Proper Attire for Scholarship Weekend

Parents Forum
1

<p>My son will be 1 of 40 HS seniors attending a dinner Friday night, having an interview and luncheon on a Saturday , for a large scholarship. He does not have a suit or sport coat...he does have Sperry shoes and a few long sleeved collared shirts.</p>

<p>What is the most suitable attire for this weekend? Sport coat and khakis? Suit?
Please be as specific as possible ( blue sport coat..black, white shirt??)
Also, can he wear the same jacket or suit to all events, or will we need a few. Obviously he'll change his shirt each time.</p>

<p>Thanks from a guitar & drum playing casual guys mom!</p>

2

<p>When my son went to a scholarship weekend a few years ago, he took nice slacks, and a couple of long sleeve collared shirts. When he went for the interview part, he put on a tie. He did not wear a suit or a jacket at all. He also had some casual clothes for staying overnight in the dorm and just hanging out. He said that he was dressed fine and did not feel either over or underdressed. I believe that his shirts were colored, not black or white.</p>

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<p>Can you tell us where this will be taking place? Some places are more formal than others.</p>

4

<p>Definitely have him bring a tie. If it were me, and for my son's comfort level, while I might not go out and buy a brand new suitcoat, I might go check out a thrift store or something so he at least had something to wear if he wants it when he's there. AT our thrift store $5 buys a suitcoat. When my son needed one earlier this year, I found one for $5 that still had the original store tag on it. </p>

<p>Myself, I'd rather have a choice when I got there as opposed to only having brought shirt and pants and having no choice.</p>

5

<p>I agree that where you are interviewing makes a difference......but in most cases the old rule "you can't be overdressed for an interview" seems to make sense. I think a blue blazer and a button down shirt (or dress shirt) would suffice in all cases......a tie would be nice but not necessary. Good luck!!!</p>

6

<p>We did several of these last year. I think it depends partially on where you are - the South seems a bit more formal than other areas of the country, so depending on where you are, it may be different than our experience.</p>

<p>We were visiting southern colleges and most guys dressed like this: Khaki slacks, a long sleeve buttondown solid shirt (light blue or white, or other light color), a conservative tie and a navy blazer for the interview. His Sperry boat shoes are fine - you may want to polish them. For other events, khakis, long sleeve buttondown and tie or no tie, open collar with blazer. For events with other students, nice jeans or khakis with a polo shirt. One nice thing about the khaki, tie, blazer outfit is that it can be dressed up or down in a matter of minutes: take off your coat, take off your tie, open your collar, roll up your sleeves :-) This makes it very useful for these events that you don't know quite what to expect.</p>

<p>DS received a scholarship offer of some kind from each of these events, they are soooooo worth it!</p>

7

<p>Son attended a scholarship weekend two years ago. </p>

<p>Casual clothes included nice jeans, CASUAL knit shirt with COLLAR (think polo type, although I doubt it was a brand name), and Doc Martens. He wore them when he arrived/departed (plane) and for hanging around - although I must say that any free time was limited. (Obviously dressed nicer than his at-home-and-with-friends casual look. He considers semi-clean appropriate most of the time.) </p>

<p>Interview portion of the weekend was Business Casual: khaki pants, long sleeve COLLARED shirt - colored/patterned, TIE, and leather shoes (brown tie Doc Martens - Sperry shoes would have worked fine also). He had a navy blazer with him.</p>

<p>His dinner was more formal (opera afterward :)) and he wore a gray suit with a dress shirt and tie. However, he was specifically told to dress for a dinner/opera; the girls had been told to wear cocktail type dress.</p>

<p>He was dressed appropriately. Some of the other boys wore long sleeved shirts/ties and some wore suits all day and that was fine also - my son is not a suit kind of boy, so he dressed up but not enough to feel uncomfortable. I believe that he probably carried the blazer until the actual interview when he was able to slip it on. </p>

