I didn’t mean to suggest that perhaps this applicant never reads any books. I got the point that he reads the extensive reading list required for class, just not books outside of those lists. And LOTS of kids are like that. I just think it is best to have book or two to list. And then perhaps supplement with other reading; e.g., my kid reads lots of news articles about politics and another watches lots of science videos on youtube.
It’s fine if he hasn’t read any books for pleasure. The colleges will appreciate honesty, please believe me. AP reading lists on top of music practice is quite enough. The question is one way for colleges to get to know kids, through the books they list, that’s all.
If you ask this question on the music forum and mention that your son practices every day, believe me , you will get very different answers.
Congratulations on a hard-working talented son who happens to have a lot on his plate. Like many kids today, I am sure he is reading but not books.
Please don’t worry and reassure him that colleges greatly appreciate hard work in music and understand the time it takes.
He has his whole life to read books. If schools would lay off the homework maybe more kids would read for pleasure in the first place!!
@sylvan8798 --my point is that a lot of things on an application aren’t simply to prove whether a student can succeed at the school or not. They’re there because they help portray to what extent the student is the kind of student the school is looking for. I’m not saying this student being discussed isn’t their “type” because the book list is just one piece of information. I’m just saying that it’s way more complex than–does leisure reading indicate potential success or not.
Thanks for all the responses. @compmom - Yes, he did say if he had less schoolwork he would have time for reading. He’s lucky if he gets 6 hours of sleep a day.
I think if a school says “we only want students who have read 30 books for leisure in the past year” and the OP son does not meet that criteria, that he is not their suited applicant and should be trying elsewhere rather than mounting a pretense to somehow meeting this criteria. Personally, I don’t see “read a bunch of books” as somehow “Harvard here I come!” worthy, but maybe there are those institutions out there. Again, though, if student does not meet this criteria, isn’t it better to find a more well-suited place rather than fitting oneself into a square hole?
LOL, my kid actually figured he’d read more than a hundred. What he read just augmented what was on the rest of the application.
I understand not doing extra reading during term time when you are busy with the AP English list - but that’s only three months of the last year.
And your point is what?
As a current high school student, I find some people on this thread to be very insensitive and judgmental regarding high schoolers’ reading habits. I deeply sympathize with the struggle to come up with books you’ve read by choice in HS and I think some people who haven’t necessarily experienced this firsthand very recently need to step back and give high schoolers a break.
I didn’t really make clear this one huge point: this kid is a musician who practices hours each day. Schools like to assemble a class with diverse interests and talents. Clearly this student has a high level of reading and writing skills (which are proven in grades, AP tests, testing scores) and meets that benchmark, but spends a lot of time on a “passion,” music. This is exactly what colleges are looking for to come up with a varied class.
@sylvan8798 – the answer to your question might well be “yes.” But this piece of information, as i said above, is just one piece of information. I don’t think that many students, if any, will be accepted or rejected on the basis of that one information point alone. That’s what holistic admissions means, right? No student is the perfect match for any school, and no school is the perfect match for any student.
And that’s—okay.
I don’t see the point of any judging at all. The original question was very straightforward…how to handle this portion of the app. With my response, I only meant to respond to the direct question - how would I suggest it be handled? I assumed that the applicant is bright, qualified, and engaged. But how to handle that question on the app? We here on CC have different viewpoints, as is to be expected.
And seriously, NO reason to judge nor to feel defensive. MANY kids don’t read a ton of books and LOTS of super smart, wonderful kids are not reading books outside of school these days, as may have in the past, for any number of reasons (HEAVY reading load already in place for school, even in the summer; other forums for engaging; other activities are more time-consuming these day; etc etc).
I figured I would add to my previous post to say this: it is not just the application where this question must be addressed. If the applicant will have an admissions interview or a campus visit, the book question may come up. It’s always best to have an answer to anticipated questions, regardless of how you to decide to respond to the question. And of course, one of the “life lessons” that I harass my kids with is: never put ANYTHING on an app or a resume that you aren’t prepared to talk about!
A friend in a senior administrative position at a university library told me she always used to ask job applicants what interesting book they had read recently. She said she quit doing it because so many didn’t have an answer. She wasn’t trying to trip them up. It was supposed to be an easy question designed to make them comfortable.
