As an interviewer, when I say, “whatever you wore to school today,” I mean just that - leggings and a sweatshirt would be fine. A college alumni interview is not a job interview. Personal appearance is not one of the things I’m asked to evaluate, and I personally would consider it to be inappropriate to comment on.
I think the “whatever makes you feel awesome” rule is the best. I would much rather interview a sloppily, even bizarrely dressed kid who was comfortable and shining than a kid who was demonstrating that he or she knew how to dress appropriately but who felt constrained by trying to be appropriate in every dimension. The only limits I would set on that are nothing hypersexual, because that could send all kinds of wrong messages, or hyperpolitical, because that would practically be begging people to stereotype you.
I think most kids can find an outfit they feel good in that is also clean and neat and appropriate. While some interviewers are not bothered by a “bizarrely dressed kid” others might. I would not leave it to chance. The applicant should want the focus of the interview to be on him/herself, the person’s accomplishments, why the applicant is interested in the college and not the clothing.
FWIW my D interviewed 1) at a Starbucks with a college admissions officer who came in wearing a suit and tie 2) on campus with an older admissions officer who was in business dress 3) and at a diner with a young alum in jeans – so you never know who you will get and what they will be wearing. She felt her sundress/sweater (in the warm weather) and black slacks (in cooler weather) were just fine in all three cases. I think she would have felt uncomfortable if she was in leggings and a sweatshirt and the interviewer showed up in a suit and tie.
Anyway, this may be an issue people need to agree to disagree on. But IMO it is best to err on the side of caution especially if it is an evaluative (rather than informational) interview which will go into the admissions decision.
My son wore a t shirt that he won in a state completion to an interview. He felt it got the interview started. He also brought a resume. Generally, a plain polo shirt
I would add the caveat that many alumni interviewers are older - like student grandparent age. They are expecting students to be at least neatly dressed. When I was a committee chair, I saw everyone’s reports and I can say that a few did comment on the disheveled appearance of the applicant. IMO, I wouldn’t chance it by being too casual.
Some of this probably depends on the school and what the student is interested in. I would expect more leeway for an eclectically dressed art student then someone claiming to want pre-med or is looking for direct-admit into a PA program, for example. I’m not saying that the kid who wants to be a busiss major needs to dress in an expensive suit. That might just look like “dressing up.” But, you probably want to give an impression that you are suited for your intended field.
If you are focusing on clothing for the interview, you are focusing on the wrong things. The interview is not an evaluation of your clothing, regardless of whether you are a prospective art major, or premed, or both. There may be a rare interviewer who gives an in depth description of clothing in their summary, but that does not mean the interviewer’s clothing comments will be a factor in admissions decisions. It’s probably a good idea to avoid wearing anything really extreme, but otherwise it’s unlikely to have a significant influence. The college I interview for encourages both students and the interviewer to dress casually.
There are ways to do this besides focusing on stereotypical clothing for the field. For example, before the interview you might think about activities, background, and personal information beyond what is on the application that further explain why you want to pursue that field, what you’ve done so far in the field, what you’d like to do in college and how it will help achieve your goal, etc. Doing some research about the college beforehand may be helpful, particularly in regards to offerings in the field you’d like to study and related out of classroom activities, as would thinking about related questions for the interviewer.
My daughter had one interview so far with an admissions rep in a local Starbucks. I went out the morning of the interview so did not see her when she left. Beforehand, I told her to “dress nice”. When she came home I saw that she was wearing skinny jeans with holes in the knees, but with a nice sweater and boots. I wouldn’t have chosen those jeans. The good news is that she said the interview went great and the admissions rep seemed to really like her. I’ll let you know how it all went when she gets accepted or rejected.
I’ve heard of kids having alum interviews in the office of the interviewer. I don’t think I would have my D wear jeans to that, but think jeans in a Starbucks place is fine
@Data10 I know an alumni who did an interview in Florida and the applicant wore shorts. It left a very bad taste in the interviewer’s mouth. Part of what he was asked to assess is how seriously the applicant takes the interview and in this case he felt that it showed a lack of maturity. Not an impression you want to make. I’d play it safe, appearance often does matter. Khakis and a button down for a boy and nicer pants and a sweater for a girl. Don’t give someone a reason to think you didn’t take the interview seriously.
The most frustrating interview I’ve had was with an applicant who was intent on not giving me a reason to think anything negative of them. Every aspect was polished and professional and perfect and I left after an hour without any sense of them as a person.
