How to Dress for Interview Weekends

[gradchaser]

Hey al! So sorry if this is already a thread somewhere. Now that interview invitations are rolling out, I am curious about what psychology interviewees wear to both the interview and the other events scheduled over the weekend. Here are a couple questions I have:

 

For the actual interview, is it appropriate to wear a full suit or would it be better to wear slacks and a jacket/cardigan?

The programs I've heard from all have dinners the night before with faculty and scheduled "out on the town with graduate students" events. Two of the schools have brunch and tours of campus the day after the interviews. What is appropriate for these events? I would err on the side of business causal but I don't want to be completely off base!

 

I know I am probably over analyzing this but I live in constant fear of being over/under dressed. I would be super grateful to receive any input from those who have attended interviews this year or in previous years. What are people wearing? 

[FinallyAccepted]

The interview invite I got included dress code info. Professional for the interview, casual for the dinner after. I wouldn't wear your holey jeans, though. Smart casual or business casual maybe?

Edited January 10, 2015 by shana.teacher

[peachypie]

I'm not in psych but I am in the biological sciences here are my answers:

I wore a suit (pants and jacket with blouse and short heels for my interview day).  Some interviewees were also wearing suits others were a mixture of more business casual (nice pants + sweater or blouse cardigans etc).

Wear what you are comfortable wearing.

The other events I wore nice pants and a sweater, nice pants and a blouse type of thing for the non-interview day.  Sometimes I wore boots or flats or short heels again.  I am comfortable doing a lot of walking in heels so that wasn't an issue of mine but a lot of people have that problem.  

Business casual will be fine.

My thoughts are its always best to be slightly over dressed than under dressed.  the people you interview with will almost always be under dressed from you but thats ok.  My idea is make a good first impression and wear what makes you feel confident.

[gradchaser]

Thanks for your input! I knew I was worrying for no reason. I think err on the side of overdressed, just to be sure!

[pinkjelly]

My adviser told me last year when I had my interview to air on the side of boring. (as crazy as that may sound). You want to dress business casual(ish), but nothing too extravagant. You want to be remembered for the things you say and your personality. Not in any way about how you dressed. 

[AvatarPsych]

For the actual interview, wear a suit. If you do not wear a suit you will be sorely under-dressed, even if the program is a "casual" program. My program is now VERY casual but during the actual interview, every single person wore a suit.

 

For any of the social functions, I wore business casual but on the dressier end. Remember: you're constantly being interviewed during interview weekend. You need to make a good first impression. 

 

Also take into consideration things like weather. If you're interviewing somewhere that's normally snowy, dress appropriately. This includes (for ladies) wearing heels that have good traction on them. Before I interviewed, I went out and bought a good purse that could hold my portfolio and other interview essentials, a nice wool coat, and some nice blouses to go under my suit jacket. Even if you don't want to fork over the money right now, these are all worthwhile investments.