Her take away is that people don’t necessarily read for pleasure any more, even those looking for library jobs. She also used this as a conversation starter at parties. She had quit that practice as well.
I like profdad2021’s advice here. Some interviewers, especially those of my generation, may ask this question. It’s good to be prepared.
Reading these boards so very long, I’m aware many students try to give the colleges exactly what they want: excellent test scores, excellent grades, interesting ECs, etc. Expecting a student to do some leisure reading doesn’t seem all that different, to me.
I certainly understand a student can’t do everything. And that music can be a full time activity.
This is an interesting question, and I think many more people are in it than would like to admit. An honest answer from the applicant might make the application stand out, and my gut tells me that’s a better strategy than listing the usual AP books. Reading is one of things that one is not “allowed” to find boring, so good for him for finding something else to do. I don’t think anyone will buy the time excuse though. Even a book left in the bathroom would get read in a year.
None of my kids are musical. None of my kids were athletes in HS (except of the “benchwarmer” variety and more for exercise and esprit de corps). None of my kids were artistic, did performing arts, were ever president of student government, etc.
It was wonderful to be asked about their favorite books or recent books on college applications. they were all avid, enthusiastic readers with sometimes offbeat and bizarre taste in fiction, and weird interests in non-fiction. Isn’t it nice that colleges seemed to accept that even the kids with zero hours of music practice a week, or zero hours of rehearsals for plays, or few hours of athletic competitions could still be interesting people and contribute to a college community!
@malvernvarna Thanks for chiming in.
This thread should not turn into “my child is so much more special than yours”. I recognize that each child has strengths and weaknesses. While my child has not read 5 or 100 books outside of class, what he does have in spades is compassion for others, generosity, and kindness. This is evident in his essays, extra-curriculars, and most likely, his recommendation letters. These attributes are so much more important to our family than how many books he has read. If a school turns him down because of his lack of outside reading so be it.
"DS is applying to a school that asks for a list of books he has read for pleasure outside of the classroom this past year. "
You should have read the supplement months ago and had your kid read some books. This is a bit of a screw-up on your kid’s part. Maybe he should not apply to that school?
Although I’m fairly sympathetic to the idea that if the student wants to attend a certain school, the student should give the school what it wants, the idea of creating an interesting pleasure reading list to put on a supplement in hopes of impressing colleges is just more than a little depressing to me.
I’m going to advocate just highlighting his strengths and ignoring the question. Unless he follows the suggestion to list his music. I thought that was excellent.
I still like profdad’s idea of having a kid read a book to have something to discuss if necessary. My parents insisted I learn to play golf and tennis. And bridge. Just in case.
“… the idea of creating an interesting pleasure reading list to put on a supplement in hopes of impressing colleges …”
I know, without doubt, that many may lampoon this inquiry, as it speaks to my actual frame of mind, but are the kids really seeking to impress the colleges with their book lists? I swear to you, my kids did not do this.
I think one of my kids kept on a list, not the senior year’s reading list but a list of favorites, a book I got him, about 26 pages long with full color illustrations, when he was probably in 4th grade. It is on the cosmos and the formation of all which exists in the natural world.
Really? This OP’s kid must try and * impress * them?
I think the point of the book list is as Garland explained. The college assumes students read for pleasure and the list will give some insight into their individual personalities. The essay is supposed to tell them something about the student. The book list can serve this purpose too. However, the essay and the book list can be over-thought and not be very reflective of the student… And it becomes one more thing for students and parents to stress over. imho
Read whatever you want. Don’t read if you don’t like to read. Or if you are too busy. I don’t think pleasure reading should be about satisfying a supplement for a college application… That just bothers me… again just my opinion. It just disturbs me pleasure reading isn’t its own reward, but another chore for college applications for a student who either has too little time or too little interest in outside reading.
If there are a significant number of high school students applying to this college who don’t read for pleasure, do we want them to start reading so they can have some books to list? I don’t. I am not willing to say this is the wrong college for those students. It is obviously the wrong question for those particular students.
I don’t think it was envisioned as a difficult question. I imagine it was supposed to be an easy way for students to tell something about themselves. But now we have high school students with no time for any outside reading, because they are already to busy trying to accomplish what the colleges have told them they want.
adding: I don’t really know why this thread disturbed me so. I’m going back to my book.