No Good Offer..Test-Optional MSF Now? GMAT then MSF later?

Hey all,

Having a bit of of a hard time figuring out what my path should be out of undergrad. Graduating from a non-target (but growing presence) large public school on the east coast in May. 3.8 GPA, decent internships and extracurriculars (pm if you'd like specifics), but no full-time banking offer. The window definitely seems to be closing in terms of getting a job for right after undergrad, so I'm considering getting my MSF to learn more, boost my resume, and as a recruiting "reset" of sorts.

COVID has led a good amount of high-tier schools (MIT being the standout) to go test-optional. I obviously haven't taken the GMAT as I've only been considering this path for a couple of days. Most of these schools have application deadlines of January, so probably not enough time to study hard for and take the GMAT while finishing up my school semester.

With that being said, is my best option to forego the GMAT and apply to all of the good test optional MSF programs? Or, should I study for and take the online GMAT in February (the latest it's available) and try to apply for MSF programs for the next year? Are there any good ones that accept applications much later in the process (early spring) or start in January as opposed to the summer/fall? I would really appreciate any insight!

 

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