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I haven’t worn such a shirt for a campus tour but I don’t really care if anyone else does as long as there’s not a practical issue of ‘odor control’ with the sleeveless.</p>
<p>Update: So, S is doing a tour at my alma mater (without me, sob) on Friday. It’s been very hot here and it’s a good-size campus, so he’s wearing khaki shorts. I asked him what top he was wearing and he said a t-shirt. Sigh. My work here is not done! (He can get away with it, since he’s 18. My H has less latitude, LOL.)</p>
<p>I’m disappointed in you, Pizzagirl. Did you at least verify that your son is wearing shorts but not shorts? –> [ I still say there are shorts and then there are shorts! ]</p>
<p>Yes, he’s wearing shorts but not shorts.</p>
<p>Ok…I feel better now. Also, did you tell him that if he sees people from Southern California, it’s considered impolite not to mark their pant legs with a sweat stain from his bare hairy leg?</p>
<p>We did another tour today – no interview but a meeting with an admissions person to discuss admissions requirements for US applicants to this Canadian university. On the tour, 80% of the fathers were wearing shorts (I was in the 20%). I was hot.</p>
<p>I know what you’re thinking ucla dad, but be very very careful before you play the it’s-ok-to-do-it-cuz-they-do-it-in-Canada card. That is an icy slope that ends with eating french fries with vinegar on them while listening to Celine Dion CDs.</p>
<p>shawbridge: Never mind your day, we want to know more about what you <em>wore</em> today. What color pants, shirt, button down (short or long sleeved, solid or print) or polo, any head gear? Shoes? Socks? Enquiring minds want to know.</p>
<p>Looking deep in my soul, I think I’ve found the source of my squeamishness on this topic. A long time ago I worked for a famous chain of copy shops. One summer the store’s air conditioning broke, and the manager was too cheap to get it fixed. So it was at least 90 degrees in the store every afternoon.</p>
<p>To operate the self-serve copy machines, the customers had to plug in a plastic gadget that counted the copies. One time, this 300 lb., drenched-in-sweat lady in a sleeveless dress approached the counter. I asked if I could help her, and she pulled one of those gadgets out from her armpit and handed it to me. “Yes,” she said, “I’d like to pay for these copies.”</p>
<p>So 'SCUSE ME if I have a slight case of post-traumatic sweat disorder.</p>
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<p>Totally unrelated to the topic at hand, here’s my friend’s Worst Flight Ever story: She’s in a window seat on a Southwest flight. The center seat is occupied by an obese man. After they have boarded, the weather turns bad so they sit on the ground for a while, with no A/C. The guy next to her not only sweats through his pant leg, he sweats through her pant leg.</p>
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Lack of means is not an excuse. Xaniamom is right. It’s a matter of priorities.</p>
<p>A very interesting thread.</p>
<p>I hope that DS comes away from college with an increased ability to look beyond the superficial to arrive at the substance. My hope would be that those who work on college campuses would be some of the last people that would put any weight whatsover on the attire of an applicant’s parents. Rather, they are looking at the substance of the applicant themselves.</p>
<p>If the college admissions office puts any weight on the fact that the parent wore shorts, etc. , then this college is probably not a good fit for the applicant because the child has been raised in a home where there is not a high value placed on outward appearance.</p>
<p>Of course if the child asks the parent to wear something more formal then those wishes should be respected because they are expressing a value structure different from the parents.</p>
<p>So the bottom line is that parents and applicants should, as much as possible, be themselves because the end goal is to find a good fit for your child. If you are acting in a manner which feels artificial, then your child will probably get the message that they should also conform to the perceived norms of that institution which could result in a poor college fit and an unhappy student.</p>
<p>Well said SBdad!!!</p>
<p>i join hollie in saying great comment, SBDad!</p>
<p>Hi…I asked some questions back at thread #141
Does anyone care to address them or should I start a different thread?
I’m still a novice at this.
Thanks-</p>
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<p>Most colleges do not require formal admissions interviews. You read a lot about them on CC because most of the very top schools require them. But the vast majority of schools do not.</p>
<p>Most websites will say if an interview is mandatory, suggested or not required. </p>
<p>My Son applied to 8 schools, most in the small LAC category. Only one required an interview and their local rep did it, so he didn’t have to travel out of state for it. I think he wore khakis and a button down shirt. </p>
<p>I think that a suit would be overkill in most cases because I don’t think most interviewers would be in a suit. However, gauge the attire by where your son is meeting the interviewer. If the interviewer says, “meet me at the Starbucks close to your high school one day after school” the interviewer is certainly expecting school attire (although no obnoxious t-shirts please.) If the interviewer is coming straight from his job on Wall Street, however, might want to dress up a bit.</p>
<p>The school that my son eventually attended said that interviews were “strongly recommended.” It just couldn’t fit into Son’s schedule (it was during all state auditions) and the school understood and admitted him anyway.</p>
<p>ok I’ll try.</p>
<p>"When would he actually do the interviews? "
Since you missed any opportunities on-campus when you were there (as did my son, he did not feel he was prepared) you would most likely avail yourselves of alumni interviews, or admissions interviews if a college travels to your area in the Fall. Once Fall rolls around, most schools will have schedules prepared for where they are visiting, when. You can contact the schools to arrange the interview.</p>
<p>"Can they be local? "<br>
In many cases yes, see above.</p>
<p>“If it’s just him, how should he dress? Suit necessary?”
Others here may disagree, I think he should wear the kid equivalent of “business casual”. I mean they know its a kid they are interviewing, he should dress on the nice+ side of his/her outfit spectrum. But I don’t really know exactly what that means for a boy because my first two were girls, and they did not consult me on wardrobe anyway.</p>
<p>"How do we know which colleges want interviews? "</p>
<p>I just asssume they all want them, or at least where optional they might be beneficial to S at the margin. But where this is not so, the sessions may be useful to him as informational tools anyway. So personally we would try to get them wherever available. But the admissions websites, or officers, could tell you more definitively. Some schools clearly seem to care a lot more than others.</p>
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<p>It is SO much easier to advise boys on how to dress than girls! If one can afford it, I strongly recommend buying every high school boy a navy blazer, grey and/or khaki slacks, and a dress shirt or two. This will carry him through many high school events. My son also had a suit (bought for his cousin’s wedding). That came in handy as well but wasn’t strictly necessary. We bought Son’s blazer when a local menswear store had a big sale. Others have used eBay or have gone to resale shops.</p>
<p>Edited to add a funny story I just remembered from CC a year or so ago: A CC mom bought her son a navy blazer off of eBay. Her son discovered a condom in the pocket. “Thanks, mom!”</p>
<p>My wife does alumni interviews for her school, one that cares, I’ll ask her what they wear.</p>
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<p>It would be pretty sad, however, if anything beyond mowing-the-lawn t-shirt and shorts “feels artificial” or forced or uppity. Because, yk, even poor people have birthday parties and special occasions and other situations where clothing beyond mowing-the-lawn clothing is called for. </p>
<p>I wonder if it goes the other way? If the adcoms and receptionists and tour guides were all dressed particularly slovenly, I think that would make some kind of impression as well.</p>