<p>He did get the scholarship.</p>

<p>Also as one of the scholarship recipients, he has needed to wear both business casual clothes and his suit for various other occasions that the scholarship recipients have been asked to attend. So any clothes bought for the weekend are needed anyway.</p>

<p>Just asked my husband and son for any comments and was told that one boy hurried back to his room and changed when he realized that the other guys had dressed up somewhat. (The boy stepped off the elevator, looked shocked, stepped back on the elevator, and then appeared shortly afterward in a change of clothes.) </p>

<p>Good luck to your son.</p>

<p><em>Just read some of the above comments and have to say that "boy attire" is easy: take off the blazer and tie and roll up the sleeves and you look casual and comfortable. Button those sleeves and put on the tie and you immediately have dressed up some, add the blazer and you are dressed. Poor girls attending the same functions have it harder (experience with this also).</em></p>

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<p>It would be completely appropriate for you, or your son, to ask his contact at the organization or school .. a specific question about attire or something more general like "What attire do most candidates wear for each of the events?"</p>

<p>For high school age students, rarely is a suit needed for these type of events. If "business" attire is required, a navy blazer and khaki or grey pants (Dockers type, or wool or wool/blend) is usually OK.</p>

<p>If new clothes are needed and finances are an issue, I agree with the poster who suggested looking in a 2nd hand store...in a nice neighborhood! Very fine tailored men's clothes from Brooks Brothers, J Press or a local men's store can be found that look a lot nicer than an inexpensive sport coat.</p>

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<p>I agree that is totally appropriate for you to ask the scholarship program what is typical to wear.</p>

<p>I'd expect that nice slacks or khakis with a button-down shirt would be the minimum expected. Adding a jacket would be nice but probably not essential.</p>

10

<p>In addition to thrift shops, I've gotten some nice mens wear clothes from ebay. Ask around as well. Many men hang onto suits they've outgrown that could fit a younger person nicely (well, I do this too and I'm a woman!)</p>

<p>My son is a junior and we are new to all of this. What is a scholarship weekend? Are they run by colleges or private corporations?</p>

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<p>Attire for girls at a private university in NC?
Thanks.</p>

12

<p>ignatius is right; it's much easier for guys. Not only can they turn dressed-up into casual in about 30 seconds, they also have only one kind of "dressed up." Girls have two -- the interview suit and the party dress. (Girls, on the other hand, have usually reached their adult height by their senior year of high school, so if they choose classic styles, they can use that suit and dress for several years.)</p>

<p>I would suggest buying a navy blazer for your son, with gray dress pants if there is time to get them shortened (if necessary). Existing khakis would be OK if there isn't time to get pants shortened. Dress shirt (most guys would choose light blue, but white or a subtle blue stripe would also work). Tie. Black shoes. Black socks. </p>

<p>If your son is applying to anything other than the most casual summer jobs or internships, he will need this outfit again this summer. And if he doesn't outgrow it, he will use it at least occasionally during his first year of college.</p>

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<p>"My son is a junior and we are new to all of this. What is a scholarship weekend? Are they run by colleges or private corporations?"</p>

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<p>Hi pugmadkate. A scholarship weekend is sponsored by the university. In most (if not all) instances, it involves a huge scholarship that is given to a limited number of students. The scholarship often completely covers the cost of attending the university - i.e. tuition, fees, room and board, books - and also a stipend that completely covers cost of living. In many cases, other benefits are included, such as research and travel abroad experiences. </p>

<p>Sometimes the student is nominated by the high school. For example, I think the University of Virginia has a limit of one nomination per hs for the Jefferson scholarship. (Applicant pool of 1000- approximately 100 invited to attend scholarship weekend - approximately 50 chosen as Jefferson Scholars). Some universities allow more than one nomination per hs (Emory allowed 6 per hs for the Woodruff Scholarship a few years ago, I believe - d applied) and/or reserve the right to nominate whomever they want, etc. Some universities allow students to self-nominate. Regardless the applicant pool is usually outstanding. The university wants to meet and talk with the students, as the final selection involves more than just test scores, grades/rank. </p>

