It can also matter what kind of students the school has had in the past (= current alumni interviewers). I.e. conservative / preppy versus hippy / counterculture?
My guess is that you are getting the buzz cut now to deliberately sabotage the interview, consciously or otherwise. And if mom and dad are paying for college, you may have a problem.
I am all in favor of being yourself and cutting your hair if you want to. However, how important is it to you to be accpeted into this college? If it is really important, do your hair after the interview, because you just don’t know what your interviewer may think. Does your need to express yourself trump your desire to get inot a certain college? Only you can decide.
I believe that the more people try to “express themselves” the less they have to express.
@intrepidiowa thank you for bringing up this interesting topic and your thoughtful and honest responses to others comments. Lots of research supports the idea conventionally attractive people are considered smarter, more trustworthy, get paid more, etc. Supposedly, we are genetically programmed to prefer the best breeding stock and that, among other things, is attractive people. Add to that research regarding our positive association with people who are more like us and conventional wisdom says the odds are against you making a favorable impression with a shaved head.
To riff off another comment on why your mom is trying to curb your choice at this particular time, my feeling is because to some degree our children are an extension of ourselves. In her mind, if you stay within the bounds of what is “acceptable,” you will get into her alma mater, will not be a square peg in a round hole, and will make-up for whatever residual pain she carries from her time there. I know I’m starting to sound a little Dr. Phil, but that’s just my opinion.
I’m dealing with a similar situation to you, but on the mom side. Even in my best years, no one would call me pretty, but my daughter is very attractive. She used to work hard to keep-up with the expectations of how she should look – hair, makeup, dress to impress at all times. A little over a year ago, she got tired of it. Now it’s no make-up, comfy nondescript clothes, and she doesn’t bother shaving. Before, when she looked Barbie-like, I was worried people would see her as a object, but at the same time was pleased because I never got attention like she did. Now, she prefers to present herself differently, and when I’m being REALLY honest with myself, I miss the attention even if she doesn’t.
Good luck with everything & aloha!
@GMTplus7 Saying that someone is a “jackass” for making a personal decision that makes them happy is more a reflection on your attitude than hers. Perhaps ask yourself why you have such a negative and judgmental reaction to a decision that has zero impact on your life.
OP, if you want to buzz your hair because YOU want it and not simply to “rebel” or sabotage the interview (if this is the case I would recommend actually talking to your mom about why you don’t actually wish to attend the school), then go for it. A school that disapproves of the person you identify as is not a school you want to be a part of. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad school, but just not the school for you. Otherwise, when you get to campus, you may feel like your have to present a fake version of yourself to fit in because an “edited” version of yourself was admitted.
@Qwerty568 OP said that she selected the school , not her mother.
@GMTplus7 said she looks like a jackass, not that she was one @Qwerty568. There is a difference, and it is an opinion. I would disagree that life is “look-centric”, but it is heavily look influenced. The shorter the interaction between people, the more heavily look influenced it is, to the extreme of making a judgement about someone based on nothing but a photograph (assuming the photo is only of how they look, not something they are doing).
As far as your situation, @intrepidiowa, I do think that at most schools they have seen everything, so while there is always luck involved in what interviewer you draw etc. I doubt they will be fazed. They talk to enough people that if you are yourself, and being yourself is something that is a great experience for someone else for 30 minutes, an hour, whatever, then you should be fine. If you are interesting, people move off the looks pretty quickly except in extreme cases, and this one doesn’t sound extreme these days. You do put a little more chance into the equation by doing something unusual, but that is entirely your decision, IMO.
@fallenchemist His last statement was "
Feel free to also make a jackass out of yourself". His opinion, but needlessly harsh IMO.
I understand. I wouldn’t have said it, but it doesn’t quite cross the Terms of Service line, per another mod. I agree it comes right to the line, but then we are all free to make jackasses out of ourselves, aren’t we. My kids would say I do it a lot. :))
Anyway, back to topic. We don’t want to derail this. But feel free to PM if you want to discuss the general principle further.
Personally I liked @“aunt bea”'s story about the teaching aide. I think there are a lot more people out there like that than we give credit sometimes. My D’s best friend makes a lot of very “interesting” choices regarding all kinds of aspects of her appearance and her life direction. But she is one of the most wonderful, thoughtful and kind people I know. She doesn’t seem to have any issues with interviews or similar situations.
Actually now that I think about it I could say the same about one my son’s best friends, although she is a little less “extreme”, for lack of a better immediate word. Yet both of my kids have always been very mainstream in their appearance and in their life choices, generally. So interesting sometimes.
Would the school care? Probably not (depends on the school).
Would the interviewer care? Maybe, and since they are submitting your interview evaluation, it is their opinion that matters, unfortunately. Maybe the interviewer is very conservative and writes you off just because of your style. Maybe the interviewer is impressed with your style and gives you a more favorable evaluation than he/she would have- it is tough to gauge.
From my personal experience, college interviews are typically very casual, more like a conversation you would have with an adult family friend than a real job interview. To be honest, I think some colleges may actually be drawn to students who look “different” because they see it as a way of increasing diversity. Unless you show up naked to the interview or something, the person interviewing you probably won’t write down anything about your appearance on their report but it may influence their first impreasion of you. As long as you come off as being friendly and passionate, I think you’ll be fine regardless of the length of your hair. I had green (very short and very curly) hair last year but I felt like I had to let it fade back to blonde and grow out a bit before doing college interviews. Considering that I’m applying to artsy liberal art schools, I really don’t think it would have made a difference for me in retrospect. Good luck!
I also want to point out that although your interview will be considered as part of your college application, it’s only one part out of many and unless your interview goes exceptionally well or exceptionally poorly, it’s more of a way of showing interest than anything else, especially at larger schools. I also think having a buzz cut creates a much less severe impression than having lots of piercings and tattoos. Lots of women are getting their hair cut short these days!