Interests - Application

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Part of the Columbia application asks for books, films, shows, and performances that I have enjoyed the past year. Even trickier is they offer separate spaces for required reading and pleasured reading.</p>

<p>I rarely read or watch anything 'scholarly' for pleasure. With the lists I can provide, I might as well leave the answers blank. How badly will this hurt my application?</p>

<p>Obviously, I am a SEAS applicant. But from what I hear, the program is really liberal arts oriented (wanting its students to become 'engineering leaders' - financial engineers, doctors with biomedical engineering background, etc.). I might have to reconsider because even the application scares me.</p>

2

<p>If I recall they don't specify for anything 'scholarly'. I think it's the exact opposite. They want to get a glimpse of who you are as a person. </p>

<p>I'm guessing they can pretty easily see through the BooleChit of people who put the Iliad as their leisure so just be honest...though I wouldn't necessarily put 'The Hills' in there (simply as a matter of basic human dignity).</p>

<p>Mine was basically just concerts (mostly punk and alternative with some jazz), had a few magazines, Entourage & Mad Men (the tv shows), comic books, and even a 'For Dummies' book lol. I declined putting in a lot of books in favor of my favorite poem, the Raven. Poe was a badass.</p>

3

<p>"But from what I hear, the program is really liberal arts oriented (wanting its students to become 'engineering leaders' - financial engineers, doctors with biomedical engineering background, etc.). I might have to reconsider because even the application scares me."</p>

<p>it is, you should have interests in a variety (not all or most) fields, but some interest in a few social sciences and humanities is what columbia looks for, if all you want to study is science and engineering, do re-consider. </p>

<p>leaving those lists blank will hurt you, think harder. i wasn't a particularly avid reader, but i was able to fill all the columns up quite satisfactorily. Put normal books that a teenager would reader and either find interesting or thought provoking. yea no illiad non-sense at all, even if it is your favorite book, they'll think you're lying to appease them.</p>

4

<p>Thank you both very much for the helpful responses.</p>

<p>Do the engineers at Columbia SEAS generally end up taking more humanities classes than engineers at other schools (eg. Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, etc.)? I did try searching, but I don't really know what a 'typical' course load should look like.</p>

5

<p>^ we're required to, i believe. The outcome too would be that columbia seas kids end up taking more humanity courses (i wager), because of the selection biases of applicants, both the pool and criteria by which the ad-com chooses people. My guess is seas students minor in CC (social science, humanity) disciplines, whereas cornell, cmu engineers might minor in another field of engineering, ex: chem E, comp sci. Or elen, bme. I have quite a few friends doing one seas minor, one CC minor. so say mech E major, with ee and poli sci minors, the latter of which is more of fun/learning rather than industry knowledge.</p>

6

<p>Would it be ridiculous to put Sex and the City on my list? It is my absolute favorite show and it was what first got me interested in living a cosmopolitan lifestyle, which led to me wanting to go to college in a major metropolitan area, which led to me falling head over heels for Columbia...</p>

7

<p>It would be fine as long as it you dont pust just that and project runway and america's next top model etc. Just balance it with some other stuff you like that arent ditzy. Columbia isnt just about NYC and morningside heights is no upper east side so make sure you like Columbia because its Columbia. ;)</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
Would it be ridiculous to put Sex and the City on my list? It is my absolute favorite show and it was what first got me interested in living a cosmopolitan lifestyle, which led to me wanting to go to college in a major metropolitan area, which led to me falling head over heels for Columbia...

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This post is vomit-inducing.</p>

9

<p>lol at C2002. Harsh.....but sort of true.</p>

<p>I do agree that this would probably be THE absolute worst way to go. </p>

<p>Now naming Sex and the City as your favorite show won't result in the immediate discard of your application. It's just a show after all, and admittedly not a bad one (by Fox standards).</p>

<p>But it certainly does not help to paint a good picture of you imo. ESPECIALLY if you go on with *that *logic which basically translates to you wanting to attend Columbia, arguably one of the greatest institutions on Earth...because of Sex and the City. (Just think about that sentence for a moment- it'll hit you)</p>

<p>Hell, even the girl in Legally Blonde had a better reason for seeking higher education!</p>

