Attire for college visit?

[Brenda in MA]

My son is a junior this year, and we will be visiting a few prospective colleges in the coming weeks. We will take in the info session and tour, and I'd like him to have an interview if they offer it (still researching this on specific schools).

A couple of the schools offer a lunch with a current student, and one offers the ability to sit in on a class with a current student.

I'd like some guidance on what ds should wear. I was thinking of a nice, long sleeved cotton interlock-type of shirt and khaki pants. Would this outfit be appropriate for a prospective student tour/interview?

TIA,
Brenda

[Gwen in VA]

I think the outfit you mention is entirely appropriate.

If he were just going for an interview, I might suggest a buttondown shirt intead, but since he may be sitting in on classes and the like and he doesn't want to stand out too much, I think a polo shirt and chinos outfit is a great choice!

[Sharon in MD]

We have a jr also and have visited several places so far. We have only had one interview and that was not an admissions interview, but rather an informational interview...At that particular school we had ds wear khakis and a sports shirt. If he were going for a formal admission type interview, I'd wear coat and tie.

Most of the schools that we visited were at their special high school open house types of events....for those jeans and sport shirt were recommended to us by the admissions folks running the event. But, if I were going up for a private visit, I'd aim for the middle and go with the khaki pants and polo shirt type of thing....it is neither too dressy nor too casual....and he should still be comfortable.

By the way, it is really good to look as much as possible in advance. We visited 8 colleges this year and ds has his short list now....We know which 4 schools he will apply to and what we really like and dislike about various places. We will go back and revisit probably 3 of these, with dad in tow, since he didn't get to see those.

Good luck!

[Gwen in VA]

The funny thing is that you need to work on impressing the college for so long -- and then the process flips!

Ds has (probably) 5 schools that he will be deciding between, so ds and dh will have a busy April visitng schools! (Three are out of state -- and two of those require airplane tickets!)

But at this point he is focusing on just learning as much as he can about each school so he can make a wise decision -- he doesn't need to 'impress" anyone! And the school's main aim at this point is to impress the student!

[Sharon in MD]

Just out of curiosity...where are you guys looking and what field is ds thinking about?

[Brenda in MA]

Ds is looking at either Computer Science or Engineering. He wants to go to a school somewhere in the Northeast (say anywhere from VA to PA and north).

My other question is this -- should he bring some paperwork with him (e.g. transcript from NARHS, a resume, some course descriptions)?

TIA,
Brenda

[Sharon in MD]

Our ds is also heading into engineering, we think, at this point. He also likes computers, but probably not enough for that to be his focus.

I wouldn't think you would want to bring any documents with you at this point...you are just beginning to shop. We told all the places that we visited that we were just beginning to look at schools and were trying to get a feel for the different types of schools, big/small, rural/urban, liberal arts/technical to see what would be the best fit for ds. For us, since we school through a private academy in MD, we also did not say anything to them about homeschooling. We wanted to blend in with any other potential student at that point.

That is just my opinion. So many times home schoolers are expected to jump through extra hoops, so we did not want to telegraph that on our first approach. We figured we can cross that bridge later if need be.

[NancyL]

Brenda- would you have a moment to give me some pointers about CS? How can you determine which schools give a good education? How do you know that they will get the right kind of opportunities after they graduate? ie grad school or employment? It seems like many many schools do offer that as a major, but it's really hard to evaluate the kind of education provided. I was wondering if the smaller schools have to struggle to provide all the necessary technology- I'm sure its expensive-- or is that not really important? I know that the small schools may be more enjoyable, but how would you know if they offer the background you need> Also would it be too much to ask which schools would be on your short list? We are in WA and evidently the UW is pretty well ranked, but most all of the smaller schools also offer the same major. Thanks so much!

[Nan in Mass]

My sons wore polo shirts or button-downs, sneakers, and khakis to open houses and campus tours, and blended in. There were a few who were more neatly dressed than mine, and quite a number in jeans and tee-shirts. I think the neater ones were probably ones who had interviews, but even they only were in khaki's and a nice shirt. We've only looked in New England, so far, so I can't tell you about other places. UMass was mostly jeans.
-Nan

[Brenda in MA]

;

[NancyL]

Thanks Brenda- that's terrific of you to take the time to respond. (My first PM, too!) As you say, Carnegie Mellon is very highly ranked in that area. I had a friend on a board whose son was studying there at the time. She said he came home for vacation totally exhausted! She just said it was a tough program and you could get the liberal arts credits by being in the orchestra, which he did, and played all through college. He got a terrific job after graduation, lived in their basement, and got his loans paid off quickly! She saw the only problem there was the food.? Now I've heard the food at Cornell is fabulous! (I'm a dietitian, and we can be tunnel minded when it comes to food!) Thanks again, and best of luck to your son.

[NancyL]

One more thing is that I met a mom who works in CS and she highly recommended IUUC (or however). She said it had a great program. If you have any time we have a new CS Researcher here at UW. We heard her speak at Women's Day in Engineering. She was fascinating because she has gone her whole life trying to develop a robot to play tennis with. She showed a picture of her in high school covered with knee bandages playing tennis. She had so many injuries she had to try a new field (engineering) (instead of pro tennis!) She has continued this dream and is now developing prosethies that can be attached and wired to your brain so that the nerves can be connected. She said that her teachers told her if you wanted a tennis robot you should start with the legs. Anyway, I think they "enticed "her away from someplace near Boston where she had her lab. She said her position is in CS but she never does programming or coding, which is what people ask her all the time. She had 3 year old twins and a 4 month old in a front pack and stroller while she was speaking. She said women should not give up on their dreams to have a family along with work. (She was great)

[Brenda in MA]

Thanks for sharing. I didn't have any trouble with the food at CMU, but that was 20ish years ago (oh, I'm old....). I liked your story about the woman designing the tennis robot. I can relate to the posts by Gwen et al. about what to do when your dc need you around but don't need you every moment. Like that woman you mentioned, I feel like I need to start thinking about pursuing my dreams again, but then, I wish I knew what they were!

Brenda

[nestof3]

We met the ROTC officer at a college nearby. My son wore his Dickies khakis (which he wears all the time, so he wore his "good" pair LOL), and button down shirt and a thin sweater. It's the same sort of thing he wears when we go to a concert, to dinner, etc.