<p>when we go on campus to visit- should the student be dressed up(casual dress) or dressed more like a student-Jeans and nice shirt. She does have an interview at 1 school and she has nice pants/nice shirt-</p>
<p>wear whatever you would wear on an average day at college, that way you’ll know if you feel out of place in terms of dress sense.</p>
<p>i literally have no idea why the hell you would dress up to walk around a building.</p>
<p>She should wear what she normally wears, including to the interview. Remember that college interviews are not like job interviews, it’s usually okay to wear jeans and dress as yourself, it actually helps the interviewer get a better idea of who you are. Unless the interview is REQUIRED for admission (not the case at most schools), it will be more or less informal. Just remember to be neat and clean (not wrinkled, no stains, no rips, no tears), and if your usual attire is jeans and t-shirt, wear jeans and a nice t-shirt, one without slogans or cartoon characters on it.</p>
<p>I would say that it depends on the kind of inteview she’s having. Students tend (rightfully so) to dress somewhat formally for a money (scholarship) interview. If the interview is more of a “get to meet a faculty member” then more casual should be fine, probably not AS casual as some students would wear on their day to class.</p>
<p>comfy shoes!!!</p>
<p>If an interview or appt with a dean or dept head is involved then nice clothing is appropriate. It the occasion doesn’t call for a suit (such as an important scholarship interview), then corporate casual is fine…khaki pants, polo shirt, sperry’s, etc.</p>
<p>It’s true, it does depend on the interview. At Smith the interviews were conducted by admissions employees and sometimes by specially selected seniors (who were also employed by admissions) and they were casual in nature. The officers wore casual work clothes and most of the applicants coming for interviews wore jeans or khakis, sometimes skirts. The main thing is to be comfortable in whatever you’re wearing, you don’t want to be fidgeting or sweating throughout the interview.</p>
<p>I second the comfy shoes! No matter what she wears, make sure she can walk miles in the shoes. I would also say to dress casual but neat casual, not bummy casual. Anyone with teenagers know what I mean. I also agree that if it’s an interview for a scholarship, she might want to go to business casual - non-jean pants and nice shirt. If not, as long as she looks neat, jeans and a nice shirt would be fine.</p>
<p>We did most of our visits in the summer, and our son’s rule of thumb was: if there was an interview, collared shirt and nice (i.e., relatively new) jeans; if not, t-shirt and shorts. We bought him a new pair of black lowtop Cons for the purpose, which he wore to all the visits.</p>
<p>Absolutely be comfortable and wear what is comfortable. If there is an interview I have the kids “clean up” abit (polo shirt/sweater type cleaned up) but they don’t do the whole dress-up thing. We never saw kids dressed up in ties, shiny leather shoes etc. except for one at one of the NE colleges and the poor young man looked so uncomfortable even I, a parent, felt sorry for him the entire day.</p>
<p>Thanks so much- she will wear nice jeans and a nice shirt- this is not a formal interview or for a scholarship</p>
<p>I only remember the visitors who are significantly over or under dressed and I only remember them for about an hour. I always feel sorry for the kid in the full suit…they always show up on the hot days, too. Be comfortable, ready for a walk, and ready for whatever weather is being forecast.</p>
<p>Enjoy your visits!</p>
<p>Wear your usual clothes, just not the rattiest clothes you own. I dressed in my every day clothes. That said, I prefer clothes that might pass as business casual with jeans.</p>
<p>More on shoes: many girls like flip flops/thongs. They scream “beach day” to me! I cringe when I see a girl go into an interview in thongs. Alas, wearing that sort of sandal flattens the foot over time, so then a regular pair of shoes seems “tight”. If that is the case, then a trip to Famous Footwear or other shop that carries shoes in a wide width may be the ticket to a comfortable, stylish look. </p>
<p>This really can be an issue if a student is headed to a northern campus. I’ve seen girls wearing sandals in the snow – and they will tell you that their boots hurt.</p>
<p>I have had one child who dressed very nicely & 3 others who did not-clean jeans, clean T-shirt basically & I really could not see any difference in their outcomes! </p>
<p>I always feel really sorry for the kids who are overdressed & obviously they looked uncomfortable & enjoyed giving their parent(s) dirty looks from time to time.</p>
<p>I say dressy casual meaning a really nice looking casual outfit.
Don’t go in a torn up T-shirt with a logan and torn up jeans, but you don’t have to dress like you’re going to a wedding.</p>
<p>Well, I saw enough wierd tops, tattered jeans, strange colored and cut hair, tats and piercings on kids with parents that looked like they could afford the 50 grand and were dressed impeccably…so I’m laughing abit. I imagine the admissions folk don’t care all that much as long as the kids themselves are clean and articulate. I know I might be quietly fascinated by why a person would do that to themselves or want to present that personna, but it wouldn’t turn me off and might actually interest me on some level.</p>
<p>We just had a tour guide at a top LAC who had purple streaks in her long brown hair-and a very creative bohemian look. It totally worked for her.</p>
<p>I don’t think the haircuts, the tattoos, or the piercings are necessarily a bad thing. Again, college interviews are NOT job interviews, and to a large extent the college uses the interviews to sell itself to you more than you selling yourself to them. No need to dress or look other than the way you want to present yourself. I can only imagine a person’s dress coming into the assessment at all as it may/may not be connected to their relevant activities (i.e. “she’s passionate about wolf conservation, she even wore a save the wolf t-shirt” or else “she loves music. she showed me the violin charm on her bracelet that her grandmother bought for her when she got her first violin at age 5”)</p>
<p>Very little if any of the final assessment for undergrads at most colleges will be based on the interview, it just gives them some extra data points and it gives them an opportunity to shower you with one on one attention so that you can say “I really loved College X, the interviewer was so great, she really got me, etc.” It’s a good marketing tool really. And it can sometimes help schools weed out the kids that are really a bad fit or really not very interested in your school and just applying to check the box from the super passionate well suited ones. That can be useful because those things don’t often come across on the printed page and if it comes down to one kid getting in vs. another with equal stats, you want some inkling of what they’re really like to help you decide.</p>
<p>I’m going to go against the flow a bit here, and say that if you have an interview, you should dress in “business casual,” which means for men, a shirt with a collar (can be a polo), and something like khaki pants–not jeans. For women, something equivalent–pants are OK. While it may be entirely subconscious, I think that interviewers (at least those who are no longer college students) will take you a bit more seriously if you are dressed this way.<br>
If you don’t have an interview, it really doesn’t matter what you wear (as long as it’s not the t-shirt of the college’s hated rival).</p>
<p>I agree with Hunt, but I have to say this: I have a friend who conducts alumni interviews for a top-ranked college. He always tells the students that he will be wearing jeans for the interviews. He has great disdain for kids who overdress for the interviews; he believes that this demonstrates insecurity.
So, if an interviewer tells you what he or she will be wearing, try to match it!</p>