How to choose your country in Model UN: preferences and odds

You rank committees and countries, and the organizers assign the seats under their own rule.

When you apply to a conference, you rank the seats you want, and the organizers assign them. On mymun, the conference page shows its committees and the countries in each, its country matrix, so you can see every seat before you rank.

About seven in ten conferences on mymun ask you to rank, usually up to three choices; the rest assign seats without a list. Each conference has its own rule: some weigh experience, some the date you applied, and some pick at random for the most wanted seats. Many publish the rule on their page.

Your preferences guide the organizers but do not bind them, so rank only seats you would be glad to get.

On mymun, about half of delegates get the country they ranked first, three in four one of their top three, and nine in ten a committee they listed.

You will very likely get a committee you listed: nine in ten delegates at in-person conferences on mymun do. Your country is less certain: 44% of delegates at in-person conferences on mymun get the country they ranked first, and 63% online.

The most popular countries in MUN

The five permanent members of the Security Council, often called the P5, are the hardest seats to get as a group. At in-person conferences on mymun, the P5 hold one country seat in eight but draw a quarter of all first choices. Delegates who put one of them first get it about four times in ten, and those who put any other country first nearly half the time.

The United States is the most requested country on mymun: about 17 delegates put it first for every 10 seats it has, and about a third of them get it.

Even a country few delegates ask for is no sure thing, because the organizers fill every committee by their own rule, so your second and third choices count. Want one country badly? You may rank it in two different committees, and if the conference weighs experience, name your past conferences in your answers.

You are far more likely to get your committee than your country, and the committee decides most of your weekend.

At in-person conferences on mymun, seven in ten delegates get their first committee, but fewer than half get their first country. The committee decides your topic, the size of the room and who you debate with, so put first the committee whose topics you would enjoy reading about every evening until the conference.

On a first conference, pick a committee written for beginners. Committee pages, such as the Human Rights Council's, show the countries delegates request most there.

The best country is one with a stake in your topic: a permanent member brings power and attention, a smaller state a clear position and room to lead.

No country is a bad seat. Each kind plays differently:

Small states can lead: small island developing states speak as one group on climate and the sea, and a delegate who leads them often writes the draft. Little written about your country? Use the position of its regional group or bloc.

The Holy See and the State of Palestine are the UN's two permanent observer states, and in a crisis committee you often play a person instead of a country.

Shortlist countries with a stake, mix one popular pick with less requested ones, fill every slot and apply early.

1. 1Read the topics. Open the committee on the conference page and read what it will debate.
2. 2Shortlist five countries the topic affects or that have spoken on it. A search of UN meetings coverage shows who spoke and what they said.
3. 3Mix one popular country with two or three that fewer delegates ask for. One preference in five on mymun names just five countries: the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China and Germany.
4. 4Fill every slot, and rank honestly. You may get your last choice, so list only seats you would enjoy.
5. 5Apply early. Find conferences taking applications and apply soon after one opens: at in-person conferences on mymun, the first quarter of applicants get their first country a little more often than the last quarter, 48% against 42%.
6. 6Explain your choice if the conference asks, in two or three sentences: what you know of the topic and why the country interests you. Your application answers shows how.

Preferences are one step of your application, and every seat shows how many spots are left.

On mymun, preferences are one step of your application, and every seat shows how many spots are left, so you never spend a choice on a seat that is already full. For each choice you pick a committee, then a country in it, and you can reorder your list until you submit. Some conferences ask for committees only.

Leading a delegation that places its own members? You rank whole countries for the group, and each brings its seats in every committee it sits in, so rank countries with enough seats for your group. Taking students to a conference helps you place them once the countries arrive.

Every seat can be played well: find your country's position and its allies, and you will have plenty to say.

A seat you did not ask for is normal, and chairs judge how well you play your country, not which one you have. Find its position and the countries that share it, and you will have plenty to say. If you have a real reason, such as a clash with another commitment, ask the organizers for a change.