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!

[goodbyestranger]

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

[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!

[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.

[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.

[goodbyestranger]

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

[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.

[BasiliskStare]

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

[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.

[Needmoresleep]

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

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[BasiliskStare]

Needmore .