Interview Attire in the Earth Sciences

[Morgaine1157]

Hey All,

I wasn't sure if this should be posted here or in the interviews section, but I was wondering what people generally wear to grad program visitation weekends (post-acceptance)/interview weekends in the Earth Sciences? I know that earth scientists are fairly casual, so I don't think a suit would be appropriate but I'm not sure if jeans would be a no no either? Any opinions or suggestions would be helpful!

[waddle]

I've attended two visits, albeit not with other prospective students. One was an interview, and the other was post-admissions. I wanted to be comfortable on the first day, as I was flying in, taking public transit and walking, so I wore a sweater & jeans with sneakers. I was expecting to be trudging in snow, so I brought the most beat-up pair of sneakers I had (we don't do boots where I live)--and what did I find when I got there? That the snow had already melted! I'm pretty sure I didn't leave a good first impression , since I didn't realize East Coast standards for formality of dress are half a step higher (i.e. East Coast casual is almost like business casual). It might be wise to dress ~business casual (assuming you're a guy, button-down, slacks (or at least dark jeans--wish I had those), and dress shoes (or black sneakers--wish I had those too)), but if you're visiting a school in California, non-trashy casual will probably suffice.

Also, don't bring shoes you haven't worn before to a visit day. That might be painful.

Edited March 1, 2011 by waddle

[UnlikelyGrad]

Hey All,

I wasn't sure if this should be posted here or in the interviews section, but I was wondering what people generally wear to grad program visitation weekends (post-acceptance)/interview weekends in the Earth Sciences? I know that earth scientists are fairly casual, so I don't think a suit would be appropriate but I'm not sure if jeans would be a no no either? Any opinions or suggestions would be helpful!

Fairly casual? The people in the geology dept at my school wear jeans to dress up. Otherwise, shorts.

I think nice black jeans and a button-down shirt or polo would do it for you. If you want to get fancy, upgrade to khakis instead of jeans. I think sneakers in decent condition would be okay (all the profs in the geol dept here seem to wear sandals). But this may just be a super super laid back school, I don't know.

[InquilineKea]

Do they do pre-admission interviews in earth science? They almost never do them in astronomy or physics so I'm very curious.

[mooseundsquirrel]

Some schools do, yes. Or individual faculty members will set up interviews to check out prospective students, either in person or over the phone or skype.

[InquilineKea]

Wow, interesting. Which schools are known to do this?