<p>I am a freshmen mechanical engineering student and will be participating in the REU program at the university of Alabama this summer. I was just wondering, what types of clothes should I pack? How formal do I need to be? The only thing they told me is to wear closed toe shoes in the lab.</p>
<p>If they say closed-toe shoes it’s probably not a bad idea to also wear pants you don’t mind getting dirty. Also, if you’re going to be working with chemicals/flammibles don’t wear any synthetic fibers since they tend to burn and melt instead of just singing like cotton will.</p>
<p>You might just want to e-mail and ask what sort of attire is appropriate. In my lab there’s a pretty big tendency to get your clothes pretty dirty, so we recommend people wear older things they don’t mind getting ruined.</p>
<p>thanks! i think its gonna be pretty hot, so normally i would wear shorts, but do i need to me a little more formal and wear pants? also, for tops, should i maybe wear polos?</p>
<p>Pants can depend on safety requirements in the lab. I know in mine we require if you’re going to be working in there you need to be wearing full length pants. If you’re somewhere that it isn’t as much of a concern then shorts might not be a problem.</p>
<p>You can start off wearing polos and then see what other people in the lab wear. Personally, I find most grad students dress fairly casual and only put on something nicer than a t-shirt if there’s a special reason.</p>
<p>For lab safety you may be required to wear full length pants. Check with the REU coordinator. Some universities plan company visits and end of the program poster presentation. </p>
<p>Company visit you may want to wear a polo shirt & khakis or something. For the poster presentation, you may want to wear khakis, dress shirt, tie and a blazer. It depends on the REU program. </p>
<p>My son was a freshman REU last year at a different university and that was his experience. Everyday he wore dress shorts (not athletic shorts) and T-Shirt. But kept a jeans in the lab to use it when he was doing experiments.</p>
<p>im a girl, by the way lol i guess i should have made that clear</p>