Interview Facial Hair

[DoctorFate]

I know this thread has been posted in past years, but I wanted an updated opinion. The general opinion in the past seemed to be 2/3 of people said always clean shave, and 1/3 said doesn't matter. Adcoms on SDN seemed to be split in that same proportion as well. Do the majority still think always clean shave? Even if you look better with a beard (jawline/chin)?

I wanted to share my experience. I intended to clean shave for this cycle. Then, I had a conversation with a former Director of Admissions at UC Irvine, a practice interview with a former Pitt adcom, a practice interview with a SUNY Upstate adcom, and a practice interview with an MD-PhD student at Stanford that's been a student interviewer for years. All four told me that a groomed beard vs clean shaven doesn't matter, and that I should do whichever makes me look better and feel better. At this point, I'm leaning towards keeping my beard.

I should also add, I am South Asian, and it's very common for people of my race to keep a beard. Additionally, there seems to be an awareness that a number of South Asians keep a beard for religious reasons (I am not one of them, but adcoms don't know that). I don't know if this is a factor, but just wanted to add it.

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[gyngyn]

Shave.
It's not worth worrying about it.

 

[DoctorFate]

Shave.
It's not worth worrying about it.

Asking on behalf of my friends with religious considerations (Sikh), would shaving be recommended for them too are adcoms generally aware of this?

 

[4pf]

I'm more confident with my well-groomed beard, so I'm keeping it and just trimming it low. I say do what will make you confident

 

[CatDad26]

I've kept my beard, just made sure to line it up nice and trim it short the night before my interviews. Personally I'm much more confident and feel I receive more respect when I have my beard. I also probably have a terrible tan line from my beard at this point 😂.

Just do what makes you feel happy/confident, and if an adcom looks down on you for a freshly groomed beard then their views are outdated (and that's on them not you!)

 

[gyngyn]

Asking on behalf of my friends with religious considerations (Sikh), would shaving be recommended for them too are adcoms generally aware of this?

Religious reasons are fine.
We are aware.

 

[reapplicant2021]

How long can scalp hair be? My hair currently hangs down to my cheekbones. Is that too long?

 

[DoctorFate]

Religious reasons are fine.
We are aware.

Not all of them wear a turban (certain sects of hinduism) though, is that still alright?

If that's the case, then I'll keep my beard. Worst case, an adcom can assume its part of my religion.

 

[Orims]

I always have some sort of well kept facial hair and I made sure to keep it neat and trimmed for interviews. I saw plenty of other people with facial hair as well (all well groomed).

If my 2 post interview WLs were because of my facial hair then I am glad they waitlisted me XD.

 

[flasheroonie]

Do whatever makes you feel better. Granted, once you're dealing with patients, you'll have to wear a mask 24/7 on the wards and in the clinics. Depending on the infectious disease practices at your hospital, you'll probably have to wear an N95 mask if you're dealing with a COVID rollout patient or a COVID positive patient, in which case, you'll have to be clean-shaven. Or you'll have to always wear a PAPR with each of these types of patients. Not many people are actually sporting beards anymore because of this.

 

[revaew]

My skin is ****, and my face looks like trash when I am beardless. I did all of my interviews with a beard, and several of my classmates did their interviews with large beards. As long as it looks well-kempt, you should be fine.

 

[DoctorFate]

Wow, I'm very pleased to see that opinions have changed since this poll was conducted in 2017. Now, there is a 2/3 vote that beards aren't a problem and 1/3 to always go clean shaven. I see @gyngyn hasn't changed his/her opinion, though. If any other adcoms would like to chime in, I'd appreciate it!

At this point, I think I'm definitely going to keep my beard, given both the positive response on this thread as well as the guidance of the multiple adcoms I mentioned in my original post. From what I gather, worst case, adcoms can assume I have my beard for religious reasons as there are many South Asian peoples that do so.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

 

[yokiguz]

Define well kept/groomed. I'll probably trim mine down to 3-5mm and clean the edges with a razor.

 

[CaptainWEMT]

Current medical student here-- I had a beard when I interviewed and I ended up getting an acceptance off the waitlist.

While on the interview trail I encountered quite a few other men with beards and/or long hair, so its more common than you think it is.

 

[Moravian]

We don't care as long as it's neat and well kept. If you look like you have not shaved in a couple of days and look hung over from the night before, that does raise a flag.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Well groomed is the key. It shows respect for yourself and the interview. No facial hair imo would be preferred, well groomed facial hair can work, sloppy or Duck Dynasty facial hair is a non starter. Maybe we need a thread for multiple facial piercings, tongue piercings, and gages too?

 

[TheIndianMamba]

I have kept a well-groomed, longer beard (10+ mm) for all of my interviews so far and I haven't received any comments. I definitely feel more confident with my beard so if having one is your look, then rock it! I have seen a fair amount of men with beards throughout my interview experiences so far too.