<p>To quote the University of Alabama: "Quite frankly, we seek students who ultimately will make a difference throughout their time as a student, who will secure outstanding entry career positions, who will gain admission and financial support to the best graduate and professional programs in the world, and who will win Prestige Scholarships and Awards (e.g. Rhodes, Goldwater, Truman, Fulbright Scholarhips and membership on the USA Today All-Academic Team." I imagine this pretty well sums up what each university is looking for.</p>

<p>As your junior narrows his college list, have him look at the scholarships available at each university. My son wanted the particular scholarship he ended up with and let his hs know at the end of his junior year that he would apply to the university and that he would like to be considered as one of the hs nominees for the scholarship. He ended up being one of two nominees from his school at finalist weekend.</p>

14

<p>Another caution about scholarship weekends: never turn down an invitation unless you have no desire for a scholarship from that college, as most will not consider those who don't attend.</p>

15

<p>For girls at southern schools - we saw mostly khaki and dress slacks, usually with flats (though a few girls wore high heels - not great for running from one interview to the next). Blazer or suit jacket with shirts or long sleeved fitted sweaters. I did not see any skirted suits.
Good luck to all the students going to scholarship weekends.</p>

16

<p>Regarding a scholarship weekend for a girl:</p>

<p>For her interview on a scholarship weekend, my d wore a black turtleneck sweater, black and white tweed skirt, black tights, and black boots - silver jewelry, red shoulder bag. I remember clearly because she agonized over the details. </p>

<p>For the more formal evening event, she had a black cocktail type dress and black heels.</p>

<p>D was exceedingly cautious over details such as tightness of sweater, length of skirt, cut of cocktail dress. For the interview she chose to wear the black ribbed tights (or some such pattern) with her skirt so that she didn't need to be as cautious when sitting or leaning over. </p>

<p>Note re BOY ATTIRE: Watch the socks! White sports socks worn with dress slacks - or a suit - and dress shoes is not the best look. :) And such an easy detail to handle.</p>

17

<p>ignatius
Thanks so much for all the information. For two the schools my son is considering he will be applying for either full or half tuition scholarships. They are called the "Presidential" (or some such impressive word) scholarship. I've not seen anything on the websites about how, exactly, they make the decision of who gets these but I wonder if this sort of weekend is involved?</p>

<p>I suppose I should file this under "more will be revealed." </p>

<p>Thank you again.</p>

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<p>Oh, for the girls... we noticed a girl or two at each college who were very uncomfortable at the banquets in dresses that showed too much skin for the company. They were probably entirely appropriate among their friends, but these events tend more toward the conservative - no one wants to stand out in a bad way. I would recommend a mom shop with her daughter or perhaps add a shrug or something to her dress if it is needed. I don't look forward to this with our daughter -- it seems so much more complicated than it is with guys!</p>

<p>Also, boys and girls probably ought to stick a collapsible black umbrella in the suitcase - several of the weekends we went to were <em>very</em> rainy -- really does a number on dress clothes :-(</p>

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<p>Attending scholarship weekend this Friday and Saturday with our son. He will be wearing a jacket for the dinner on Friday. He prefers to wear dress shirt, tie and solid sweater for the interview as he feels he will be more comfortable. I called the school, and they said that was fine. Thoughts about the sweater/tie combo for the interview.</p>

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<p>Cathy, a sweater/tie combo is dressy enough for business casual, but a jacket can be more comfortable... one, the jacket doesn't bunch up a long-sleeved shirt like a sweater does (assuming he wears long sleeves), and two, if the venue is warmish he can take off the jacket with dignity (not so much with the sweater). Food for thought for your son. Of course, he'll probably interview better in the clothes he finds most comfortable (within reason :)).</p>