Will admissions tutors at top unis know what MUN means?

[shockthemonkey]

I have seen many PSs go out talking about participation in "MUN" conferences. All got offers.

Current charge's school says she must spell it out. That's seventeen extra characters she cannot easily find (currently her PS is at 3999 characters).

Can anyone in the trade tell me if most Admissions Tutors from top unis know that MUN = Model United Nations?

Thanks very much!

[BasiliskStare]

Needmore .

[Broken1Girl]

She needs to spell it out. Using an acronym is poor communication. She needs to cut the word count elsewhere, equally excessive verbiage is poor communication and won't impress.

[sendsummer]

The university doesn't need to know your life story. IMO one of the values of doing a PS is learning to fit an application to the 'specification' and communicating the relevant information concisely and clearly.

[sendsummer]

Most applicants I know have far more interesting stuff to say than they can possibly fit into 4000.
For those sort of applicants I would suggest selecting the 'stuff' which the individual has themselves instigated, independently of opportunities provided by the school or family, that demonstrates their interest in and aptitude for the chosen degrees (including thoughts on most influential reading or extra individual study etc). Objective extra evidence of aptitude by doing very well in recognised relevant national even international competitions could be included in the school reference.

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

As I always say, word/character limits are exactly that - limits, not targets. I like the cut of Basilisk's DS jib.

[Needmoresleep]

Forget about NUM. The more embarrassing typo would be to leave out the U. As in enjoying debating on MN.

[kua]

Oxford and Cambridge consistently state that they are not interested in MUN, DoE, Captain of (insert sport) etc and would rather that the space be used for demonstrating the love of the subject they have chosen to study.

As Basilisks son has done a couple of lines at the end, showing their EC is ideal.

[BasiliskStare]

Oh and Ds loves " 4000 of the buggers" - he says it is enough.

[BasiliskStare]

Goodbye, I think you give him too much credence , but he is pragmatic. He was another who rattled out his PS in one go (after thought ) and then tweaked. Different universities will want different things , but DS pretty much went for - here's why I want to study this - and then put the most relevant of his EC activities in a couple of sentences. Left some out. But he had a university in mind. Other courses / universities would be different.

[goodbyestranger]

Given that OP mentioned her charge was hoping for a place there too.

[goodbyestranger]

Young people would do well to heed the advice of Basilisk's DS - he knows what he's talking about and is one of the cleverest DC at Oxford even though Basilisk is far too modest to say so.

[BasiliskStare]

So having told DS my MUN / NUM cock up ,( and giggled) his view was that if you can't say what you want to say in 4000 characters, then, given that many who get their first choice place can, then you are probably trying to say too much. And if resorting to acronyms is the only way to do it then , either what you are shoe horning in isn't necessary or there is too much elsehere which needs to be culled. The university doesn't need to know your life story.

[Bobochic]

Most applicants I know have far more interesting stuff to say than they can possibly fit into 4000. They often need to persuade their referee to say stuff in the reference that can't be fitted into the PS. Every character counts!

[goodbyestranger]

They're not that precious Bobo. There's 4000 of the buggers.

[Bobochic]

I've seen lots of PSs that are nothing to do with me - I read a lot, from lots of sources, as it's interesting to get a good feel for what's out there, and abbreviations are all over the place, for pretty obvious reasons. Why waste precious characters on stuff that can be said effectively in fewer letters? Save the characters for where meaning is added.

[goodbyestranger]

Applying for a politics degree, any form of engagement with the NUM would appeal to a tutor vastly more than the standard participation in MUN I'd have thought. So on second thoughts I might go with an acronym but let my finger slip on the keyboard. Easily done :)

[BasiliskStare]

Ah , I meant MUN (i.e. Model United Nations ) not NUM (National Union of Miners) .
Perhaps spelling out in full is the right way to go
Good job DS wrote his PS and not me , eh?

[BasiliskStare]

So one more point - DS said he thought if it were relevant to the course you were applying to you can afford to say Model UN which is pretty much how the program is referred to, rather than spelling out "Model United Nations" in full, for the reasons Needmore said , in that he thinks UN is a globally recognised thing. If it is relevant to your course he things Model UN would be both accurate and clear. He thinks shortening to NUM gets into school "jargon" and if you are applying for a subject where you have to write essays , always best to make sure you are understood. That said, he is not French.

[Archfarchnad]

I would assume that a PPE tutor at Oxford would be well aware of it - someone in the natural sciences perhaps less so. But writing Model UN is clear to everybody so possibly preferable for that reason. DD wrote MUN - but that was applying for a politics course at a French university, where it's almost de rigeur to have been involved in MUN.

[Needmoresleep]

Bobo, there is a difference between English and French here. Acronyms are less accepted in English. The normal convention is to spell any acronym out fully first time it is used, unless it is known to be universal. UN could be seen as being pretty automatic. The M less so.

Essentially it is polite. Yes, irregularregular could figure it out from context, but why should she. She would have a pile of other PS' to read and will want to focus on the content without having to decypher things. Plain English is usually best.

From my experience of working in France, the French consider assuming a level of erudition from their reader is flattering. So it is fine to assume a reader will undedrstand MUN or any other acronym. Sophistication in French is usually preferred.

The trouble is these French students are applying to English Universities. Best to play safe.

[goodbyestranger]

But have you seen any personal statements other than those of your clients and DSSs Bobo? Because presumably you advise in the same way as OP in which case obviously there are abbreviations wherever possible, to save characters.

To me, spelling things in full would simply look as though the writer is sufficiently versatile with their written English that they can cope with writing correctly, while at the same time saying something vaguely to the point in 4000 characters about their chosen subject. 4000 is ample for the purpose and needing to abbreviate just looks sloppy and casual.

[Bobochic]

I've never seen a PS spell out Model United Nations. It would look a bit condescending to me - as if the admissions person were too ignorant to know what MUN stands for.

[irregularegular]

I confess I didn't immediately know what it was, but imagine I would work it out in context. I'd probably go for Model UN though for clarity.

(PPE tutor)

[Leeds2]

I am not an admissions tutor but I think MUN would annoy me, in a way that Model UN wouldn't. Can't explain why! My DD did Model UN, but no idea if it was referred to on her personal statement and, if it was, how it was described!

[BasiliskStare]

Ds did MUN and didn't actually mention it on his PS (History) but said he would have said "Model UN" not MUN if he had. Halfway house Laodicean he ?