Rutgers takes a team photo after winning Outstanding Small Delegation at McMUN
What are the best college Model UN teams in the world? The Best Delegate team decided to answer this question with our Top 25 Standings. We had to separate the college circuit into two divisions and devised methodologies for both divisions. We recommend reading the two links before jumping into the standings.
The standings are based on results as of March 21, 2011 which allowed us to capture results from WorldMUN. The standings reflect only team performances at conferences and not the overall quality of the program (i.e. it does not measure if a program hosts conferences or have any other special activities).
Here is the list of the top 11-15 college Model UN teams. All of these teams have either won a Small Delegation award this season or had multiple award winners at the most competitive conferences on the World Division circuit: Harvard HNMUN and Harvard WorldMUN. Check out which colleges made our Top 25!
The Best College Model UN Teams – World Division: North America Top 11-15 Standings (as of 3/21/11)
11. Rutgers University
Rutgers can claim to be one of the best small delegations in the World Division and they have the consistent recognition at some of the most competitive conferences this year to prove it. The team won won awards at Georgetown NCSC but their team really shined when they competed at two of the most competitive and largest conferences on the World Division circuit. The team won an Outstanding Small Delegation at U.Penn UPMUNC and followed up on that victory with another Outstanding Small Delegation at McGill McMUN. These two delegation awards gives Rutgers more team awards than any college that placed below it.
12. Emory University
The Emory team is relatively young but rapidly growing into one of the better teams in the nation. It was difficult to ascertain exactly how good the team was earlier this year – the team won Best Delegation at Duke DUMUNC and won awards at UNC Charlotte’s Carolinas MUN, but both conferences are not considered to be among the most competitive conferences in our methodology. We got a better sense when the team won a few awards at U.Penn UPMUNC, but we knew the team lived up to its increasingly high potential when it took home four awards at Harvard HNMUN – that gives them a head-to-head advantage over any team that placed below it. The team will get a chance to solidify its place in the Top 25 standings with results from Virginia VICS.
13. Case Western Reserve University
Case Western may be a surprise to some but with good reason. The team attended Columbia CMUNNY but then had to split its team between two conferences on the same weekend – Georgetown NCSC and its local Lake Erie International MUN conference (LEIMUN) – which meant few opportunities to see them at full-strength in the fall. But Case Western won the awards when it counted. The team took home three awards at Harvard HNMUN which is more than any team that placed below it. Several teams that placed below them may be able to claim to have better overall season results (though not a head-to-head advantage), but the season is not over yet — Case Western will get a chance to prove any doubters wrong when they compete at U.Chicago ChoMUN later in April.
14. College of William & Mary
William & Mary is a team that consistently wins awards at the most competitive conferences. The team performed exceptionally well outside the United States – their overall wins and win ratios put them in contention for delegation awards at WorldMUN and McGill McMUN (unofficial results would place them 2nd at WorldMUN and 3rd at McMUN). The team also placed 3rd at Columbia CMUNNY and had two award winners at Harvard HNMUN. Their results at three of the four most competitive conferences in the World Division circuit – HNMUN, WorldMUN, and McMUN – places them solidly in the Top 25. Their head delegate is Sam Schreck, and one of their star delegates is Kedar Pavgi.
15. Florida State University
Florida State seemed to be seeking some respect from its peers in the college circuit this year despite already having a reputation as a top team. The team won awards at Georgetown NCSC, competed at SRMUN in Atlanta (a conference on the National Division circuit) and the local Florida MUN Conference, and then highlighted its resume by winning Best Small Delegation at Berkeley UCBMUN against some tough competition. The strength of their Berkeley delegation award — which Florida State has consistently won in the past five years — puts them at #15 on our Standings for now and slightly ahead of George Washington. They’ll get a chance to reinforce their position when they compete at Mt. Holyoke FCMUN this weekend. Their star delegate is Sara Dejam who we featured at Georgetown NCSC and interviewed at Berkeley UCBMUN.
Check out the teams in the Top 16-25!
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What do you think about the colleges that made our Top 25? Make sure to check back on March 31st for the top 6-10!
