For many high school delegates (and new delegates who’ve never stepped into a committee before arriving on campus) collegiate Model U.N. can be an intimidating world. Apart from the traditional challenges of attending college, the collegiate circuit differs in significant ways that can both intimidate and exhilarate incoming delegates. This article breaks down some of the major differences between high school and collegiate Model U.N. to help smoothen the transition.
Delegates-
The first major difference that students encounter are the delegates themselves. While Model U.N. delegates tend to be well-researched across the board, high school delegates are oftentimes more likely to have a broader knowledge base on a committee agenda while moving into committee. This is not to imply that collegiate students are not agenda conscious but rather that their university experience lends itself to be more conducive towards applications of their knowledge in resolutions. Collegiate students (especially those studying international relations, economics, political science, or history) are exposed to far more MUN agendas in their coursework and thus can more readily apply this knowledge in creating solutions. Due to this collegiate resolutions are typically more detailed than those on the high school circuit. The high workload that college students experience may also reduce the amount of general research on an agenda while increasing the specificity.
Additionally, college teams also tend to run into each other more often due to the smaller set of conferences to attend. Finally, while high school teams tend to possess a mix of passionately committed and tepid members, collegiate teams tend to be a bit more close-knit due to the larger variety of competing interests in college.
Committees-
While both circuits feature a diverse array of committees, there are underlying trends that characterize topics and structures across each. While high school conferences tend to lean towards general assemblies, collegiate conferences oftentimes feature far more crisis committees (with prominent conferences such as ChoMUN being entirely crisis-based). Among general assemblies, economic committees are far more prominent than on the high school circuit. Furthermore, niche general assemblies and specialized bodies are also more common on the college circuit. Within crisis committees, high-school conferences tend to lean towards war and political cabinets. Meanwhile on the college circuit, business committees and unconventional crises have more prevalence. In recent years, conferences such as NAIMUN have seen a shift towards more diversity in high-school crisis committees
Conferences-
Although the idea behind conferences remains the same, there are several distinctions that categorize each circuit. High school conferences can be organized by high schools themselves, universities, or third-party organizations. However, collegiate conferences are almost always hosted by a single school. High school conferences tend to have education as an overarching focus. Some high school conferences such as NHSMUN have operated without traditional awards to orient their experiences towards learning yet retain high-quality debate. Collegiate conferences on the other hand tend to be slightly more competition oriented yet still have fantastic learning opportunities available.
The sheer number of high school delegates also lead to a larger average conference size wherein a single city can have multiple conferences with over 500 delegates. Meanwhile in college, there are usually only one or two large conferences in a city within a year. College students are subsequently more likely to travel further within the U.S. for conferences with many schools crossing coasts depending on the weekend. However, high school students typically attend more conferences than college students within a given year and attend international conferences more frequently than teams on the collegiate circuit. In addition, high school conferences tend to feature more fleshed out background guides to assist younger delegates, while collegiate conferences place emphasis on clarity and direction in their own.
Conclusion
All in all, both high school and collegiate Model U.N. work towards similar goals and are fantastic ways to learn about the world and enjoy yourself doing so. While each circuit has its own strengths, it is truly a privilege to be able to experience both. The two circuits are intrinsically connected and moving from one into another is one of the best ways to truly get the most of out of your MUN experience.
