<p>But I have an on-campus interview at Rice in a few days and my Mom is trying to push me to pack a suit and tie. I tell her I would look uncomfortable and overdressed in a suit but she won't listen. I was planning to wear long cargo khaki pants(slightly baggy but with a belt and certainly not falling down or ripped) and a nice solid color or plaid button up short-sleeved shirt(probably not tucked in). Which do you think I should go with?</p>
<p>I wouldn't go with the suit and tie. You aren't going to a wedding or anything. It would probably make the atmosphere to formal. Casual interviews are more comfortable for both the interviewed and the interviewer. Wear nice clothes, but not overdone. Khakis and a polo or something along those lines is probably fine.</p>
<p>Wear a button-up shirt and khakis. Baggy won't help, but hopefully it won't hurt either. Tuck your shirt in probably.</p>
<p>It is better to be slightly overdressed than underdressed.
Suit always looks good. If you feel too uncomfortable in it, do not wear a tie but instead unbottoned shirt.</p>
<p>I'm of the opinion that one can't be too formal. Suit and tie is definitely the way to go, unless you have strong intelligence to the contrary (such as information that the college specifically dislikes the formality). You always want to be more well-dressed than, or at least as well dressed as, your interviewer. Shows that you take it seriously.</p>
<p>Don't wear a suit. Houston's hot, especially at this time of the year. You'll be very uncomfortable, unless you bring your suit with you to change into once you get inside the building. -_-;</p>
<p>You're goign to a college interview, not a job interview. You're supposed to be a laid-back college student. I don't know, wearing a suit to somewhere outside of a conference center or so would be weird at your age. It wouldn't look real, I guess. And you would want to show them who you actually are.
By the way, the most important thing for you would be to be relaxed and at ease.</p>
<p>bump, give me 5 more votes and I'll be happy</p>
<p>thanks by the way</p>
<p>Nalcon, quite frankly, if it were Ivy League in the fall, I'd say go with a suit/tie, but Rice in Houston in the middle of the summer, I sense you'd look out of place and feel uncomfortable in a suit. You really do want to project that you are comfortable, and if you're sweating up a storm in your suited finery, it may not make a great impression. On the other hand, can't you find something better than cargo pants for Rice, the best academic university in Texas? I'd also recommend a nice solid color (light blue preferably) dress shirt, long sleeve (but it's OK to uncuff and roll up twice), button-down would be my preference, and tucked in of course. Good luck!</p>
<p>What, nobody has ever heard about AC in Houston?
I work in a university and my office is always freezing cold in summers. Most of my students wear jackets to class.</p>
<p>The most important thing is for you to be comfortable. Some people can pull off a suit and feel totally at ease in one - take a kid in my highschool who wears a suit to school EVERY DAY and nobody thinks it's weird, because, well, he can just pull it off like that. If you are that kind of person, a suit is awesome, professional, and crisp. But you're not, so -</p>
<p>I'd go with nice fitting pants (not baggy!), dress shoes, and a tucked in shirt (short sleeved button-ups look weird, go with longsleeve and roll up) + belt. That way you will look presentable, but you won't feel uncomfortable or out of place, no matter how your interviewer is dressed. You could even throw on a blazer if you want.</p>
<p>What you're planning sounds way too casual, but I think a suit, though appropriate, is not necessarily the way you /have/ to go. </p>
<p>Keep in mind I was up at Syracuse recently, and the woman stressed that dressing well for the interview was very important. She said for guys, wear a suit - it IS like a job interview.</p>