 

[Ehegi]

Facial hair exactly trimmed to the shape of a fitted N95 for bonus points!

 

[M1-Holder]

I trimmed my beard to ensure it was cleanly but have a full beard and got plenty of acceptances. It’s fine! They care about the person not the beard!

 

[Metamorphosis.DO]

I know this thread has been posted in past years, but I wanted an updated opinion. The general opinion in the past seemed to be 2/3 of people said always clean shave, and 1/3 said doesn't matter. Adcoms on SDN seemed to be split in that same proportion as well. Do the majority still think always clean shave? Even if you look better with a beard (jawline/chin)?

I wanted to share my experience. I intended to clean shave for this cycle. Then, I had a conversation with a former Director of Admissions at UC Irvine, a practice interview with a former Pitt adcom, a practice interview with a SUNY Upstate adcom, and a practice interview with an MD-PhD student at Stanford that's been a student interviewer for years. All four told me that a groomed beard vs clean shaven doesn't matter, and that I should do whichever makes me look better and feel better. At this point, I'm leaning towards keeping my beard.

I should also add, I am South Asian, and it's very common for people of my race to keep a beard. Additionally, there seems to be an awareness that a number of South Asians keep a beard for religious reasons (I am not one of them, but adcoms don't know that). I don't know if this is a factor, but just wanted to add it.

If you need facial hair to make you feel confident.. that’s very sad to me. Unless you have acne scarring or some legitimate reason. “ADCOMS don’t know.” doesn’t sound like a great approach to interviews or life in general. Do what you feel is appropriate— adcoms will judge you accordingly. Don’t do something if you feel like you’d have to “get away with it” for some bogus reason. A guy interviewed with a pony tail in one interview I was on (won’t disclose school or year).

I felt like it looked immature and silly. But his personality (at least over that interview day) seemed to make up for it and some may say his pony tail + professionalism made him seem very confident and well rounded.

if you wear a beard, trim. Your religion obviously doesn’t require you to let it grow. So trim. Short.

Ultimately I recommend shaving. All of my current physician faculty are clean shaven Except one. Are they older and likely “old-fashion” yes. But then again, these are the people who are evaluating you.

clean shaven looks better and no matter what they say, I’ve always thought it looks more professional. It’s safe. Just do it.

Again, if you don’t feel confident without a beard… then I feel sad for you. That’s a serious self-image problem.

 

[Kenshin_Med]

I can’t see a faculty judging someone for having a nice well trimmed beard… If they did I would assume they have deeper issues they need to address within themselves.

 

[Redemption9]

If you need facial hair to make you feel confident.. that’s very sad to me. Unless you have acne scarring or some legitimate reason. “ADCOMS don’t know.” doesn’t sound like a great approach to interviews or life in general. Do what you feel is appropriate— adcoms will judge you accordingly. Don’t do something if you feel like you’d have to “get away with it” for some bogus reason. A guy interviewed with a pony tail in one interview I was on (won’t disclose school or year).

I felt like it looked immature and silly. But his personality (at least over that interview day) seemed to make up for it and some may say his pony tail + professionalism made him seem very confident and well rounded.

if you wear a beard, trim. Your religion obviously doesn’t require you to let it grow. So trim. Short.

Ultimately I recommend shaving. All of my current physician faculty are clean shaven Except one. Are they older and likely “old-fashion” yes. But then again, these are the people who are evaluating you.

clean shaven looks better and no matter what they say, I’ve always thought it looks more professional. It’s safe. Just do it.

Again, if you don’t feel confident without a beard… then I feel sad for you. That’s a serious self-image problem.

I would encourage not counseling other people like this, especially in person. It's harsh and invalidating without knowing anything about this person other than knowing they feel more confident with a beard. Even if it wasn't intended, you also frame your opinion as though you are an authority.

This isn't as serious of an issue as you make it sound. Lots of ways for people to dress and present themself while still appearing professional. I interview/evaluate applicants at a US MD school, and there has never been a discussion about anyone's facial hair unless indirectly in the context of someone appearing somewhat unprofessional, in general, or mildly disheveled. Certainly not whether someone was or was not clean shaven.

Further, if we are able to get to know someone better because they feel more confident simply because of their (well-groomed) facial hair, I welcome it. I suspect nerves have overshadowed several applicants' personalities in a way that we were unable to most accurately evaluate if they would be a good fit for our school. OP, do what makes you feel most comfortable (with the assumption you will present professionally).

 

[severage]

I’m a third year dental student, have had a beard since I was 18. I trimmed it for my interviews, but was never clean shaven.

Got accepted everywhere I interviewed, has never been an issue.

