The college application process is an incredibly stressful time for most high school students. Beyond SAT scores and grade point averages, many students worry about questions such as, “What extracurricular activities will impress the admissions office?” or “What can I write about in my college application essays?”
As a current high school senior, Model United Nations was a huge component of my college applications. Here are some of the ways MUN helped me through many of the factors of applying to college.
1. The College Essay
For most competitive universities, a personal essay is a required portion of an application. For any student, this can be a daunting task. You will think, “How can I sum up my personality in 750 words?” In my Common Application essay, I discussed how MUN helped me find my voice, as well as how it influenced my passions and career aspirations. However, you do not have to be an international relations major in order to use MUN in your college essays. MUN offers unique experiences in research, public speaking, collaboration, and leadership that are applicable to nearly every field. Are you a prospective public health major? Write your essay about an interesting topic you debated in the World Health Organization (WHO) at your last conference! Are you drawn to economics? Write about your experience addressing the Eurozone debt crisis in the Economic and Financial (ECOFIN) Committee! Regardless of what you would like to study in college, writing about MUN in your essays demonstrates your abilities to research urgent global issues, convey your ideas to others, and work with your peers to develop meaningful solutions.
2. Leadership and extracurricular involvement
Grades and standardized testing are important factors of a college application, but competitive universities look for students who succeed beyond the classroom, as well. MUN allows students to take on leadership roles and experiences that will absolutely stand out in a college application. Whether you have organized your own conference, won numerous prestigious committee awards, or led a bloc of nations to create world peace at a nationwide MUN conference, chances are your involvement in MUN has provided you with incredible experiences to highlight in your application. Additionally, involvement in MUN demonstrates that you are a globally-minded individual with an awareness of global issues and politics.
3. Confidence in your college interviews
Some colleges require a college interview as a part of the review process, but not all schools conduct interviews. Personally, attending my first college interview was one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the entire application process. However, I quickly realized that the interview was not bad at all—in fact, it allowed me to highlight aspects of my personality and application that cannot be expressed in statistics or school transcripts. Through my MUN experiences, I gained confidence in public speaking and communicating effectively with others, and this definitely helped in my college interviews. Not only did I discuss how MUN influenced my own goals, but I was also able to articulate my passion about global issues and human rights.
Overall, the most important part of your college application is creating a picture of how your past experiences have influenced both current passions and future goals. Being involved in MUN can offer a myriad of meaningful, unique experiences that can help you craft your applications.
Want to learn even more about how MUN can help you get into college? Download our free ebook!
