lateral VS MSF

Junior, has internship offers for a credit lending fund and a no-name boutique in NYC. have a 2ish GPA. Had undiagnosed ADHD, anxiety, depression, and dyslexia. eventually, teachers encouraged me to get tested, I got meds this term, and have a straight A but still don't see much difference in my overall GPA at graduation, its gonna be better for sure based on how I am going but not 3.3+ also was overall average throughout academic life. honesty surprised made it this far

so have 4 options, after thinking about it:

1. take the internship and hope they offer me FT at either place(neither cared about GPA when i interviewed)

2. do an MSF, for which I don't have the money but could take a loan but also don't think there will be a lot of good programs I can get into with my GPA

3. Getting another job in fin service OR RE dev, won't be great but don't think it would be impossible to get something locally in the state. My school is well-known in the south

4. BS my way through FT recruiting, apply to all and any IBs in NYC and the East coast and south, already have a list of like 150+ LMM and regional IBs, network like hell and drop GPA from my resume, and hope I get a spot. This is also where my other concern is-if I get into an LMM in NYC, Charlotte, Atlanta, or anywhere. Do you think realistically I have a decent chance to lateral to BBs or MMs in tier 1 cities(hopefully eventually PE or VC)? and does GPA matter less once I have been in the industry for a year?

or basically what do I do? I know I want a career in IB and can't undo the past, considered faking the GPA but not worth the risk

1 Comments
 

Corporis tempora eaque dignissimos ullam. Dolorem sint illo dolores eum quibusdam.

Qui non totam similique consequatur similique. Illum nesciunt quod ullam. Et ea et quos et qui doloremque.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (56) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”