I never knew that being smart and popular are mutually exclusive. With that being said, I would rather be popular.
Consider the lyrics from Popular in Wicked.
Smart, I’d rather be known for my intelligence and creating a stimulating conversation than whether or not I can charm a room.
But I can do both so :)>-
I’d rather be smart. I feel like it’s more applicable. I do understand the importance of human relations in networking, but I don’t feel as if popularity means anything, even in that context. I go to a small school, so I’m considered to be a bit of both. I’m in the top five of my class, and I know a lot of people, but I wouldn’t stand out in smarts or popularity in a bigger environment.
smart since you can still have a life and be popular and be intelligent at the same time lol
I’m surprised that at your schools the smart people are popular too. Definitely not at mine. The popular people usually play sports and stuff at my school. Anyways, being who I am, there’s no way I’d ever become popular, so its odd for me to think about it. So I guess I’ll go with smart.
Smart so I can learn what makes people popular and apply those techniques (or, you know, manipulate people into doing my bidding without them catching on 
)
people arent really considered “popular” at my school. That’s more of a middle school thing. But…
If by popular you mean cheerleaders who go to parties and get laid (stereotypes of popular people in movies), I’d rather be smart.
If by popular you mean rich kids who are going to be successful no matter what (private school popular), I’d rather be popular.
Being smart will ultimately lead you to becoming popular LOL.
Maybe not in high school but that doesn’t really matter anyways.
Hmm popular for a couple years or smart for my whole life… Not really a difficult choice
I think that people are giving the wrong impression here. Being smart does not mean being more successful. There’s always have to be a balance between popularity and intelligence. A genius may build the world’s next supercomputer, but how is he/she going to introduce to the world if he/she doesn’t know how to talk to people? Another thing is what exactly is “popularity?” Is it the position of being on the top of the food chain in high school or is it the skill to connect to everyone around you?
I would personally choose a blend of the two, which I already am.
If I had to choose between the two of them, I would choose the third choice which is food, cause there’s nothing better than food.
OP I think you going to get very skewed results. You are on ** College Confidential ** after all
I would rather be both (and I am), but if you are talking stereotypes here (like a dumb blond versus a nerdy genius guy with thick glasses) I would rather be the nerdy genius guy. Great point, @shawnspencer, lol.
Lol Student Council President vs Valedictorian. I’d go with President. 
What answer do you expect from CC kids, OP? lol
Smart.
‘‘Smart’’ is pretty subjective, don’t you think? I believe that it takes some intelligence to be popular. I know a lot of ‘‘smart’’ people who have failed while ‘‘popular’’ people have succeeded - there is no ‘‘black and white’’ in this world.
Be both. People who keep saying being popular gets you no where are wrong, it helps you win elections =)
At my school, if you’re smart, you’re popular.
@Kawaiiii That’s awesome!
Popular & athletic with like B to C average grades
I would 100% rather be smart than popular. Your social status in high school isn’t going to get you into colleges. What are you gonna do when everyone graduates high school and are headed to college? You would really regret not taking academics seriously in high school when you had the chance. And you know what would suck even more? You can’t go back in time and fix it. I really wish the students that attend my school would realize this before it’s too late…