Rosie151I apologise for making another 'what are my chances' thread but it had to be done.
I am currently in my second year studying mathematics at Warwick University. I got a high first last year and am predicted a first overall.
I am interested in studying either international relations or management as a masters. This may seeme slightly unusual but I do have reasons for it. Firstly I have always been interested in politics and considered going for either PPE or maths but then chose maths. I follow UK and international politics closely, reading The Economist, The New Statesman and other political and economic journals regularly. I read a lot about politics just for my own interest and go to regular talks by the politics/debating societies. However I have never studied politics or international relations.
Secondly management. My maths degree is very flexible and I have taken several management and business options in both my first and second years and intend to take more in my third year. I really enjoy these modules and can see myself going further with them.
I can really see myself studying either one of these subjects at masters level. Although I love my maths degree I do not want to go into academia or banking and would like to study something more relevant to my future career.
However I am worried that universities, especially the prestigious ones I intend to apply to, will not understand why I am applying for one of these subjects with a maths degree and reject me in favour of applicants with politics/history/economics degrees in the former case and economics/business degrees in the latter.
I am interested in applying to both Oxford and Cambridge but more interested in going to the US to study, in which case I would be applying to Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Berkeley, Duke, Chicago and others. I have already researched these colleges.
What do you think my chances are at applying for either international relations or management masters degrees are and how can I improve them?
Just to let you know my stats:
I should graduate with a 1st class degree in mathematics from Warwick in 2010
I have straight As at A-Level
I have plenty of extra-curriculars and positions of responsibility (newspaper, sports, drama, music etc) but not particularly relevant ones
I don't have much work experience. The last time I did work experience was in sixth form so I'm a bit worried about this.
I'm quite good at taking verbal/non verbal reasoning tests. (I'm a member of Mensa so those are the kind of questions I can do - perhaps less good at those verbal comprehension type ones though.)
Please help!