<p>Plus you have to imagine the legion of high school girls applying to Columbia & NYU because they want the Carrie Bradshaw lifestyle. It doesn't make you stand out...it makes you bland (oh so bland) and clueless about what New York city really is. Which I'm sure you are not.</p>

<p>My advice for these interests sections is always to be truthful....but that particular show is a truth I'd keep to myself. It has a bad connotation when it comes to driving legions of bubbleheads to the Big Apple in search of their Mister Big romance, no offense. (It also turned my aunt into a raging cougar but that's a mental scar for another day...)</p>

<p>GENERAL ADVICE FOR YOUR APPLICATION</p>

<p>It's important to downplay NYC. Yes, it's an unbelievable asset and draw but it should never be the focus of your application. You can mention it's resources, internship opportunities, etc...sure, but those are reasons why you want to live in New York, NOT why you should go to Columbia. And the Adcoms very much know the difference.</p>

<p>EDIT: Then again I may just be bitter stuck at home with the nastiest cold ever on a Saturday night....(sigh)</p>

10

<p>"Would it be ridiculous to put Sex and the City on my list? It is my absolute favorite show and it was what first got me interested in living a cosmopolitan lifestyle, which led to me wanting to go to college in a major metropolitan area, which led to me falling head over heels for Columbia..."</p>

<p>you DO know that carrie bradshaw probably never read the Iliad and probably never pulled an all-nighter in her life, right?</p>

<p>Also, the worst possible thing that's going to happen to you will NOT be a lost pair of Manolo Blahnik's, it'll probably be drinking tons of coffee and studying for a final in Butler.</p>

<p>Columbia's a LOT of work, and in my opinion Sex and the City is a terrible depiction of what life in the city is really like--at least at our level, and certainly for a columnist like Carrie. Carrie lives like Sarah Jessica Parker, not the other way around. </p>

<p>...so...feel free to list sex and the city as one of your favourite shows but DON'T say it's what made you want to go to CU. That'll send your application to the shredder.</p>

11

<p>do you think my list sounds fake? It isn't.</p>

<p>Books:
A History of Western Philosophy, The World is Flat, Infidel, The God Delusion, The World Without Us, The Post-American World, A Path Out of the Desert, Atlas Shrugged, God is Not Great, Walden, Civil Disobedience. </p>

<p>Daily:
The New York Times, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Dish, Politico, Feministing</p>

<p>TV:
Hardball, Countdown w/Keith Olbermann, O'Reilly Factor, C-Span</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
Books:
A History of Western Philosophy, The World is Flat, Infidel, The God Delusion, The World Without Us, The Post-American World, A Path Out of the Desert, Atlas Shrugged, God is Not Great, Walden, Civil Disobedience.</p>

<p>Daily:
The New York Times, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Dish, Politico, Feministing</p>

<p>TV:
Hardball, Countdown w/Keith Olbermann, O'Reilly Factor, C-Span

[/quote]
</p>

<p>well its obvious you're interested in politics...i would suggest including at least one novel/work of fiction in your books section for some diversity (if one of those is then ignore this...but from those titles it seems that they are all non-fiction). </p>

<p>I like that you're trying to portray yourself as someone who takes an interest in exploring both liberal and conservative politics but O'Reilly is a joke ....its hard to find respectable, intelligent conservative news on tv... it is mostly relegated to the internet. I also find it very hard to believe that you watch c-span. </p>

<p>Overall though, your list just keeps hammering away at one aspect of your personality and makes it look like you are pretty bland. Just as you should include novels in your books section, you should also include some non-news shows in your tv section (like a sitcom for instance). </p>

<p>Also, is there actually a section that specifically asks for "TV"? I'm looking at the application from 2002 and it says: </p>

<p>
[quote]
List the films, performances, exhibits, entertainments, festivals, etc. you enjoyed most in the past year:

[/quote]
</p>

<p>has this changed?</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
but O'Reilly is a joke ....its hard to find respectable, intelligent conservative news on tv

[/quote]
</p>

<p>And Matthews Olberman aren't jokes? It's hard to find respectable and intelligent news on TV. BTW, BO'R isn't news and never claimed to be news.</p>

