Confused on S&T SA timeline for 2-year masters degree applicants, and starting in the Fall vs. Spring

I will be applying to masters degrees in finance and I want to make sure I understand the application timelines for S&T SA programs. Some masters degrees are 2/3 semesters but my intent is to delay graduation so I can recruit for summer S&T programs at BBs.

Let's say you are starting a 2-year masters degree in finance on campus in Fall 2025. Does that mean if you were interested in a BB S&T* SA summer internship for Summer 2026, you would have needed to have applied by now?

And if someone is starting their masters Fall 2026, and they want a summer internship for summer '27, they should have applied January/February 2026? That would mean they started S&T SA job applications before they started their degree, or even enrolled in the school.

For example:
- Jan/Feb 2025 applications/hirevue/Superday -> Summer 2026 SA S&T

- Jan/Feb 2026 applications/hirevue/Superday -> Summer 2027 SA S&T

ALSO: What if you start your masters in the spring?

For example, start date: January 2026, tentative graduation: December 2027

Can this person start applying the semester they start (Jan '26) for BB S&T SA summer 2027 programs? I.e. they should be applying for S&T programs online the minute they start classes? 

Something on my mind: BB S&T SA applications are already extremely competitive. Even if I went to a top target MFin, I would still need a good story and background. The reason for me going to the MFin is to do a career pivot. I definitely want to be self-aware here and understand what is practical. 

Maybe my Plan B if S&T SA recruiting falls through should be: 

Extremely relevant internship the first summer (and second summer if I start my masters in the Spring), and then try my best for S&T Full-Time the fall after my internship

**When I say BB S&T I mean JPM, GS, Barclays, Deutsche, etc. I would also be interested to hear how the timelines look in MMs like Jefferies and Nomura.