How to answer Columbia's reading list question

CColumbia's admissions office asks applicants for a bare list of the texts, resources and outlets that have contributed to their intellectual development outside their academic courses, and it allows no commentary at all. In 100 words or fewer, the list can hold books, journals, websites, podcasts, essays, plays, videos and museums, set down separated by commas or semicolons, with no numbering, no italics, no author names, no subtitles and no explanatory remarks.

Many students treat the question as paperwork and fill it with whatever they read last, or with the titles they imagine a selective college expects. Stripped of every usual tool for making an impression, the list still says a great deal, which is exactly why Columbia asks for it.