"List the books you've read" prompts

Hey everyone. I’ve noticed that some short answer application prompts ask you for a list of books you’ve read during the past year and the most meaningful one on that list.

So… I read a lot, and I’m scared that listing the books I’ve read during the past year could either lead to colleges suspecting I’m lying to try and impress them or to colleges finding me pretentious. Both outcomes seem like they could completely nuke my application, so should I truncate the list or remove the books that “sound” pretentious? I know this might sound like a stupid question but it’s genuinely worrying me haha.

A lot of bright kids read tons of books so its hard for me to believe you’d be the only one. Give us some idea of what you’re talking about and we can give you a better answer on whether we thing it would be pretentious or not.

Depending on the college, you might have to do that anyway. Usually this essay question has a low word count limit. If you do have to limit, I would list the books you found the most interesting, even if others might find them “pretentious.”

@doschicos Yeah, you’re right, a bunch of my friends read a lot too. I don’t know exactly what the amount is since I have to balance between buying on Amazon and borrowing from the library, but it’s definitely over 50 for the past year. I’ll probably list my favorite ones from the list, as @skieurope said.

Well, that’s about a book a week. Lots of people read a book a week. Not pretentious. List the ones you like best until you run out of space.

Careful editing is a great skill. Think about what you want to communicate via your list. Some of it may be smarts and curiosity, some may be your fun side.

Totally agree with @lookingforward … the way you edit and present the list could be very engaging.

Your fears are unfounded. Lots of very bright people read a ton, and “pretentious” isn’t a dirty word in the world of higher academia. You should see some of the book lists I’ve looked at over the years!

That said, yeah, edit. A mix of styles, subject matter, and canonization (or non-) is best. Don’t just indiscriminately barf up a list of everything you’ve ever read.

@doschicos @lookingforward @gardenstategal @marvin100 Thank you, you guys are great!

I’ve noticed this question come up on a bunch of applications. Why do colleges ask this? I’m not an avid reader, so I’m worried that I may come across as “uncultured.”

@ScienceYo - because (A) reading is a good habit of an intellectual life, and college will involve lots of reading, and (B) the books people choose to read can provide some insight into their values and interests.

Imo, because how you answer can reveal how you think, in the first place. True of many questions.

@marvin100 Should you or should you not editorialize before presenting your list?

I gave a list of categories (I enjoy mysteries, biographies etc) and then listed some of my favorites and some that made a significant impact on me.

I have to say that I worry about this question for both our son and daughter. Both kids have read above grade level since they were little and would plow through books until 9th grade. Since then, time to “read for fun” has been cut drastically with homework and ECs. Playing a sport every day after school or attending to an EC until 6:00 and then dinner and 4-5 hours of homework doesn’t make time for much extra reading. Our S19 crashes into bed and falls right asleep after his homework is done. Summers would be the only time they make time for fun reading. I haven’t a clue how a student could find time to read 50 extra books!

Son put down a number of Physics books and a whole bunch of ‘Song of Fire and Ice’ books. Those truly are what he reads for fun. He got accepted.

My son answered the question honestly and frankly his list of books was a pretty anaemic for that year. Even though the prompt asked for books, he also listed journals and literary websites as those had been his reading material of focus at the time (or maybe there was a separate prompt for that…don’t really remember).

An applicant who is reading a book a week should not be afraid to highlight that wonderful trait. I love the suggestions about curating the list in an interesting way!

When my son and I went to college info session at Columbia- they addressed this question by saying any answer is ok specifically they said to not worry about pretension …but “whatever you do please do not list The Hunger Games” (this brought peals of laughter).

Son’s friend who was accepted to Columbia- said she included a mix of books, magazines, and online blogs… some of which were very radical feminist lesbian blogs (which she is both)… so don’t worry about being too radical or not wanting to offend in that way either… be yourself- it’s probably your best bet!

ps if you are looking for a good book recommendation my son just finished The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and absolutely loved it -said it was extremely well-written!

If you mean “edit,” then I say yes. If you mean “editorialize” (ie. comment on the listed items), then it depends on the app’s instructions. Some just want lists, some want grafs, some give flexibility for some commentary.

@homerdog Haha, I know it doesn’t seem that possible, but as @doschicos said, it’s really about a book a week. I managed my time very strictly throughout the school year and tried to give myself about an hour of entertainment every school day (yes, some days it wasn’t possible). I’ve also used the ebook and audiobook forms of some books to read or listen to them on my phone.

@pickpocket Oh man, you touched on another question I have. I’m also a fan of ASOIAF, both the show and the books, but it’s known for having rather “adult” material. Glad to know it didn’t hurt him to include it! And ditto with the physics books (some would prefer calling them “pop science”).