<p>Cacciato, there is an optional essay question on your favorite things (I think I remember it being pretty open-ended, not necessarily restricting it to books, movies, TV, etc.), but it’s intended to show deeper parts of your self to the adcom. So you don’t have to pick things that you think are intellectual to talk about; if there’s something meaningful about the New York Times to you (whether it’s your approval of their portrayal of politics and current events, or the challenge of their crossword puzzles–or does the NYT even include a crossword? I haven’t picked up many newspapers lately…), then write about the Times by all means. But don’t avoid that funny cartoon book you read in first grade that taught you phonics and led to your interest in the human approach to language and sound… you get the idea? It doesn’t have to be intellectual material to be intelligent.</p>
<p>Also, and this has been stated elsewhere: do not use the optional “favorites” essay as a place to impress the adcom with your versatile and deeply academic/diverse reading list. Such an approach will almost positively backfire on you. The optional essay is an essay: it’s intended as one more bit of monologue from your true self to the university interested in that self.</p>