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OK, this may sound trivial, but since we're visiting 3 schools in 3 days next week, I want to feel comfortable (especially my feet!) Will jeans and tennis shoes be acceptable (for both student and parents) or do people dress up a bit more for college visits? We're just doing the group campus tour thing, and a group meeting with the admissions staff at the 2 larger colleges. We'll have some one-on-one meetings with admissions, prof, etc at the smaller college.

By Dadster (Dadster) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 10:36 pm: Edit

I'd go casual for sure... many kids will be in jeans, and more than a few parents. I'd avoid unusually sloppy or revealing clothes, but otherwise be comfy. If you want to look a bit spiffier to meet with profs or admissions officials, go for khakis or similar. When I was doing campus tours, there was always some kid who showed up in a tie & blazer, and that looked a bit forced to me. But whatever the student is comfortable in will work.

By Rosarosaef (Rosarosaef) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 11:01 pm: Edit

if you are just visiting and will be part of a group taking a tour, anything is fine. but if you are going to have a private interview, that's a different matter. if an interview, the college probably gave you an indication of what is appropriate dress. if not, err on the side of caution. the college interview is where a student should put his/her best foot forward. you never have a second chance to make a first impression. and nobody ever got rejected because he wore a tie.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 02:21 am: Edit

I dunno...you should see some of my ties. Take the Marvin-the-Martian one, for instance.

By Sallyr (Sallyr) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 09:16 am: Edit

This is slightly off-the-wall advice that won't be fitting for many schools but is at least worth pondering for some. If a college has a clear-cut stereotype (e.g,. preppy, lefty, jock, etc.) and the applicant doesn't really fit that mold (or even if s/he does), adcoms tend to want to increase campus "diversity" by admitting students who go against type. I recall, for instance, a former admission official from Colgate saying that he wished he could trade candidates with Wesleyan. That is, he wanted a few more with pierced eyebrows and tattoos, while he felt that the Wesleyan folks could use some additional typical Colgate aspirants in Dockers and Polo shirts.

While a student always wants to make it clear in an interview that he or she has carefully researched this college and feels that it might be a good match, that's easy to do via comments and questions. Although interview attire will rarely make a real difference in an admission decision, do keep in mind that adcom members may have half an eye out for those who will bring new blood to campus and just the right tee-shirt (or tie!) might convey that message.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 10:35 am: Edit

Great insight, thanks. Especially as we start packing in about 10 days for our Big Trip which will include a couple of interviews with admissions officers.

By Mike (Mike) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 02:45 pm: Edit

I just visited 3 PNW LACS this week and I was best dressed in a sweater, khakis, and running shoes. One guy was wearing baggy jeans dragging on the ground and a cap pulled down and a collar turned up leaving little of his face showing. We both interviewed. By the way two women had bare midriffs.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 03:17 pm: Edit

Mike - which Pacific Northwest LAC's did you visit? What were your thoughts/reactions about them?

By Soozievt (Soozievt) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 06:32 pm: Edit

for theDad....I was just wondering from your post...you say you have interviews with admissions officers for your college visits for your junior daughter? I have not heard of that, but I guess you learn something new every day. I know that often seniors do not even have on campus interviews at many top colleges, and they do alumni interviews near their home town instead.Even so, I would not think that admissions officers would be willing to interview a student who has not even yet applied to the college. But if you got such interviews, great! Normally, we do the info. sessions and tours, etc. ...but then arrange to meet with certain people on campus but they are not admissions people. For instance, on a college visit yesterday, we met with the department chair for the major my daughter is interested in and have done that elsewhere too. I would be interested in hearing how you got interviews with admissions when you have not yet applied. I never thought to even ask. Anyway, good luck on your visits....which schools are on your list? Today I was at UPenn all day. Went very well. My daughter is spending the night there now with a girl from our high school who is a freshman there.
Susan

By Thedad (Thedad) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 07:25 pm: Edit

We'll be visiting Harvard, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Yale, Columbia, Barnard, and NYU.

Admissions interview set at Smith. They will start doing them beginning April of junior year and since we won't be back again before applications go in....

