Career Start Issues

Dear monkeys of WSO,

I hope you are all well. 

I have been monitoring this website for years now and I can say that it has been helpful and fun to read. However, I never felt the need to seek help for anything. But here I am today. 

So, I have graduated from a respected university in England last year with a BSc Business Management with 1st class honours and I successfully tried my absolute best to keep my grades top notch. Also, a few times during final year my work received the highest scores in modules with 100+ people. There were only a very few times during my BSc that I had received grades lower than 1st Class.

Now I am pursuing an MSc at UCL (target school) in Management and Finance and i am also doing fairly well. Since the beginning of university, my goal has been to work in an investment bank. Not necessarily in the IBD but in other divisions too (Controllers, PWM, LBO, Project Finance etc etc.). I have a strong interest in the markets and the financial business world in general (trying to say that I am genuinely interested in this industry).  It is has been my motivation for all the high achievements during my university studies.

However, I have no experience in the field, no internships, never landed a live interview, never attended any assessment centers. This experience ofcourse scared me and made me question my ability to be part of these institutions despite the high achievements and motivation that I have.

I have recently received a summer internship offer from Grant Thornton to work in the advisory department - Not in the UK but in a small European island. (I believe I will get some exposure in valuations and due diligence). 

Do you think I can leverage the experience to finally get into banking ? If so, how ?
Would it be better to apply for BB internships after the experience with G.T. or go with graduate schemes ?
Do you think starting in audit firms (G.T. or Big 4) and staying for 2-3 years will close banking doors instead of opening them ? I am asking this because it is easier (and possibly what I will get offered) - but not what I want.

Any tips or opinion is valued.

Kind regards,

GrkMonkey1