Am I cooked?

Hi all, just wanted to share my story and hopefully hear your thoughts or advice, I’m at a bit of a crossroads and not quite sure who to turn to at this point.

I recently graduated from a non-target school in the U.S. I passed up the opportunity to attend a better-ranked university to care for my aging grandparents, a decision I don’t regret, as family comes first. Still, I know it’s been a hurdle in breaking into finance.

Despite that, I’ve worked hard to build my resume. For my sophomore summer, I landed two internships: one at a mid-market accounting/consulting firm in Singapore (think BDO, RSM, Crowe), and another at a boutique asset management firm in London. During junior year, I took a semester off (as I was graduating early), securing both spring and summer internships at a mid-market PE firm in Singapore. None offered full-time conversions as they only hire experienced professionals.

I’ve been recruiting for over a year now, ideally for IB or PE roles, as dealmaking is my long-term goal. Unfortunately, it’s been tough. I recently made it to the final round at an EBB, but lost out due to headcount - painful, but encouraging to get that close.

Now, I’ve been offered a Project Finance off-cycle internship at a mid-tier bank in London, and I’m wondering if I should I take it?

How do I position myself post-internship if I’ll be past most graduation-year cutoffs? Am I cooked for eventually breaking into PE or IB?

Apologies if this sounds overly self-deprecating, but I’m still optimistic something will work out, and I’m truly grateful for every opportunity I’ve had so far. Just unsure of the next move.

Would really appreciate any thoughts, insight, or advice. Many thanks in advance!!