Harvard or IBD?

I'm currently at LSE studying Stats with Finance (undergrad) and am in my final year. I will get an upper second (2:1) at the very least. I have spoken to admissions at Harvard and they told me, given my background, I'm highly likely to get into Master's program for Management (with a track in Finance). I have also networked with several people at BB's/elite boutiques and the chances of me landing a summer internship in IBD are strong. I'm having some trouble deciding what to choose.

Internship situation:
- The UK/European market looks very bleak for me to land a FT role in IBD but an internship at a BB/elite boutique is very possible. Even if I land it there is no guarantee I'll land the full time role (they tend to take Master level students/European students more).
- I have been applying for several years, not been getting through (long complicated reasons why) so am pretty fed up of the whole process in general. I'm now not even sure that IBD is for me.

Advantages of Harvard:
- If I land a summer internship, say at a BB next summer (2013), I wont get the FT offer till 2014. So I need to 'do something with the year' anyway.
- LSE then Harvard will look great and also give me more time to develop other skills (my current degree is quite difficult and focused on 'hard skills' rather then strategic thinking skills).
- Been in the UK all my life and really want to get out of here! I have worked in NYC for a summer and liked that more then London.

Disadvantages of Harvard:
- Its part-time so although I can work/study (which is what I would like to do) it means I'll be really old when I start working full time (think 25-26 if I finish in 2-3 years). This will mean I can pay for my degree without taking out additional debt, but will be a 1st year analyst (assuming I still want to work in IBD) while my friends are associates! haha
- If I choose Harvard, I need to do the pre-requsite courses during Summer 2013 (for the course commencing Summer 2014) so I cannot intern over the Summer.

Any advice is welcome!

 

Harvard Extension School isn't bad per se, but it's not nearly as tough to get into as Harvard is. And because of that, having Harvard Extension School on your resume won't impress anyone. On the plus side, you may be able to learn to talk like a Kennedy. You can list that under your "Skills & Interests".

Remember, once you're inside you're on your own. Oh, you mean I can't count on you? No. Good!
 

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