Admissions demi-interview pending at Columbia, pending Columbia admissions officer coming back up for air. Again, a case of "since we're in the area" and the admissions officer being willing to make time for DD. I'm not going out of the way to game the system but it does seem to me if DD makes a good first-hand impression on admissions officer instead of alumni surrogate, might be helpful in a coin flip.

We're being almost as cavalier with Harvard as I expect Harvard will be with DD...2-1/2 hours for info session and tour is it. But what the heck, right? Whereas we're spending about 36 hours at Smith. All the others are somewhere in between, with Columbia and Barnard getting the next most attention.

Whereas we haven't yet met with a department chair.

By Mike (Mike) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 08:14 pm: Edit

I visted Whitman, Puget Sound, and Pacific Lutheran. Whitman is very college community oriented. If I got in I have no doubt there would be plenty of support to make it. The campus is beautiful. Great variety of programs for a small school and a fantastic new Science building.

Puget Sound is a step down but seems very strong academically but much less personal. The area is great but the campus less impressive.

Pacific Lutheran is about the size of Puget Sound and the campus is as nice but the neighborhood is less so. People in the Ad office were very helpful. Didn't get to talk to a science major because of spring break. The school seems very ok but less up scale. I'd rate Whitman # academically, campus beauty and dorms, worst food plan, Puget Sound best food plan, best neighborhood less intense academically. Pacific Luthern #2 in campus, # 3 in dorms, worst neighborhood. What was most attractive about PLU was their J-term that lets you travel for 4 weeks to many overseas classes. Very affordable for a non rich kid.

By Soozievt (Soozievt) on Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 01:24 am: Edit

For theDad....
I understand a bit better now at least with Smith as you say they conduct on campus interviews with Juniors. Most schools we are looking into do not even do on campus interviews with seniors. As far as visits with department chairs, these have in no way been made in an attempt to be interviewed or with any regard as to the admissions process. Rather, as part of each campus visit, we have tried to explore as many aspects of the college that we can. The visits with a dept. chair or professor in the department my child is interested in majoring in has been to learn more about that program. That has been the focus.

I recommend to you on any of your visits, including the one to Harvard (we visited there too by the way), that you spend a full day there doing MORE than the college tour and the info. sessions. These are great starting points. But try to visit the department your child is interested in. Make appointments or casually visit some of her extracurricular interests. Meet up with any students you may know (even casually) from your home area who attend the college. Eat in the cafeteria. Go up to students randomly to ask questions...my daughter does this in the cafeteria for instance. Go up to students as they are entering dorms and ask to see their rooms and besides seeing the living situation, you often get to chat with kids that way....we do this a LOT. We were at one school all day yesterday and one today...doing these very things and it takes the better part of a day to fit in the more formal visit stuff, the appointments, and the casual/random meeting kids and visiting dorms, etc. We spent over an hour today chatting with two students who were captains of a club sport my child wants to be in...we e mailed ahead to set that up. She not only learned more about that activity at the school but it was a chance to ask many questions of these students about the college. At the moment my daughter is sleeping overnight with a girl who she knows a tiny bit who is going to this college from our high school. Normally she has not done overnights but may go back to top choices next year to do that. But in your case, besides all this, make sure you visit the dance department and call ahead to meet up with faculty if you can. Btw, two girls from our high school that I know are freshman this year at Smith and love it. Also, we know girls from home who are dancers (as our my daughters)who have gone or are going to Barnard and Columbia for dance. Good luck with it all. Whenever you can, if you can do the same sorts of things at EACH school you visit, then you can sorta compare apples to apples.....as opposed to one school looking better simply cause you got to visit it more in depth. Just a thought. I cannot imagine doing all those schools in one week but I know you have to cause of the distance but I can tell you just doing two schools for two full days and all the long distance driving I do on each of these little visits is exhausting (though fun). Today there were two families from CA on our tour at UPenn and I thought of you doing this pretty soon yourself.
Susan

By Thedad (Thedad) on Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 11:24 am: Edit

Susan, in the best of all possible worlds, we would do much of what you say but coming from Cal, we're going to hit the Northeast only this once and there are seven schools that DD is interested in and we've got nine days to do it and one full l o n g day is traveling west to east and the last day is truncated at about 3:00pm to get to the airport. Easter is in there, so there'd be no point trying to visit anywhere even if we weren't invited to come over to my sister in-laws, the Saturday would be fine for info and tours but lousy for classes, and then there's travel time between schools...I like the one between Columbia and Barnard the best.

