College application deadlines are approaching quickly, and for many seniors this means crunch time. The early application deadlines have passed, and seniors are panicking as they attempt to finish up applications and essays and send test scores and transcripts for the January deadline.

It’s clear that the entire point of college applications is to impress the college with how unique and imposing you are, but one question lies in the mind of many seniors: Should I write what they want to hear, or should I be honest?

Application questions continue to get more and more unique. Whether they are essay prompts or short-answer questions such as UVA’s “To tweet or not to tweet,” or UNC’s, “You were just invited to speak at the White House. Write your speech,” these prompts can vex even the strongest writer. When filling out personal questions, seniors often face a familiar quandary as to whether or not they should answer the questions posed by colleges with complete honesty.

List your favorite books and movies.
– What is your favorite food?
– What is your favorite time of day?
– Autobiography subtitle?
– Who are your favorite artists?

Colleges clearly want to gain insight into who you are as a person, so they ask these questions. The questions – along with other aspects of the application – are intended to help the school diversify their student body in as many ways as possible, including how one “thinks.” Faced with such simple, yet confusing questions, seniors often must decide whether to answer truthfully, or to answer dishonestly in an attempt to impress admissions officers.

So what is the right path to take? Tell the truth.

At the end of the day, these questions do not weigh so heavily in your admissions decision that you cannot be truthful. They exist so that universities can get a feel for who you are outside of school, sports, organizations, and everything else that is listed on transcripts and resumes. Schools are not going to reject you because you like rap music instead of classical music, and they won’t look down on you if your favorite books are from the Harry Potter series. Schools simply want you to provide some insight into your personality and gain a better understanding of what makes you tick. Ultimately, the best advice is to not overthink these questions.

More importantly, colleges don’t want to see blatantly dishonest answers. They want to see you. If you list your favorite artists as Mozart and Beethoven, and the rest of your application doesn’t seem to fit this description, then schools may know something is up. The point is, don’t be afraid to be yourself.

There are a few possible exceptions to this policy, however. If your actual favorite musical artists consist of Chief Keef and Shy Glizzy, or if your favorite books are the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, you may want to reconsider what you’re showing colleges. While the most important part of your application is showing them who you really are, make sure that the person you present is someone the college wants on campus, so maybe skip the Chief Keef reference this time around.