IMHO, an interviewer who would ding an applicant for wearing shorts in Florida belongs right along with the ones who disregard the “don’t interview applicants at your house” guideline, in the group of people who ought not be interviewing, because they are doing everyone a disservice.
Different schools place different emphasis on interviews and have different qualities they are looking for. My kid wore a tee shirt, shorts, and hoodie to her Carleton interview. From her perspective, it was a great interview because she got to talk about things she enjoys. I have no way of knowing what the interviewer thought of her clothing. But she oozes enthusiasm when talking about subjects she enjoys, so I doubt her clothing detracted much. If she had asked me what to wear, I would suggested something a bit nicer.
A different interviewer might have had the opposite reaction and have written something like:, “the applicant was sweating profusely due to a misguided effort to impress me by wearing inauthentic, non-casual clothing on a 90F sunny day in Florida, when everyone else in the park was wearing shorts.” If the college is anything like the one I interview for, such comments would be unlikely to influence admissions decisions. Interviewers do not just check a box that they approved of applicant based on a focus on appearance, clothing, hairstyle or whatever arbitrary other things they choose. Instead interviewers need to explain their evaluation of the criteria the college specifies in the comments, and comments about clothing are unlikely to influence the admission decision.
@Data10 this is why I wouldn’t take a chance. I know as a recruiter (not college, professional) there are things that go into how I perceive a candidate, sometimes unconsciously. An interviewer may not even mention how the applicant is dressed yet give him a poor recommendation. This interviewer saw it as a reflection on the applicant not taking the interview seriously. Don’t risk it.
@allyphoe I disagree. How you dress is important. Don’t give an interviewer a reason to think that you aren’t taking an interview seriously. This was at a local coffee shop not in his home. I am a recruiter and I can tell you that how you dress will affect if you get a job. It’s best to learn that lesson early.
@Data10 this interview was not held in a park, it was not 90 degrees. It was held in a coffee shop with air conditioning.
When my daughter had her Lehigh admissions interview (with an actual staff member, not an alumni mtg), she dressed in a suit. The interviewer was also in suit and tie. The boy after her walked in wearing ripped jeans, a t-shirt, and looking very disheveled. He took a look at the other students waiting and blanched. I think sometimes students really need some adult guidance.
Re: #29 through #35
Seems like the interview injects a significant random element into the admissions process, since it can be somewhat random if an applicant “matches” the interviewer. Obviously, @collegemom9 as an interviewer has dress expectations that may be incompatible with other interviewers like @Data10 . And an applicant who tries very hard to present the best possible impression may appear to be too polished for someone like @allyphoe .
And then there are aspects beyond dress where an applicant may “match” well to one interviewer but not to another interviewer for the same school.
Yes, interviewing for jobs can be subject to similar injections of random elements.
D1 had an interview at the interviewer’s office and it was a law firm, so she wore a conservative dress to the meeting. She also had an interview at the interviewer’s home and she knew he was a bit younger, so she wore a pair of casual pants and a nice top.
I think the student needs to look at who and where the interview is to be conducted to figure out what to wear. I did quite a bit of coaching with D1 on what to wear (D2 didn’t have to do any interview because we lived overseas and she did ED). I continued to coach them on what to wear when they were interviewing for their internships and firs jobs. Now they tell me what to wear. 
The interviewer needs to justify their poor recommendation. For example, if the interviewer believes the clothing shows the student is taking the interviewer seriously, then he needs to provide evidence of this belief in the comments. Clothing based evidence is not sufficient for this purpose. The admissions reader needs to see real evidence in the interviewer’s comments from the discussion, not appearance. Sure, it’s possible that the clothing leads to an unconscious bias that influences the interviewer’s interpretation of the discussion, leaning towards that bias. The same could be said of things – handshake firmness, hair style, the pitch of your voice, etc. However, if you are focusing on things like this for a college interview, you are focusing on the wrong things.
People have a natural instinct to overemphasize the importance of on criteria that is well defined and within their control, and de-emphasize more holistic criteria that is not as well defined and cannot be as easily controlled. We see this all the time on the forums, with emphasizing the importance of stats and de-emphasizing the importance of ECs, essays, LORs, how well they support goals, etc. I expect focusing on clothing for a college interview is an example of this. Sure, it’s possible that clothing has a non-zero degree of influence. However, the primary influence of the interview on admissions relates to the interview discussion and answers to questions… how they reflect the criteria that the college says it’s looking for on their web page, which has nothing to do with clothing. The admission decision almost certainly will not change based on what outfit you select.