No required reading?

I am an Iranian applicant, and we do not have required reading -or anything remotely similar to it- in our schools. Should I just explain this in the supplement? Should I just split my normal book list into two?
Thanks.

Soheils…Why does this need to even be touched upon? Does the application ask for texts that were required reading during your HS years?

The drawing, by the way, kind of gives away your interest in, if not your cultural affinity for, Ibn-Sina. I’ve not seen anyone else use that image.

@Waiting2exhale Thank you for your response,
Yes, one of the supplemental questions is as follows :
List the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less)
As for Ibn-e-Sina, I am very interested in him and what he represents for our people for many reasons. In some level, I always consider him as one of the last great Iranian thinkers. Even if we move past his achievements in the field of medicine, He, as a philosopher, was possibly the last bulwark of logical reasoning in a time when the Sufi were rejecting logic altogether. After him, Mystics like Ghazali started to dominate the intellectual atmosphere, and our renaissance ended prematurely(This is my personal perspective).

About the titles you are asked to list: Yes, explain in one brief statement that required reading courses are not a part of the structure of your educational system, and then state that you are able to list titles of readings that you have enjoyed most in the past year.

Many students have asked if the university means “list” or “list and discuss” when there have been questions such as this. Perhaps you will not find this problematic at all, but know that they really do want a list.

About Ibn-e-Sina :(I will thank you for that correction and tell you one of my daughters is probably very disappointed that I made that mistake.)

A few years ago, as I helped to organize my middle school daughter’s research into a great contributor to medicine, she chose to do her work on Ibn-e-Sina, and we learned of his feats in philosophy, mathematics, medicine, and… (fill in innumerable aspects of advanced thought and practice). My husband and I were astounded that we had not heard of this great mind, nor his wide reaching early advances in medicine. My daughter became nearly enraptured in the works and life of Ibn-e-Sina, and I can see her face right now, marveling as she studied shapes and figures (literally) associated with him.

You have a remarkable voice for a young person. What do you plan to study?

@Waiting2exhale Thank you for the solution you presented. I am going to do that. The next question is for books I enjoyed reading, so I’ll fill in my personal favorites there.
I was actually wondering about the “discussing or listing” issue. Thank you for clearing that up.
Thank you for the compliment. I plan to study either Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering , Chemistry or Neuroscience, but I am not set on this. There are many many fields that I like, but I have not had enough exposure to due to our educational system. Therefore, I am quite interested in attending an institution like Columbia or UofC that has an extensive core curriculum. I actually feel that that kind of exposure to new fields liberates me instead of limiting me.

@Soheils: You want the core? That is terrific.

If your areas of interest are reflected in your essays and courses, and I cannot imagine your writing would not reflect those things, just based on what you have written in this thread, you will show yourself to be just the type of student that the core curriculum model is designed for.

You will have department heads battling for you!

Obviously, Columbia and UofC are located in completely different climates, parts of the country, and have different campus experiences for students. Each (I’m assuming you’re looking at UCBerkeley) is a hub for critical thought and research, and the communities in which each is located are communities deeply steeped in welcoming students from around the world - people from around the world.

You want the core?! As opposed to feeling , “Ah, well, I can get through that.” Awesome.

@Waiting2exhale Thank you for the response!
Yes, I genuinely like the core curriculum.
Regarding admissions, I hope that is the case! We do not choose our own course load in Iran, but my essays were received very well by my readers (I’ll send them to you if you have the will and the time to take a look at them), and I think that the diversity factor of my background may help me stand out.
UofC is the University of Chicago, which, in many ways, resembles Columbia.
Thanks again for the advice.