One of the most powerful arguments against 'intelligent design' IMHO, is the fact that far from being the pinnacle of evolution, we actually owe our success to being rather pitiful.
No fangs or claws, can't run as fast or far as any four footed predator, can't climb as well as a monkey, not as strong as a chimp, much less a gorilla, able to tolerate only a small range of temperatures without artifice... Without our brains, we'd be dog food.
So I think it's a fair bet that the most intelligent aliens will be pathetic creatures, from a most inhospitable and hazardous environment, and have an extremely well developed sense of self preservation...
Would their planet be called 'Campus', or 'Nerdsville'?