Oxford masters vs Evercore/HL rx

If you need the money, work at Evercore. If you don't, I don't think you're going to regret for one moment taking the time and having the privilege to study at Oxford. At some level you can always break into high finance. You really won't have another kick at the can to engage in a place like Oxford (especially given your age) ever again. 

There is not a one-size fits all answer. You need to think about your long-term goals and how the decisions you make now align.

If you have had some decent finance internship experience and are fairly certain you want to do banking or PE (and have an Evercore / HL RX offer waiting), I wouldn't pass it up now. On the other hand, if you have a tangible interest and goal relevant to the Oxford MSc (i.e. working for a PR agency or staffing at a think tank), I do think that can be a worthwhile opportunity. Think it through and be honest with yourself. 

Overall, Oxford has a good brand in NY and if you can get an Evercore/HL offer now, chances are you can hustle back in to another gig in IB, though it may not be better (and likely worse) than the role you have right now. Though anecdotally, most of the Oxford guys I know in the states studied PPE.

Another note - while the doors may close on these post-undergrad Oxbrige MSc programs, going to grad school will always be in the cards. If you're actually interested in a non-business masters, there's tons of great policy schools (i.e. HKS, Woodrow Wilson, Columbia), not to mention a litany of grad programs in humanities and the environment (i.e. Georgetown, Yale) that you should be qualified for as long as you have a relevant undergraduate degree and good performance.

did you intern at EVR/HL and they gave you return offer, is it London or NY? how long is the masters program 1 or 2 years? 

EVR

Why not do EVR then reapply late

Why don’t you delay your EVR offer ...? Surely they won’t refuse you after an Oxford MSc?

I would personally go for Oxford - as this would put a prestige brand on your CV and great personal exp plus you can always find another IB gig. But wilk be an uphill battle to justify in finance later just FYI

Keep in mind that in Europe HL rx > EVR rx. This can be helpful if you’re thinking about moving to London

I'm just a prospect, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I am in the unique situation of being at American undergraduate at Cambridge so I hope I can provide some insight.

I think the most viable option is to ask if you can delay your offer for a year. I know multiple people who who went to college in the US, received/accepted an offer in IB, and then asked to delay their offer to do a one year master's at Oxford/Cambridge, with relatively little fuss (my knowledge is secondhand and the experience probably varies bank to bank but didn't seem like they had any major issues with delaying their offers). The other option is, if you're planning on doing an MBA eventually, to do a one years masters at Oxford before doing your MBA at HSW (seems less common, but I know people who have also done this). 

In terms of value add to your career in finance (in my limited/anecdotal experience), Oxford is recognized as a great brand name, but the network is obviously much shallower in the US compared to a US school. However, I assume that if you've received an EVR/HL RX offer and went to a target you don't really need to be concerned with regards to building up your network further. 

Personal experience wise, it is fantastic (espc assuming covid subsides and you can travel next year). It's been a great personal experience for me in terms of seeing a new part of the world, living in a truly special place, meeting interesting people, etc. I am aware that the post-grad and undergrad experiences do differ significantly, so my experience may not map 1:1 to yours as a graduate student, but I think it'd still be fantastic. Not familiar at all with studying environment/sustainability but do think the supervision teaching model makes it an excellent place to study humanities/history/philosophy if that's what you want to do. I would also recommend looking into which college you're placed into at Oxford, as this has a surprisingly significant impact on your social life/experience in general.

Bro, just to qualify myself, I did the MFE at Oxford. People in post-grad are not selected at all apart from MFE and a few exotic courses, you will be in class with a bunch of random people so I wouldn't suggest that you join the programme. 

Either way, the choice comes down to:

1. Want to do IB? Go Evercore

2. Want to do sustainability etc? Does this master allow u to get (good) jobs in this sector? Is this a sound choice also economically? If yes to all three, go for it