Michigan State earned a place in the top 10 despite attending at least two fewer conferences than every other top 10 team
Which college Model UN teams are the best in the world?
We saw many benefits to answering this question and devised a methodology to create a set of rankings — we released our first set of rankings based on results up to March 21, 2011. We then took Best Delegate readers’ feedback on the rankings and methodology and made revisions to the methodology accordingly.
Please read the Methodology article first before jumping into the rankings. We clarify in the article our purpose behind the rankings, our philosophy that drives what we value in the rankings, the two Divisions in the college circuit, and several revisions to the methodology.
With that said, here are the top 6-10 teams on the college circuit! Each of these teams consistently won or contended for delegation awards at multiple competitive conferences throughout this season. Each of these teams have solid name recognition in the circuit and are well positioned to challenge for a spot in the top five in the future.
Final 2010-11 College Rankings: World Division Top 6-10
6. Harvard University
Readers like to refer to the top five teams as the “P5” but there are actually six elite teams in Model UN. In terms of points scored for our rankings, the gap between 1-6 and the rest of the circuit is very wide and Harvard’s results back that up. The team is almost always in contention for a large delegation award. Harvard won Outstanding Large Delegation awards at U. Chicago ChoMUN and at Columbia CMUNNY, a Best Small Delegation awardat Georgetown NCSC, a Best Delegation award at West Point WPSC, and placed third in terms of total number of awards won at U. Penn UPMUNC and Yale SCSY while competing as a large delegation. The team also won awards at Berkeley UCBMUN and Boston University BarMUN. Harvard ended up sixth in our final rankings for this year, but we are sure they will continue to contend for a top 5 ranking in the foreseeable future.
7. Columbia University
Columbia has emerged to become the closest competitor to West Point in the small delegation category. The team won Best Small Delegation at McGill McMUN, West Point WPSC, and Boston University BarMUN and an Outstanding Small Delegation at Yale SCSY and NYU’s NYUMUNC. In addition, the team collected awards from Harvard WorldMUN, U. Penn UPMUNC, and Georgetown NCSC. Columbia attended eight conferences this year (the second-highest on the circuit) and it’ll be interesting to see if they can challenge West Point and hold off a rising Rutgers team – teams that they beat head-to-head at some point in the season – to become the best small delegation in the college circuit next year.
8. College of William & Mary
William & Mary is a solid team that has a track record for performing especially well outside the United States – the team was in contention for a large delegation award at Harvard WorldMUN and at McGill McMUN. Domestically, William & Mary also won awards at Harvard HNMUN, Georgetown NCSC, Columbia CMUNNY, and Virginia VICS. William & Mary is the highest ranked team that did not win a delegation award this year but consistent results combined with a balanced strength of schedule helped them break into the top 10.
9. Michigan State University
Michigan State was ecstatic to break into the top 10 during the March rankings and they were able to maintain their top-10 status in our final rankings. The cornerstone of the team’s accomplishments was an Outstanding Large Delegation at McGill McMUN which placed them behind only Georgetown. MSU also had their best performance ever at U. Chicago ChoMUN and was in contention for a large delegation award there. The team also won awards at U. Penn UPMUNC and Boston University BarMUN. It will be interesting to see if Michigan State can maintain their national profile next year or even expand it – MSU attended at least two fewer conferences than every other school ranked in the top 10 but still had strong enough results to make it in.
10. Rutgers University
Rutgers had an outstanding year. The team won a pair of Outstanding Small Delegation awards at U. Penn UPMUNC and McGill McMUN, and added late-season delegation awards with a pair of Best Small Delegation awards at NYU NYUMUNC and U. Chicago ChoMUN. The team also won awards at Georgetown NCSC and at Five College MUN. This is an ambitious team that wants to move up the rankings and it’ll be interesting to see if they can continue challenging West Point and Columbia for small delegation supremacy next year.
What do you think of the final rankings? Make sure to check out the top 11-15 and the top 16-25 and check back for the top 10!
