I have to go a interview for a college scholarship next week. It’s a pretty sizable amount ($10K per year) and I don’t want to overdress or underdress. I’m a boy, but I don’t have khakis. I have a long-sleeved collared shirt, black formal pants, and dress shoes. Is that what I should wear? Or can I get away with black jeans?
I would go with the dress pants. With this kind of thing, the main thing is not to be distracting in your dress. Jeans? Too casual. Suit? Probably too much.
Formal black pants? Like, to go with a tuxedo? Or just black dress pants? If the latter, that’s what I’d recommend along with the long sleeved shirt. If the black jeans are nice, you could wear them with the shirt & dress up the look with a tie. Dressing up shows respect and that you care about the scholarship. Good luck!
I’m guessing the interview letter didn’t specifically state the expected attire? If it said “business” then definitely wear dress pants, long sleeved shirt, dress shoes, and a tie (borrow one, no need to buy). If the letter mentioned “business casual” you could get away without wearing a tie. Since you noted the scholarship was for $10,000 – is this about half tuition or nearly full tuition? If so, then I think it’s a pretty big deal, so even if you wanted to wear a suit, I don’t think you would be overdressed. As @katliamom said ^^ dressing up shows respect. Please please note that I’m not at all saying you should or must wear as suit! Since you were worried about being overdressed, I only wanted to say that if the college were offering a scholarship to cover half or full tuition, then I would consider a suit appropriate.
More important than what you wear, though, is to be mentally prepared. Think about why you want to attend the school, and be ready to answer some “softball” questions (“why did you apply” or “what is your greatest weakness”). Also, listen carefully to the interviewer. Try to avoid getting caught up on what you think the interviewer wants to hear. The interviewer wants to learn about you a person, beyond test scores, grades, and extra curriculars. So be yourself, and just listen carefully so you can give a relevant answer, not a canned and rambling rehash of your essay or resume.
Good luck!
First–congrats and good luck!
Go for overdressed than being under dressed. And then have the confidence to QUIT worrying about it.
If you show up dressed in a tuxedo and everyone else is in jeans? Oh well. At least you’re the best dressed guy there. They know you’re there for a reason and will appreciate the effort.
My advice (similar to hafamama): actually listen to the questions and carry on a conversation. While you can try to think up answers to possible questions so you aren’t fumbling at the interview, don’t fall in the trap of anticipating questions before they are asked. BUT if you have a special interest or forte and it doesn’t come up before the interview is ending–bring it up.
Err in the side of over dressed. If everyone else shows up in jeans and a tee shirt, you will be the one they remember. It wouldn’t hurt to invest in a clip on tie and bring it with. This way if others wear a tie, you can quickly (after practicing at home) put one on. That tie may also become useful in the next four years such as initiation into an honor society.
^^ If you bring a tie, get a real tie, not a clip-on!!
@hafamama I should’ve been more clear in my original post. This isn’t a scholarship to any single college. I’m a junior, so I haven’t even applied to any. The scholarship awards $10000 a year to any college I choose to attend.
Oh, I see. Regardless, if you didn’t get any special direction regarding attire, it’s better to be overdressed than under, as mentioned above. At the very least, dress pants and shoes, long sleeved shirt and a real tie. Good luck!
If you wear dressy clothes, make sure that they fit, rather than looking like you are wearing you father’s clothes that are the wrong size.
Sometimes, the type of organization offering the scholarship may imply a level of dressiness.
Go with the clip on. You’ll be more comfortable and no one will know it’s a clip on unless they get in your personal space.
@GloriaVaughn I think I’d have to strongly disagree with that. No adult I know (frankly no teenager I know) wears a clip on tie – better off not wearing one at all. People can tell (without getting into "personal space). One can get a nice silk professional looking tie at place such as (but not limited to) Macys, Marshalls for a pretty reasonable amount.
@happy1 and I have to disagree. Clip on ties are common place. Most high school and college boys don’t know how to tie a tie and wear clip ons. I’ve seen high school girls get tired of tying ties because the guys don’t know how. Clip ons are easier, faster and more comfortable. Even at the fortune 500 company in town, many of the guys wear clip ons when they need to wear a tie.
My boys all know how to tie ties and they have since they were in 8th grade (and they do not attend Catholic school where one would be required). And they taught themselves via youtube videos.
Agree with @Cookies510 My S (as well as my D) learned to tie a tie when he was in middle school watching youtube instructional videos (and he also rarely wears ties). It is not hard and a skill every young man should know. Perhaps it is a geographic thing, but a clip-on tie would not be OK for a high school age student in my neck of the woods.
But anyway, we digress from the OP’s question. And on that I concur with the opinion that dress pants, dress shoes, and a button down shirt should be worn rather than nice black jeans.
Maybe clip ons are common at tech companies. But I sure wouldn’t let my kid go in one. I do agree that the dress pants are the way to go.
I agree with everyone who says dressy rather than dressed down. Dress pants, dress shoes, and a button down shirt. And a pre-knotted tie in your pocket in case you get there and see that the other interviewees are in suits.
Maybe it’s a regional thing, but we’re in the Northeast and DH and DS both said very firmly, when I asked for male input just now, NO CLIP ON TIES! They shook their heads and raised their eyebrows and smiled incredulously at the idea of wearing a clip-on tie to an interview and said better not to wear a tie at all if that’s all you have. They say that clip-on ties are for kids in grade school, never for adults.
And don’t be tempted to put scotch tape on the back of the tie either.
At many computer companies, ties are rare to nonexistent.
Dress business casual.
You can get ties, really nice ties, at any thrift store for pennies. And khakis too, for probably $5.
Wear what you feel comfortable in, but not too casual. I think the dress pants and shirt and tie would be perfect.
I can tie a tie and I’m a girl. Learned when I was a Brownie girl scout. My nephews can tie ties because they play hockey and dress up when they travel. They prefer zip up ties to clip ons.