<p>I've just reviewed the syllabus for the Core course Lit Hum at Columbia University. 26 books! Yikes! The truth is that I am not much of a reader. I receive top grades at a top college prep school and I keep up with my assignments just fine. I work hard! But I never read for pleasure. I just don't enjoy reading. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a flake; but I'm not a reader! The issue I'm facing is that I have connections at Columbia that give me a great chance of getting in. But will I survive? Do students ever fail Lit Hum? Is the worst grade possible a C?</p>
<p>a) the worst possible grade if you do all the work and even somewhat participate in class is a B. if you do no work and do not hand in things, you are looking at a C (probably not much lower though), so take that into consideration.</p>
<p>b) the core is more about thinking than reading; sure you have to read the books, about a book a week, but it is to figure out how can you relate it to a diverse corpus of information, your own academic backgrounds and those of your peers. few teachers will ask you to read the books in their entirety and few students read all the books cover to cover. they are set to be discussion pieces and not like a lit class where you would have to know the books cover to cover. in general the expectation with columbia is that for every hour of class time you should do about an hour of work. you will meet 4 hours a week for lit hum, so you should plan to do about 4 hours of reading or starting on a paper topic a week. i am also a devout believer in efficiency. i would put in my 4 hours each week, read as much as i could to comprehend the major themes in the text, and select one of the themes (and therefore passages) to bring up in class.</p>
<p>c) the short answer is you can easily survive and people are always able to adapt. the core is more about the experience and the companionship. but i will caution you, however, columbia cares about folks who have a breadth of understanding in important topics. so perhaps that doesn’t mean reading literature books, but it does mean reading something integral to your area of study. short of being the president’s daughter, most students will be judged based on what they put on their list of books and articles. so do consider the fact that reading does not mean literature.</p>
<p>further, in lit hum the texts are not only looked at for their literary value, but mostly for their cultural historical importance, their conversation with other movements and what they might mean for the present. the texts are not just literary, and can be read with your own flair for whatever you are interested in. learning how to harness reading to your own advantage is probably the greatest lesson i gained from the core, and why i think it is a critical intellectual experience.</p>
<p>“The truth is that I am not much of a reader.”</p>
<p>Then you’ll do fine in LitHum! Very few people read the books in their entirety; the point is to discuss both big ideas in the books and small passages that reflect those big ideas. Inevitably, large parts of the books are simply not discussed. That’s just the nature of the class and its crazy pace. That said, I’m not sure if Columbia’s the ideal school for you if you don’t consider yourself a reader. You don’t have to BE an obsessive reader, but it’s probably good to at least consider yourself one. You need to have a degree of academic and intellectual dedication and drive to succeed at Columbia, and I suppose any top school. </p>
<p>More importantly, you absolutely have to possess intellectual curiosity and drive in order to get in to Columbia. I don’t know the nature of your connection, but I highly, highly doubt that it “gives [you] a great chance of getting in.” Columbia rejected 94% of applicants last year. Of course, applying ED and being a legacy (which is what I assume your connection either is or is similar to) helps your chances, but it’s NOT a guarantee. Only about 4% of any class is comprised of legacies. This doesn’t mean admission to Columbia to difficult (hell, I got in), but it does mean that it’s almost never a likelihood.</p>
<p>I greatly appreciate your candor and insights (both admissionsgeek & pwoods). I totally understand the dedication and intellectual curiosity that will be necessary if I am admitted. The quantity and the seemingly heady nature of the readings intimidated me. I see that it could be manageable if I choose to make it so. But you’re right. It may not be the best place for me. I’m not attached to it; others guiding my process are. I’m thinking Wash U might be a more balanced place for me … or Georgetown.</p>