Do the answers to the Supplement questions have to be SMART?

<p>After going through some of the previous threads that focus on answers to "favorite book/recording/quote/word...." I'm wondering if the answers have to be smart. For example, is it better to put a classic literature for the "favorite book"? Is it better to think of an extremely "smart" word for the favorite word?</p>

<p>Be truthful! If your favorite book is “the cat in the hat”, don’t be afraid to embrace it! Admissions officers read thousands of these…they know when someone is just trying to “look smart”</p>

<p>Putting down “mozarts 5th concerto” for fav recording and “ulysses” as your fav book wont make your seem smart…It’ll make you sound like a pretentious ****** if anything.</p>

<p>I agree with acrylicsalmon. I attended an info session and the admissions officer said that Princeton is looking for honesty. They want insight into your personality. I answered all of the short answers truthfully. For favorite recording I put down a song from an obscure Japanese band that happens to be my favorite song. I didn’t try to impress anyone.</p>

<p>Well, my son put down Hilary Hahn’s version of the Barber and Meyers Concertos as his favorite CD because, well, it <em>is</em> one of his favorites. He didn’t get dinged for it.</p>

<p>what if you don’t listen to music?</p>

<p>I took recording to mean documentaries. Am I doing it wrong? D=</p>

<p>The short answers are there for Princeton to get a glimpse of who you are. All my answers were unique to me. Anyone reading them who knows me would not be surprised by my responses.<br>
@simpl1eton If you’ve already submitted your app then I’m sure it’s fine. Although in my opinion they are looking for albums, songs, or even a lecture that was recorded.</p>

<p>Waitinggirl: for this and future applications and interview questions you’ll face in your life (or ask others, as a matter of fact), try to discern WHY it’s being asked.</p>

<p>As others have noted, they want to know something about you besides your stats and other docs. They want to know something about your personality, texture, way of thinking, quirkiness, etc. There are no right/wrong answers. It’s akin to someone asking you your favorite ice cream flavor. Just don’t list something like Hitler’s Nuremberg address and you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>I’d say be honest to the extent where you don’t appear superficial. For instance, you might be tempted to put down Harry Potter for your favorite book, facebook.com for your favorite website, and Mean Girls for your favorite movie (which imo is a hilarious classic but you don’t know how it’ll make you appear to the adcom…) So definitely be honest and definitely do not try to impress the reader. But if you’re second or third favorite website after facebook is like a gourmet cooking blog you love to follow or an equestrian fan club, I would use those instead because they’re still genuine (which is key), but definitely far more interesting and revealing responses. On a side note, the “A Few Details” section has little bearing on your application so don’t stress about it. Just be smart with your choices.</p>

<p>i second what decillion said. for my app, i chose responses that were somewhat intellectual, but i was honest to myself. I chose not to put facebook as my favorite site, but a lesser known page with a little more intellectual value that I frequently visit in my free time. Just stay true to yourself, and I don’t think it’ll be a big deal: I do agree that the section as a whole isn’t weighted that heavily. good luck!</p>

<p>My son put [The</a> Last Page of the Internet](<a href=“http://www.wwwdotcom.com%5DThe”>http://www.wwwdotcom.com) as his favorite website. Not too intelligent but why not? He’s in. :-)</p>

<p>I put ■■■■■■■ as my favorite site, I got in. </p>

<p>lol just kidding on that one. But seriously</p>