spew

I'm a guy but I may be able to offer some advice:



Very immature thinking here. Of course the faculty won't be dressed up in fancy suits but that's not the point at all. The point is that you need to show them that you want to impress them and that you cared enough to put on your best. Dressing down only shows the opposite - even if you didn't mean it at all. You can never be too overdressed for an interview. Everybody knows that when you walk in on the first day of the job you won't actually be dressed like that. Think it's trying too hard? Think again. There are hundreds of applicants who want to be in your spot. Show it.

I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience with interviews. I always wear a suit and there are only 2 interviews (out of maybe 8) in my whole life that I've had where I didn't get the job. In fact on my tour/interview of my last research job, I casually met another supervisor in the hallway and she gave me a thumbs up and said "that's good interview attire."

My point: The appropriateness of formal business attire for an interview should not depend on what field you are in. If you are interviewing for a janitor position, I would still recommend a suit. It's just 100% tactful - It always has been and always will be! Now in the end, it probably doesn't matter: in no way is it a deal breaker. But for purposes of this discussion, to belittle a suit and say it's overkill is absolutely ridiculous.

You're going to have to visit each program's website and see if they mention anything about average stats for previous incoming classes. Very often they do, especially in the FAQ sections. However, if not, don't be afraid to call the program and ask. There is no "place" that outright reports these statistics in a nice list for you. It's best to get this information straight from the source.

I'm a guy but I may be able to offer some advice:



Very immature thinking here. Of course the faculty won't be dressed up in fancy suits but that's not the point at all. The point is that you need to show them that you want to impress them and that you cared enough to put on your best. Dressing down only shows the opposite - even if you didn't mean it at all. You can never be too overdressed for an interview. Everybody knows that when you walk in on the first day of the job you won't actually be dressed like that. Think it's trying too hard? Think again. There are hundreds of applicants who want to be in your spot. Show it.

I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience with interviews. I always wear a suit and there are only 2 interviews (out of maybe 8) in my whole life that I've had where I didn't get the job. In fact on my tour/interview of my last research job, I casually met another supervisor in the hallway and she gave me a thumbs up and said "that's good interview attire."

My point: The appropriateness of formal business attire for an interview should not depend on what field you are in. If you are interviewing for a janitor position, I would still recommend a suit. It's just 100% tactful - It always has been and always will be! Now in the end, it probably doesn't matter: in no way is it a deal breaker. But for purposes of this discussion, to belittle a suit and say it's overkill is absolutely ridiculous.

Follow whatever dress code they tell you. My post was not directed towards the OP or anyone in particular - in fact, don't wear the suit because they told you it's business casual. But somewhere in the middle of this thread someone said:
and then everybody seemed to start to agree suits would be unnecessary. Who cares what's "prevalent." They said "Business dress" and we should be fortunate that they told us anything. Take their advice and move on.
Generally...

Business attire = suit and tie
Business casual attire = dress pants/khaki's and dress shirt or blouse and nice shoes with optional sweater/blazer/sportscoat (no tie necessary)

This stuff is all over the web. I'm not making any of it up.

I'm a guy but I may be able to offer some advice:



Very immature thinking here. Of course the faculty won't be dressed up in fancy suits but that's not the point at all. The point is that you need to show them that you want to impress them and that you cared enough to put on your best. Dressing down only shows the opposite - even if you didn't mean it at all. You can never be too overdressed for an interview. Everybody knows that when you walk in on the first day of the job you won't actually be dressed like that. Think it's trying too hard? Think again. There are hundreds of applicants who want to be in your spot. Show it.

I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience with interviews. I always wear a suit and there are only 2 interviews (out of maybe 8) in my whole life that I've had where I didn't get the job. In fact on my tour/interview of my last research job, I casually met another supervisor in the hallway and she gave me a thumbs up and said "that's good interview attire."

My point: The appropriateness of formal business attire for an interview should not depend on what field you are in. If you are interviewing for a janitor position, I would still recommend a suit. It's just 100% tactful - It always has been and always will be! Now in the end, it probably doesn't matter: in no way is it a deal breaker. But for purposes of this discussion, to belittle a suit and say it's overkill is absolutely ridiculous.

I'm a guy but I may be able to offer some advice:



Very immature thinking here. Of course the faculty won't be dressed up in fancy suits but that's not the point at all. The point is that you need to show them that you want to impress them and that you cared enough to put on your best. Dressing down only shows the opposite - even if you didn't mean it at all. You can never be too overdressed for an interview. Everybody knows that when you walk in on the first day of the job you won't actually be dressed like that. Think it's trying too hard? Think again. There are hundreds of applicants who want to be in your spot. Show it.

I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience with interviews. I always wear a suit and there are only 2 interviews (out of maybe 8) in my whole life that I've had where I didn't get the job. In fact on my tour/interview of my last research job, I casually met another supervisor in the hallway and she gave me a thumbs up and said "that's good interview attire."

My point: The appropriateness of formal business attire for an interview should not depend on what field you are in. If you are interviewing for a janitor position, I would still recommend a suit. It's just 100% tactful - It always has been and always will be! Now in the end, it probably doesn't matter: in no way is it a deal breaker. But for purposes of this discussion, to belittle a suit and say it's overkill is absolutely ridiculous.