Eating in the cafeteria and asking student questions are definitely on the agenda for everywhere with the possible exception of Harvard. Info session is at 10, tour ends at 12:30, and DD has to be at Smith, changed into leotard and tights by 2:40.

Still waiting to hear back from a dance teacher at Barnard...we checked the schedule to find an appropriate level class that would be offered in the Thursday-Friday.

Seeing a ballet class at Mount Holyoke dropped off the schedule early on...would conflict with stuff DD wanted to do at Smith though it's barely possible that we may able to just peek in on it when we get down there...MHC is getting short shrift because it's down the list.

Yale doesn't have any ballet classes and by the time New Haven Ballet's classes start we really need to be in NYC.

Trying to see some Government classes on top of ballet has been impossible. There are some *great* classes on MWF and we're going to be at Smith on late Monday afternoon...ballet class gets out a 4pm and Tuesday, leaving for Yale at 7:30 on Wednesday morning, so no joy there...hope to see some at Columbia and/or NYU.

Etc.

It's going to be a very impressionistic process in some ways, apples-to-apples not being in the cards. Seeing/taking the ballet classes has been a priority but that's as far as it stretches and even there it's not complete.

By Sallyr (Sallyr) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 07:38 pm: Edit

I used to interview at Smith, and our policy was to start with juniors in March, just about the time when the decision letters were being stuffed into envelopes to go out to the seniors. We continued interviewing students right through January of their senior year, and this policy is typical of many of Smith's "competitor" colleges as well, although there are notable exceptions such as neighboring Amherst that does not do on-campus interviews.

For juniors who have spring vacation in April, this is a good time to see campuses because the college students are generally there then, having finished their own spring breaks in March. Moreover, it usually isn't as crazy a time as the fall of senior year can be, when students are just starting new classes and worrying about applications.

TO Thedad: When you visit Smith, save time to eat in one of Northampton's great restaurants. Try Sylvester's on Pleasant Street for breakfast. ChaChaCha on Main Street is a wonderful, informal, student-y spot for lunch or dinner, and Spoleto--also on Main Street--is a good (but snazzier) dinner place. There are many other options, too. (For instance, at last count I think there were six sushi joints alone right downtown.) Parents are wise to encourage their offspring to pick colleges in places that are fun to visit whenever possible!

By Thedad (Thedad) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 09:56 pm: Edit

bump

Wow, Sally, thanks. I gotta run (why is it I'm always having to run?) but I'll respond more on the next pass.

A side note since you used to interview for Smith: I'm sold on the school as long as D actually likes it in person. My private nightmare is if she gets admitted to both Smith and one of HYC...two COMPLETELY different experiences, each in their own way. Smith strikes me as an outstanding environment for developing as a person, including intellectually.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 11:11 pm: Edit

bump again... "Dinner!" was just announced, which means I am late in setting the table.

By Upenn06 (Upenn06) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 10:19 pm: Edit

Okay I cannot even believe this is something that people are discussing.

HOW DO YOU DRESS FOR A COLLEGE INTERVIEW?!?!?!?!?!?


if you are a boy, you wear slacks, jacket, and tie. if you are a girl, you wear a skirt or dress pants and a nice sweater, or maybe a button down shirt.


are you people serious???? jeezus. thank goodness for prep schools---i'd hate to think that all students would even CONTEMPLATE wearing jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. to a college interview.

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 10:39 pm: Edit

Upenn - this isn't a college interview, it's just a college *visit*. Following a tour guide around campus and watching the admissions video sort of stuff. All of these I've been on have been pretty casual. Even if someone showed up dressed in cut-offs and a halter-top, nobody from admissions was getting people's names or anything. Some of the people on the Harvard tour were just tourists who wanted to see what the campus looked like. Of course if a student had an individual meeting with someone from admissions or a particular department, they would need to dress up for that part.

By Upenn06 (Upenn06) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 12:22 am: Edit

texas137, you're totally right. sorry i misread the chat title...i was only talking about interviews.