Today, we’re continuing with our Advantage College Planning Answers series where our consultants respond to some of the same short answer prompts our seniors are answering in their applications. In this edition, we’re going to look at two of Wake Forest’s requirements - the book list and the top 10 list.
I get a lot of questions about these two prompts. They can definitely feel a little tricky or intimidating for some students. What do you do if you’re not a big reader? Just what exactly are you supposed to rank for that top 10 list?
After you read our answers below, keep scrolling for tips and to see how I approached these questions!
List five books you’ve read that intrigued you.
LINDSEY
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar
Seinlanguage by Jerry Seinfeld
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
BROOKE
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
JAMIE
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
Give us your top 10 list.
LINDSEY
Top 10 Fashion/Style Icons
Punky Brewster - classic 80s fashion; fun, original, and I could rock some pig-tails when I was young!
Ralph Lauren - patriotism personified; who doesn't look good in red, white, and blue?
Betty Boop - yes, the classic cartoon character with the pin curls.
Project Runway - creative design with creative materials
Mother Earth - I find so much inspiration in nature; just think of the color!
My cousin Katie - she had more style at age 3 than I've had my whole life
Michelle Obama - she's the whole package
Audrey Hepburn - those bangs! that pixie cut! the black dresses!
Rosie the Riveter - women do hard work with style
and the OG, my grandmother; her sense of style is unparalleled
BROOKE
10 Unforgettable Things About Growing Up in Rural Vermont
Walking to school in 12 (or more!) inches of snow.
Leaf-peeping.
Never locking our house doors.
The night sky. You can almost always see the stars!
Maple creemees.
The smell of dairy farms.
Wearing flannel (before it was fashionable).
Ben & Jerry’s existing as a food group and paying our respects at the Ben & Jerry’s flavor graveyard each year.
Always running into someone you know at the grocery store (without fail).
Frozen nose hair.
JAMIE
My 10 favorite house plants
My Pilea, aka "friendship plant" because it reproduces so fast, has spawned 10+ "pups" to give away.
My Aloe grew from a "pup" off my grandmother's plant that was a "pup" of my great-grandmother's.
I revived my Devil's Backbone from the brink of death and keep it up high because of its toxic sap!
My 2 Fiddle Leaf Fig trees are taller than me. We wrap them in lights for the Holidays.
My Thai Constellation Monstera started as one leaf and is now almost too big for its pot!
I bought a Vanilla Orchid (yes, where vanilla comes from!) at the Duke Orchid Show in 2019.
My Fittonia, aka "nerve plant," is a dramatic diva who droops if she's the least bit thirsty!
The flowers on my night-blooming "Queen of the Night" Orchid Cactus only last for one night!
I planted cactus seeds 4 years ago. The biggest of my little cluster is now about 3" tall.
My Desert Rose has dropped all its leaves. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong!
Alright, now that we’ve gotten through the fun part, let’s talk strategy for these questions. Beginning with books…
List five books you’ve read that intrigued you.
My students and I struggle with this question usually for opposite reasons. I read a lot (I just finished my 67th book of 2020), so it’s hard for me to narrow down that list! Many of my students, on the other hand, aren’t big readers or don’t have time to read much outside of school. So how do you choose five books? And what are they supposed to say about you in the first place?
This question is a chance to highlight intellectual curiosity and mention some interests that may not have made it into other parts of your application. The question is not the place to list lofty books you haven’t read in order to sound smart. Wake’s admission team can see right through that.
On this question, you’re asked to put whether or not it was required reading. It’s okay to dedicate a few spaces to books you read for school to show what really caught your interest, but this shouldn’t be the majority. Also, keep in mind that many high schoolers are reading a lot of the same books for school - if your list is The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, and a Shakespeare play, it’s not going to stand out.
I’m often asked if it’s okay to include “fun” books in this section like Harry Potter, a book read in middle school, or even a childhood favorite. Yes! These are great ways to show variety and personality as long as they don’t dominate your list. Just choose one Harry Potter book (Prisoner of Azkaban, obviously) instead of listing five, and don’t make a list of all Dr. Seuss books!
One last note on this question. It’s clear that Wake Forest puts an emphasis on reading. This isn’t the only books-related prompt Wake Forest has, and it’s almost a guarantee that books will come up in their interview. That they value reading so heavily tells you a little something about what the student experience at Wake Forest will be like. You’re going to be among readers. You may be in reading-heavy classes. If sitting down with a book really feels like the last thing on the planet you want to do, you might want to reconsider if Wake Forest is a good fit for you.
Give us your top 10 list.
Can you get more open-ended than this prompt? I’m really not sure if you can! You’re asked to give a top 10 list on literally any topic or theme. You only have 100 characters per list item. That’s tough! So how do you choose?
First, start by thinking about what is meaningful to you but also personal to you. Remember, your reader wants to learn something about you from this list, so even if soccer is your passion, a ranking of your FIFA teams doesn’t tell your reader anything about you (and a lot of other soccer fans are probably picking the same theme).
When I approached this prompt, my first instinct was to list my top 10 favorite books or the 10 books I want to read next. It would probably reveal a lot about me BUT I’d miss out on an opportunity to reveal something new about myself to my reader. My love of plants probably wouldn’t have made it anywhere in my hypothetical application, but take one step into my home/indoor jungle, and you’d see that they are clearly important to me! And while you might know from Brooke’s application that she grew up in Vermont, her experience really highlights what that experience was like through her eyes (no thank you, frozen nose hair!).
Keep in mind that you don’t have a lot of room to explain your choices. If you want to list your top 10 favorite quotes, I hope they’re short quotes! And without explanation, some lists may not come off as you intended. I thought about listing my favorite places around the world, but without the opportunity to acknowledge how privileged I am to have traveled extensively, such a list might come off looking entitled or lacking some awareness.
Remember that personalization is key here! We all could choose Lindsey’s theme and come up with 10 very different lists, but some themes lend themselves to cliches, unoriginal responses, or answers that just don’t reveal a lot about you. There are always exceptions, but try to avoid: favorite teams, television shows, movies, songs/musical artists, video games, foods, destinations, etc…
Final Thoughts
For both of these questions, the Wake Forest admissions team wants to see your creativity and curiosity in action. They aren’t looking for Ph.D. candidates’ lists; they’re looking for lists written by a teenager! Wake wants to know what you find interesting - not what you think they think is interesting!