My answers to the Columbia CA questions. Does the book part seem OK? They aren't "smart"???

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

List the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year.

  • from Six Feet of the Country by Nadine Gordimer
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • Macbeth by William Shakespeare

List the titles of the books you read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year.

  • All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
  • The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
  • Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  • The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey
  • I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  • A Child Called It/ The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

PS if I write fanfiction.net as a regular publication, will Columbia burn my application :stuck_out_tongue: ?

2

From what I’ve seen on other threads last year, CU admissions just use the lists to figure what kind of person you are. Doesn’t matter if the books seem “smart,” but they will give insight into what your interests are!

3

Don’t sell yourself short; the only one that is borderline less-than-scholarly IMO is Rick Yancey. But it doesn’t matter. As mentioned above, it’s used to find out more about you. Personally, I’d raise an eyebrow if the answer listed the Lit Hum reading list without a trashy novel in sight. :slight_smile: