<p>I'm afraid that I will have to leave boxes in the interests section blank as I haven't read any books for pleasure this year. I probably would have, but I've been working non stop on school and other work. How would this look? And what about people who don't regularly read books unless required?</p>
<p>There hasn’t been a SINGLE book you read for pleasure the past 365 days of your life? That probably won’t look too good for a potential Columbia student who is expected to do University Writing, humanities, etc. (aka LOTS OF READING)</p>
<p>uh you’re probably not the only one. you may have to uh…deviate from the truth…what? ok seriously? i believe 80+% of people lie on that question. and that is being too nice.</p>
<p>If you haven’t read a SINGLE book, that’s not good. Most likely, you have and you just don’t remember. If you need, you can list books that you won’t “finish” until after the deadline, or books you read a year or two ago. Don’t lie egregriously, but don’t obsess over following the letter of the prompt either.</p>
<p>if you don’t regularly read books unless required, you should reconsider if columbia is a good fit for you. a lot of what will be asked of you in many classes is to go beyond what is asked. maybe you just need to read a few chapters of don quixote, but you’ll need to read the whole thing to write the paper. perhaps you really like psychology, but you can only read so much in high school to satisfy the interest - thus you read something outside to enhance your understanding.</p>
<p>i understand pwoods is trying to help out, and certainly there is a degree of flexibility in the question and your way of responding (on par, static, i think people are too truthful here). and certainly for those of you struggling to figure out what to say, you can dig deep in the recesses of your brain for an answer.</p>
<p>but if you - as the OP implies - simply do not like reading unrequired books. you are going to find a lot of what is expected of you (a voracity for reading, a tenacity for going above and beyond) very difficult to manage. certainly you could get by at columbia - but consider this…if columbia could find someone who can genuinely answer the books section AND be as smart as you, why would they choose a goose-egg to the real deal?</p>
<p>I respect that you want to answer that question honestly. Another ED applicant from my never reads and lied through the whole thing–he was deferred. I on the other hand read too excess and I got in…but I don’t think it matters. They know people will bs it.</p>
<p>don’t get me wrong… I love reading. but the past year, i’ve done nothing but school work and extracurriculars, and have not read a thing. I want to list books I read back in 10th grade when my life was easier but it asks for books in the past year…</p>
<p>List the books you read in 10th grade.</p>
<p>Honestly, Columbia’s short answers don’t matter in the least. Why Columbia and your EC paragraph is slightly important but WAY more emphasis is placed on grades+activities+scores+main essay. Don’t sweat these tiny pointless things.</p>
<p>I’d just list the last few books you DID read. No matter when it was…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yeah, these questions are like asking girls stating how much they weigh – Columbia assumes there’s a fudge-factor involved.</p>
<p>Just fudge it. A lot.</p>
<p>Did you read a magazine? Count that. Who doesn’t read the Economist or Newsweek? What about books for school? Kinda lame, but it’s something. </p>
<p>They aren’t looking for pages numbers and stuff, they want to see topics of interests. If you meant to read a book, but never found the time, then it still shows some interest. </p>
<p>Above all, Do Not Leave It Blank. That is just bad news.</p>