<p>We're attending an open house at a college tomorrow. Is it appropriate for daughter to wear something more casual than if she were interviewing? Perhaps a pair of capri pants and a casual but not revealing top?</p>
<p>All the summer open-houses we attended were very casual. Everyone dressed for the weather.</p>
<p>It seems quite appropriate to me. Avoid flip flops.</p>
<p>marite, avoid flip flops? If they're good enough for White House receptions, why not college open houses?</p>
<p>Good manners in a host prevent pointing out the bad manners of the guest. Adcoms, however, are not hosts. They are judges. Now, perhaps open houses are more like receptions than interviews, in which case, one may wear whatever one wants.</p>
<p>Flip-flops range in style and price. I would avoid the beachy, too casual ones.<br>
On the flip side, if this is the "make or break open house for the top-choice-hafta-go-there school", then I say a dress up more than capris (which also come in various styles), get out the good shoes and brush up on the manners.
On the flop side, I'm not sure I'd want my daughter's college acceptance to hinge on her personal style, but then I'm a Northwestern mom.</p>
<p>Around here (NW) flipflops are normal and so on. People on the east coast tend to be a bit more judgemental (i.e., the flip-flop flap of last summer) bit I can't imagine any adcom taking the time to take notes on who's got what shoes on at an open house. Maybe in an interview, but even there, I doubt it.</p>
<p>Marite, if ad coms are rejecting kids these days because of wearing flip flops, that certainly would explain why the percentage of students admitted every year keeps getting lower & lower. </p>
<p>Zoosermom, your daughter should wear whatever is comfortable for her. If she's asking for your opinion, then tell her casual, but not grungy. If she isn't asking -- but you are the one stressing -- then this is just one of those areas where we moms have to lay off our kids and let them make their own choices.
(My son did all his interviews wearing t-shirts, and I cringed. Didn't stop any colleges from admitting him, though. I think since the ad coms work on college campuses, they've seen it all. At least my son's hair was then it's natural color; when he returned from his first year of college, his hair was dyed purple). </p>
<p>Keep in mind that most girls end up judging "fit" largely by what they see other people wearing when the visit -- so if parents all insisted that their kids dress for the occasion it would be counterproductive. All the laid-back, down-to-earth types would immediately conclude that the colleges they visited were too "preppy" and not apply.</p>
<p>Parents, on the other hand, should dress extravagantly, with lots of jewelry and expensive watches, so the ad coms can see immediately that they will have no qualms whatsoever about an annual tuition that creeps up to $40K while their darling is in attendance. [Only kidding - ;) ]</p>
<p>If she's going to a UC, flip-flops rule - I (and my D) wore them.</p>
<p>Well, of course, I'm from the East Coast which is a bit more formal.
And I don't know if open houses are more like info session, in which case no one pays attention to what students are wearing or more like interviews.
But if it's more like interviews, then appearances do count. My H has not worn a suit in the last 25 years unless he's gone to job interviews.</p>
<p>"Keep in mind that most girls end up judging "fit" largely by what they see other people wearing when the visit -- so if parents all insisted that their kids dress for the occasion it would be counterproductive. All the laid-back, down-to-earth types would immediately conclude that the colleges they visited were too "preppy" and not apply."</p>
<p>What a brilliant observation. Never would have thought of that. Thank you.</p>
<p>I would never judge what students already enrolled wear by what prospective applicants wear. It's easy to distinguish between the two.</p>
<p>I don't know if open houses are different from info sessions either, but at the latter, my kids dressed very casually.</p>
<p>And my S's standard interview "uniform" was cords and an Irish football jersey his sister gave him. (In his defense, it did have a collar.)</p>
<p>My kid's uniform was khakhi trousers and polo T-shirt, neither of which he has worn since entering college (and he never wears flip-flops. :))</p>
<p>Well, I asked my son what he wore to his MIT interview: shorts, Hawaiian shirt (not ironed), and Tevas. Of course, he went to high school on the Big island of Hawaii, so he was wearing exactly the same thing as the interviewer--except he was wearing "rubbah slippahs"--which is what Hawaiians call flip-flops.</p>
<p>This was a very good question; I for one felt very overdressed on the first day of our college tour last week (long pants in 95 degree weather? What was I thinking?) We found most of the girls in capris or skirts and the boys were in polo shirts and nice (but usually baggy) shorts. Flip flops were the shoe of choice for girls, and no one batted an eye. After the first day, my D dressed down...she wore a nice skirt or capris, a short sleeved top (or two--not just a tank top) and her new Reefs (flip flops). (I personally thought many of the parents to be horribly underdressed; I just don't find a mini skirt on someone over the age of 40 to be very appropriate!)</p>