Dress code for Uni interviews/visit days

[snowyowl70]

Having just got her first interview for Uni DD1 is now worrying about what to wear ! She has to wear business wear for school so has a trouser suit and skirt/jacket if needs to be formal but is casual more usual ? She will be mortified if she gets it wrong :(

Am I too late to pitch in? I'm a lecturer and do admissions at a Russell Group university.

Smart, but not a suit is the way to go - a nice dress and a jacket, or trousers, shirt and nice cardigan; that kind of thing. Boys do tend to wear their "business-wear" uniforms, but not women.

That being said, she should also wear something she's comfortable in. I'd overlook dirt and patches (maybe not smelliness ;-) if the student's intellect shone through.

(God, that sounded like we care what students wear to interview - actually, we don't. It's the mind that counts, nothing else. But we all know that subconsciously clothes can sway people, and why risk it?)

Thank you PiratePanda that's really helpful. Thank you.

My DD did MFL and got offers from Southampton, Bath, Warwick, Durham & Cambridge. She wore a skirt & blouse to her interviews - Not a suit skirt but a smartish one, and quite a fancy blouse (I would have gone for more formal) - but is was what she was comfortable in. Her 6th form did not have a uniform.

DS wore his school suit because that is what he was used to, but both saw lots in Jeans as well as high fashion.

Good luck!

Thing is, as an academic, I suspect if I'm swayed at all by what applicants are wearing (such influence would be utterly minimal, I hope!) I'd be more put off by high fashion/too smart, than jeans and a tshirt.