 

[Dr_Dentist]

groomed mine for my dental interview. got into school. this was in 2019. if you normally have a beard, why would you shave it? that makes no sense to me. my parents tried to tell me to shave it but i told them i am going in there to be myself, not to give off this "false" picture of myself. if you dont shave your beard it will also show confidence, the interviewers may think "wow, hes confident enough to keep his beard" especially if it is groomed. dont have a massive ass beard but have something neat and short to where they can still see your skin. goodluck. PS: i never did well in english class, so thats why my sentences and writing is pretty horrific, hence "dental school" not "law school" Goodluck- Drdentist

 

[rjs2131]

Chances are, doing what is less comfortable/natural for you is more likely to impact how you interview vs the actual presence of a beard or not. Do what makes you feel comfortable/what helps you be you. Unless your beard has things living in it, I doubt anyone will comment on/care about this when making admissions decisions. Listen to the people you've interviewed with already - they've actually met you and have a much better gauge on all of the other subjective/nonverbal aspects of the interview than anyone on here will.

 

[DrOngoGablogian]

On the interview trail a couple years back I would say ~85% of males looked ridiculous in my eyes for an interview. I’m no old chunk of coal but was a couple years older than most and coming from a very clean cut profession so that’s the basis of my opinions. Non matching socks with bright colored patterns and cartoons, GQ tight suits, suits that are baby blue, goofy ties, facial hair straight out of the count of monte cristo, doofy haircuts, etc. In my mind, trendy is a big no no and I would never dress that way to an interview. But…

Well, all those folks looked perfectly fine by comparison and in fact they were the norm. If an interviewer was going to knock someone for their goofy appearance they would have had to knock the whole room basically. So no, I wouldn’t worry about shaving as long as it looks decent. You will be amongst thousands of other people looking trendy. Nowadays if you’re at least wearing socks and didn’t wax your mustache into points on the sides, you’re going to look more professional than a lot of other folks there. My 2 cents at least.

 

[DoctorFate]

If you need facial hair to make you feel confident.. that’s very sad to me. Unless you have acne scarring or some legitimate reason. “ADCOMS don’t know.” doesn’t sound like a great approach to interviews or life in general. Do what you feel is appropriate— adcoms will judge you accordingly. Don’t do something if you feel like you’d have to “get away with it” for some bogus reason. A guy interviewed with a pony tail in one interview I was on (won’t disclose school or year).

I felt like it looked immature and silly. But his personality (at least over that interview day) seemed to make up for it and some may say his pony tail + professionalism made him seem very confident and well rounded.

if you wear a beard, trim. Your religion obviously doesn’t require you to let it grow. So trim. Short.

Ultimately I recommend shaving. All of my current physician faculty are clean shaven Except one. Are they older and likely “old-fashion” yes. But then again, these are the people who are evaluating you.

clean shaven looks better and no matter what they say, I’ve always thought it looks more professional. It’s safe. Just do it.

Again, if you don’t feel confident without a beard… then I feel sad for you. That’s a serious self-image problem.

This is one of the most over-the-top and unnecessarily criticizing posts I have ever read on this site. Thank god the vast majority of people don't have your attitude issues. To everyone else, including those who respectfully disagreed, thank you for your opinion!

 

[SkullbaseFoLyfe]

My mentality has been: If you are going to fully shave for interviews and then spend the rest of residency/fellowship with a beard - then you should come with a beard for interviews. Just be yourself. The culture has become a lot more accepting nowadays and its not worth temporarily changing your appearance in order to comply with some presumed norm. If a program is going to judge you on your beard (and you expect to always have a beard), then that program is honestly not a good fit for you.

 

[MyNameIsCharon]

I felt like it looked immature and silly. But his personality (at least over that interview day) seemed to make up for it and some may say his pony tail + professionalism made him seem very confident and well rounded.

Bias towards gender non-conforming behaviors is not cool and should not be tolerated in a professional atmosphere. Especially among schools that promote themselves as LGBTQ friendly. If you find yourself having these feelings you should address that quickly. I've had two (male) ponytailed lecturers in the past week and it obviously hasn't impacted their standing within the college of medicine or their professional qualifications (both were 50+, mind you, so far from "immature"). I myself have hair past my rib cage and managed to snag 10ii's (a few top 10s) and some acceptances and a massive scholarship I didn't even ask for. My school even gave a lecture on how its unprofessional for attendings to discriminate against personal characteristics such as hair style.

Everyone else needs to stop overthinking this. I've had male classmates come into lecture with earings, booty shorts, manbuns, tattoo sleeves, females with colored hair, etc. This is 2021. Beards in particular are normal and have been in medicine since... forever. Whatever your style is just keep it neat, clean, and non-offensive. Nowhere in any of our professionalism codes are external characteristics (save for hygiene) described. You will always have haters. But honestly, if a school rejects you for being you... good riddance. If a school is willing to arbitrarily apply exceptions in personal appearance towards certain groups (religious, LGBTQ, etc) and not uphold those rights broadly... you can be assured they are checking boxes and have no actually moral commitment to "diversity".

