<p>Alexandre,</p>
<p>For a company interview with say Boeing, what do you think I should wear?</p>
<p>It really depends on the position you are interviewing for. For an internship or engineering position, business casual is sufficient. For a non-engineering full time position, I would recommend a suit.</p>
<p>"Upsilamba, what kind of interviews are we talking about?"</p>
<p>College interviews.</p>
<p>Skirts are fine for college interviews, as long as they aren't too short. The sirts you described seem to be appropriate. You can wear pretty much anything to a college interview, as long as it isn't too informal or too formal. Flip flops are a no-no as far as I am concerned, but nice sandals are fine. I would also avoid jeans, but nice jeans along with a nice shirt and nice shoes works fine. And looking too professional may not be good either. Try not to look like you are going to interview for a job a McKinsey.</p>
<p>Clothing is optional.</p>
<p>This is not Miss America nor is this a formal event.</p>
<p>College is about the person. Understanding who you are and finding an institution that works for you is more important than trying to tell someone what they want to see or hear. Be straightforward. Be clear about who you are and where you want to see yourself. </p>
<p>Attire is important only from the standpoint of the institutional student population. Find schools that approximate the look and feel that you find comfortable.</p>
<p>openmic - My friend's daughter went through interviews at the Claremont colleges last year, and said very casual attire is appropriate for an on-campus interview. For a guy, she said a neutral, non-ratty tee shirt and pants that didn't fall down would be fine. So surely, a pair of khakis or cords would be more than enough, and a suit would definitely look out of place. If the interview is with an alum, I believe the common wisdom is that one dresses up a bit more, and dependent on where the interview is taking place. If visiting the alum's downtown office, maybe more formal, but at a coffee shop, the khaki route should work.</p>
<p>My son visited a West Coast LAC last week and was the only interviewee who had dressed up at all. He wore khakis, a polo (not tucked in), sneakers (we're on vacation and that's what he had), and forgot to shave, though he wasn't scraggly. This was his first college interview and it went quite well. </p>
<p>Interviews were held after the tour, and the other kids we saw go into interviews with ad officers were wearing t-shirts, shorts/miniskirts and flip-flops. </p>
<p>Is this a regional thing? I would agree with other posters that interviewing with alums would require more attention to appearance -- many of those alums probably interview job applicants/clients in real life, and expect to see a certain level of seriousness and purpose as expressed through one's personal appearance.</p>
<p>I have to echo the last few posters here...the dressier suggestions given here are certainly appropriate for Claremont interviews, but not at all necessary. I can't speak from the direct perspective of an interviewer or adcom, but I can speak as someone who's spent a lot of time in admissions and taken prospective students around for a couple years.</p>
<p>First of all, most interviews come on the tails of campus tours. Even if yours doesn't follow this pattern, a general rule of thumb is that no one will expect you to wear anything you can't walk around in for at least an hour. Also, region DOES matter. I don't think that flip-flops in SoCal would ever be an issue, but they certainly wouldn't be if your tour was in late spring, summer, or early fall (you almost wouldn't have an option :p). If it's 105 outside, no one will expect you to hike around in dress shoes...just find a tasteful middle ground (i.e. flip-flops with average looking shorts and a polo shirt, fine; flip-flops with tattered, saggy shorts and a wrinkled humor t-shirt...not a great idea, even if colleges are after you for your intelligence).</p>
<p>Just don't be careless and you'll be fine. Be clean, be decently neat, and be yourself-ish as far as style goes. Wear something in which you're comfortable both physically and socially, but in which you can remember where you are and what you're doing. For some people, that's a suit without a tie. For others, it's flip-flops, trendy jeans, and a button-down. </p>
<p>I definitely wouldn't say "Hey, SoCal, anything goes." Holes, stains, controversial slogans, big logos, anything OVERLY summery/casual (tube tops, anything that shows midriff, very short shorts...the type of stuff that's probably against most HS dress codes)...yeah, leave it at home. But you'll have a bit more flexibility in Claremont (I imagine summer tours are particularly casual because of temperature). Among other things, you can assume that it's better to wear shorts and flip-flops and go to your interview clean than to wear dressy clothes and go in sweaty and smelly! I'm sure that "be comfortable and be yourself...within reason" is just fine at HMC.</p>
<p>And to the previous poster who thought that all of this sounded kind of fishy, bear in mind that colleges DO want you for your intelligence, but during the interview, they're also trying to get a handle on your personality, your "fit" with the school, and other intangibles. To one interviewer, an overly laid-back attitude might signal "easy going, relaxed, nice guy...he'd fit right in here!" But to another, it might say "this guy couldn't care less...even if we let him in, he'll never come," which could be lethal at certain schools. I think that a stellar interview could make up for any outfit, but the more you push the boundaries, the more you might have to prove. You're not going to be rejected from a school because you're not trendy or because you have your own quirky style, but depending on the school, the quality of your interview, and your choice of attire/neatness, you might be dinged because you don't look like a fit or you don't seem to care. At the very least, proper attire can't hurt you while improper attire might. There's no harm in giving thought to the issue, even if the conclusion ends up being "this is a school that won't care what I wear."</p>
<p>Attire, although it shouldn't matter, does matter. It's the first thing someone sees about you, even before he/she hears you talk. </p>
<p>That said, from my experiences (as a guy):</p>
<p>Starbucks = khaki/jeans and collared shirt.
If you're called to the actual campus = suit.</p>
<p>You could also ask the person if you should dress formally or not...</p>