<p>I am going for my interview soon and i was just wandering what to wear. The interview is for the Hotchkiss School. I bought a very pretty but not very fancy dress from nordstoms but i was wandering if that would be overdoing it.</p>
<p>I guess I didn't pay much attention to what the girls were wearing. I can tell you that the boys tend to wear suits or blazers with ties. </p>
<p>Because Hotchkiss is your first choice school, you might think about interviewing at one or two other schools on your list first. By the time you interview at Hotchkiss, you will be comfortable with the process.</p>
<p>hotchkiss is the only school im applying to</p>
<p>I don't think a not too fancy dress is overdoing it. When I interviewed at prep schools (including Hotchkiss), I wore a collared blouse and a skirt with low heels or a collared blouse with wool pants and nice clogs.</p>
<p>i wore the same as senioritis42</p>
<p>I remember my s telling me: I rather be remembered as the overdressed kid than the underdressed kid. </p>
<p>If you overdress, (and I mean suit and tie) you reflect on your seriousness and commitment to this interview/interest in school. What do you think school administrators will think if you showed up with a hawaian shirt, bermuda shorts and sandals? .... (as I saw in some interviews last year)</p>
<p>Just a thought-and hope to not offend- but the proper use of "wear" v. "where" might be more important than what you wear......</p>
<p>I don't think that what you wear actually matters that much. I wore white jeans or cords, a sweater, and sneakers, and it didn't impact the admissions at all. I would recommend dressing a little nicer than I did just because you do feel a little out of place at times.</p>
<p>I only remembering wearing this overbearing coat from Burberry and (skinny) jeans. I stuck to what I'd generally wear but with a neater presentation.
I brushed my hair back, did neutral make-up (not like the revoltingly bright eyeshadows I generally I have on), but I think admission officers know if you're uncomfortable or not.</p>
<p>I'd question a school's integrity if they denied a student based on their dress.</p>
<p>just dress properly and neatly. just make sure you look respectable, a person that the school would like to represent their school. that doesnt mean stiff or overly formal, either. i wore dressy black pants and a nice three-quarters collared shirt during some of my interviews. like something you might wear to school during picture day? i'm not sure about a dress, but a blouse and a plain skirt would do it.</p>
<p>oh yeah, and dont wear jeans. i remember that was what everybody advised me on last year. they were all like, "dont wear jeans." </p>
<p>well, people do judge you on your appearance. everyone does. for example, if you were wearing ripped baggy jeans and a sloppy white t-shirt, will the school like a student who dresses like that? they have catalogs, remember, and take pictures of the students; i think its important to them to have students with respectable appearances, since students do represent the school.</p>
<p>I would suggest dressing according to the school's dress code.</p>
<p>dress moderately nice. i think for boys..a suit definitely isnt necessary..maybe a tie but a blazer isnt really even necessary and really a nice collared shirt would be fine. for a girl..a skirt, pants, blouse, dress..doesnt matter. no jeans or sneakers probably though.</p>
<p>Wear something that you feel comfortable and confident in.</p>
<p>The admissions people can sense discomfort in a person and can interpret it as a lack of self-confidence or a lack of comfort with the school.</p>
<p>A boy who is pulling at his collar and tie, or a girl who is adjusting her dress appears to be uncomfortable in their surroundings and give off a negative feeling to people around them.</p>
<p>If you plan on wearing types of clothes that you haven't traditionally worn, take a few days in the weeks before your interview to wear these clothes to events, so they become second nature to you.</p>
<p>I spent many years of my career in a dark suit white shirt and tie. The first couple of months it was always on my mind. As the years progressed, I found that I did just about everything (cooking and cleaning) and went most places (sporting events) without even bothering to loosen my tie.</p>
<p>It helped that along the way I learned to quickly identify materials and cuts of clothes that were more comfortable than others (a high quality 100% cotton pinpoint oxford cloth shirt is far mor comfortable to wear than a permanent press (or now stain defender treated) lower quality shirt with a t-shirt to hide the thinness of the material you are wearing. A high grade, finely knitted wool material cut generously on the legs (well designed pleats) is far more comfortable in any season than the best made cotton pants. They almost float on your legs.</p>
<p>Now I realize that most of you won't dress this way, but the point is to try on many different lines of clothing from many sources (not just American Eagle, A&F, etc.) but perhaps places that your parents might shop, as us older folks have less tolerance for uncomfortable clothes and value comfort more than having the most current fashion. And with a little imagination, you can find something that you will be comfortable in and won't necessarily embarass youself with the admissions folks or your peers.</p>
<p>Why not ask the school what they consider appropriate.........I believe that's what we did. They wouldn't think any less of you for asking. It confirmed what we had suspected the dress to be. If the day to day school attire is formal, I would be more formal, coat and tie or a nice skirt with nice blouse/sweater. If it's cold, a nice over coat would be appropriate. Avtually, this wardrobe will probably work everywhere. Jeans, T-shirt, flip flops, wrinkled clothes would probably be inapropriate.</p>
<p>Do schools look down at clothes from brands such as American Eagle? I have this new very pretty sweater from there that looks formal with a lacy cami and nice pants. I was thinking I could wear it to some interviews, since this is the typical kind of clothes I wear normally anyway, only dressier. Would that be OK, or too casual? Or (this is the most probable answer) am I obsessing over this way too much?</p>
<p>(Edit: it's the navy blue one, btw. link goes straight to the pink. aghh obsessing!)</p>
<p>That's fine, and they certainly won't look down on the brandname. That with the lacy cami should be okay. It would look even less casual if you put a collared shirt under it, but I don't think you need to go that route. Don't stress.</p>
<p>right, as the others said, casual wear is a no-no
anything that's decent, at least semi-formal would be nice
but of course, if it's a veryy expensive, high quality dress for a 14 year-old, that might not work too well, because i heard that all it shows is that you have excessive amounts of money, which some schools might like, i dunno if hotchkiss would. [unless you're applying for financial aid...in that case, definitely don't wear your best dress]</p>
<p>like stated, just be comfortable and confident in whatever you pick, and try to look you very best. try to wear something that you actually like, and make sure whatever you wear can withstand whatever you have to do in the time before your interview [tour, meals, laundry, etc.]</p>
<p>So to a place like Exeter or Andover a shirt and tie would probably be okay?</p>
<p>Yes, with a jacket. When I called some admissions officers, they said when in doubt, wear whatever the dress code is. The first place we interviewed was a casual school, so my son came dressed nicely but casually. Well, there were far too many applicants in coat & tie. From then on, it was coat & tie for him regardless of the dress code, and he fit right in.</p>