<p>Stop the trolling.</p>

<p>
[quote]
i would suggest including at least one novel/work of fiction in your books section for some diversity (if one of those is then ignore this...but from those titles it seems that they are all non-fiction).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>
[quote]
Just as you should include novels in your books section, you should also include some non-news shows in your tv section (like a sitcom for instance).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I don't think there's a set formula that needs to be adhered to. I do think it looks like the person is trying TOO hard to show that they're a politics geek at the expense of everything else.</p>

14

<p>oh i didn't include any novels or sitcoms because I wasn't sure they even wanted those. I guess it makes sense that they want those to get a full picture of the candidate. Although, I haven't read/watched many. </p>

<p>And C-Span rocks. haha I really only watch it when i'm doing other work and i want something bland in the background.</p>

15

<p>Just be....selectively honest. </p>

<p>Don't add stuff you're not interested (or listened once 4 years ago) in just because it creates a profile.But use judgment in putting in things that will reflect well on you (i.e. Not Sex and the City or The Hills)</p>

<p>PS. My impression of post #11 isn't really great. It feels very artificial and not AT ALL well-rounded but then again that's just me.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
Matthews Olberman aren't jokes?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Matthews is. Olbermann is not. </p>

<p>
[quote]
Stop the trolling.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>i don't think you understand what trolling is... stating my opinion on Bill O'Reilly is not trolling. </p>

<p>
[quote]
I don't think there's a set formula that needs to be adhered to. I do think it looks like the person is trying TOO hard to show that they're a politics geek at the expense of everything else.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>i never said there was. i was giving pretty specific advice...which you incidentally paraphrased in that second sentence. </p>

<p>
[quote]
And C-Span rocks. haha I really only watch it when i'm doing other work and i want something bland in the background.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>translation: blandness rocks</p>

17

<p>Well I like it. </p>

<p>Okay moral of the story is be diverse. Now let's bring this thread to a close before we come to a flame war over MSNBC.</p>

18

<p>everyone has their theories on what not to include, and if you take a bit of advice from each of them, you'll erase your personality on the application.</p>

<p>Klaz,
Sex and city is perfectly acceptable, just don't make it the primary reason and leave it at that. I had a couple of juvenile things in my interest sections, thought a lot about them, and decided to firmly keep them in place as they the portrayed me as a normal teenager. it lended credibility to my application. </p>

<p>If sex and the city was what first made you think about cosmopolitan life you can definitely say that in an essay. Focus though on how cosmopolitan life compels you to apply to columbia, for the diversity and balance of their student body (make sure this doesn't end up sounding cliche). But sex and the city having opened your eyes to it, is completely acceptable, you shouldn't portray that you want to go columbia to re-live sex and city. People on this thread saw sex and city and have completely missed the point. C02 is case in point, looks like the 12 year old boy who vomits at anything girlish or cute hasn't quite left him. </p>

<p>I would say having a balance is important, not having anything un-ditzy will hurt you. but otherwise put whatever you want. My rule:</p>

<p>If it's blatantly racist and offensive - leave it out, otherwise include and maintain some balance of fun and intellectually stimulating interests. This basically does not exclude anything, except the 5th ditzy show you list if you have 4 others.</p>

19

<p>"I would say having a balance is important, not having anything un-ditzy will hurt you. but otherwise put whatever you want."</p>

<p>I had buffy the vampire slayer on mine :D I made it :P</p>

20

<p>If you just compared Buffy to Sex and the City I may have to dropkick you- fair warning. :D Buffy was awesome.</p>

<p>
[quote]
if sex and the city was what first made you think about cosmopolitan life you can definitely say that in an essay. Focus though on how cosmopolitan life compels you to apply to columbia, for the diversity and balance of their student body (make sure this doesn't end up sounding cliche). But sex and the city having opened your eyes to it, is completely acceptable, you shouldn't portray that you want to go columbia to re-live sex and city.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I get what you're saying, but I think that's a very risky advice. It's an uphill battle to separate the two angles as soon as you mention Sex and the City. It's a fine favorite show but it shouldn't be anywhere near your essays.</p>

<p>And I don't think that C2002 was gagging at Sex and the City but at the 'i want to attend Columbia because of Sex and the City' logic behind that post.
Unless you're already living it because of your family's status and wealth, going to Columbia won't give you that cosmopolitan lifestyle or anything close.</p>