@alaqsasaya3ud I think my junior year there were only five required readings, I know there are definitely 4 this year. One of the books this year is the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. I’m a little jealous, I loved that book and would have really appreciated being able to discuss it with my class.
My favorite required readings were: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; The Stranger by Albert Camus; The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I’m interested in how many males there are in this discussion… For some reason I imagine everyone is a female but I know that must not be true. :))
@wherevioletsgrow I’m actually looking to go into history, but I can see why someone would think that I’m interested in Poli Sci or International Relations on the basis of that list, haha. I’ve spent most of my life here in the States, but I was born in Africa, so most of those works resonate strongly with me.
Actually, I don’t know who Kubrick or Kazuo Ishiguro are, so you might want to explain them to me, lol.
@dr0wning Well, I suppose we’ll see when Thursday comes around. I probably won’t post my results if I’m rejected, though.
@soph1112 Well, then I can only hope that they form a positive opinion of me from that list.
@columbhiroller I’m female! You?
@alaqsasaya3ud I don’t really want to post my results because it would be saddening, but I probably will if it helps future Columbia applicants
wait back on the majors, is it bad if I did not explain the 3rd major i chose at all and only wrote about the first two??
@dr0wning I am female, which must be why I assume everyone else here to be one as well. Anyways, although it is too early to say so - I hope we all get to meet each other in the fall. This seems like a great sample of the class of 2020 to me! :))
@columbhiroller I’m a female haha
@alaqsasaya3ud that’s so cool that you want to go into history! I’m a science person but if I went to Columbia (fingers crossed) I want to make history a concentration in addition to my major because I just think it is so interesting!!!
@dr0wning Why do you like the Joy Luck Club so much? I’ve never read it myself, but I’ve heard a lot of negative things about it.
Do you remember much of The Stranger? What’s it like? Is it as pied noir-centric as it seems at first glance? Does it portray “l’Algérie Française” in an objective light, or Camus subtly or overtly extol the virtues of the French “mission civilisatrice” in Algeria? I ask partly because I have serious doubts about the merits of a work written by a pied noir period and partly because I have serious doubts about Camus himself - to the very end, he refused to recognize the existence of the Algerian nation and their right to self-determination.
Sorry if I’m bothering you with questions you have no interest in.
@dr0wning @columbhiroller I’m a research assistant for a computational neuroscience project currently, so I’m thinking a joint major in computer science and neuroscience. I think I put my third interest as econ… If we get accepted (crossing fingers!), we pick sophomore year, right? All of your majors sound cool 
@soph1112 Know how you feel. I live multiple states away and know very few people on the east coast… I love Columbia and NYC, though.
@soph1112 I am scared too. I was going to apply to the same school as my twin so I could feel safer but I loved columbia and knew that I had to do the right thing for myself even tho it is scary. It will be an adjustment but then it will be amazing. Its okay to be nervous. I totally feel the same way. Its scary and exciting all at the same time!
@columbhiroller I’m a guy. I was actually under the impression that most people here are male.
@BrynMawr61 Is there any particular region or period of history you’re interested in? Maybe we could connect and discuss it, haha.
@dr0wning I bought the French version of The Stranger! I bought it for when my French improves more so I’ll be able to read it
@alpha525 @soph1112 Super conflicted as well. On one hand, I want someone to jump up and down and scream with should I get accepted. But…if I don’t get in then it’s just even more sad with everybody standing there 
@alaqsasaya3ud I have an interest in anything about the world war 2 and Cold War era, and anything about US history. What about you?
@aniiii Me too!! And my family keeps trying to be “optimistic” and I’m just like “please no don’t get my hopes up” lol
I’m a male, and I do feel like the majority in this thread are females.
If some of us were to get accepted (which I’m sure multiple from this thread will), you guys should exchange information or something so you could meet once you get there!
@aniiii There are a lot of parents and students sending in anonymous letters and sending the dirt out on people where I’m from it’s even sadder to see people all excited getting in somewhere then have their offers rescinded
@BrynMawr61 I’m mostly interested in Africa, the Arab world and modern China, but I do have some interest in the Soviet Union, so I can see some overlap. I’m afraid that our perspectives will be rather different, though.