that it is still far away (at least 4 years given you're a senior in college). As others have said, don't stress out - you'd be surprised to find out how few MDs actually started as analysts in IBD. So if banking is your long term goal, you can get there either way.
I'm in a similar situation. Right now I'm aiming lower for MM and regional boutiques. If I still can't find anything within a month or two I'm going to school for a MsF as well. It helps a lot of you don't have a good network or relevant internship experience.
Hope you can "unfuck" yourself. Good luck.
Very easy solution here.
You could delay grad and get an internship this summer. Because of your lack of Work exp, you probably won't get a brand name firm. Look for small boutiques all over the US. There's literally hundreds of them. Do an internship there, even if it's unpaid, and then you have some IB experience which you can leverage at other firms. Keep lateraling up every year. This requires a ton of networking but is TOTALLY doable.
Don't delay grad, but secure yourself a full time roll with a SMALL, non-brand name IB firm. Stay there for 6-8 months after graduation and then lateral up to a better firm. You gotta reach out to a ton of people though, and really know your stuff well before you get on the phone with them.
And relax, you're not in a bad situation at all.
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