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I am getting a haircut today before my interview. Should I get a buzz cut or long/medium on top short on sides?

 

[Nave]

If you need facial hair to make you feel confident.. that’s very sad to me. Unless you have acne scarring or some legitimate reason. “ADCOMS don’t know.” doesn’t sound like a great approach to interviews or life in general. Do what you feel is appropriate— adcoms will judge you accordingly. Don’t do something if you feel like you’d have to “get away with it” for some bogus reason. A guy interviewed with a pony tail in one interview I was on (won’t disclose school or year).

I felt like it looked immature and silly. But his personality (at least over that interview day) seemed to make up for it and some may say his pony tail + professionalism made him seem very confident and well rounded.

if you wear a beard, trim. Your religion obviously doesn’t require you to let it grow. So trim. Short.

Ultimately I recommend shaving. All of my current physician faculty are clean shaven Except one. Are they older and likely “old-fashion” yes. But then again, these are the people who are evaluating you.

clean shaven looks better and no matter what they say, I’ve always thought it looks more professional. It’s safe. Just do it.

Again, if you don’t feel confident without a beard… then I feel sad for you. That’s a serious self-image problem.

Jesus christ. It's probably been 2 years since I've posted on this forum and nothing has changed. OP, do what makes you confident while maintaining semblance of professionalism. No one cares if you have well a maintained beard. They especially don't care about your personal reasons for it.

 

[DoctorFate]

Jesus christ. It's probably been 2 years since I've posted on this forum and nothing has changed. OP, do what makes you confident while maintaining semblance of professionalism. No one cares if you have well a maintained beard. They especially don't care about your personal reasons for it. The person who posted this is a dolt.

Seriously. I read that and wondering what embittered spirit possessed him and drove him to write that.

 

[Ganon]

I remember debating this when I applied.

I had a lot of acceptances and had a trimmed beard on the interview trail.

Just look clean and sharp whatever you do! That's all that really matters

 

[YCAGA]

Bias towards gender non-conforming behaviors is not cool and should not be tolerated in a professional atmosphere. Especially among schools that promote themselves as LGBTQ friendly. If you find yourself having these feelings you should address that quickly. I've had two (male) ponytailed lecturers in the past week and it obviously hasn't impacted their standing within the college of medicine or their professional qualifications (both were 50+, mind you, so far from "immature"). I myself have hair past my rib cage and managed to snag 10ii's (a few top 10s) and some acceptances and a massive scholarship I didn't even ask for. My school even gave a lecture on how its unprofessional for attendings to discriminate against personal characteristics such as hair style.

Everyone else needs to stop overthinking this. I've had male classmates come into lecture with earings, booty shorts, manbuns, tattoo sleeves, females with colored hair, etc. This is 2021. Beards in particular are normal and have been in medicine since... forever. Whatever your style is just keep it neat, clean, and non-offensive. Nowhere in any of our professionalism codes are external characteristics (save for hygiene) described. You will always have haters. But honestly, if a school rejects you for being you... good riddance. If a school is willing to arbitrarily apply exceptions in personal appearance towards certain groups (religious, LGBTQ, etc) and not uphold those rights broadly... you can be assured they are checking boxes and have no actually moral commitment to "diversity".

I’m not saying that men with long hair are unprofessional but just because a tenured faculty member does something does not mean you can do it during a medical school interview…or really at any point until you have tenure too. And if they were a guest lecturer (local MD but not faculty for example), then of course they can do what they want, can’t get fired from that gig!

I say all of that because everyone who doesn’t understand yet needs to understand ASAP that medicine, being a conservative profession that loves tradition, is still very much a “do as I say not as I do” culture.

As an aside, in the US military they have relaxed grooming standards recently and that is a pretty conservative profession too. Even more interesting and something I wasn’t aware of, for years some servicemen have gotten medical exemptions from being clean shaven because the hair grows back into the skin and causes pseudofolliculitis barbae, aka razor bumps. This is more common for black men (according to the people who got this exception) due to specific characteristics of their hair (it is curly).

 

[treeclimbingmonkey]

Just be yourself, honestly.

 

[sasukeuchiha33]

TBH it depends on your face, as silly as that sounds. I'm always told that I look better clean shaven since my facial hair is incredibly patchy. if it's worrying you i would just shave (barring religious reasons).

 

[YCAGA]

Just be yourself, honestly.

Some people's "selves" are objectively unprofessional though. Although your username is fitting lol

 

[AriMed]

I say keep the beard.
Hopefully, our generation puts an end to the backward usage of "professionalism" as a way to police people's appearances.

 

[gyngyn]

It would appear that this thread has run its course.