Dyed Lavender Hair as a Pre-Med Student?

[mariposanegra17]

Hello everyone!

I was just wondering what all of you thought about pre-med students having dyed, unnaturally colored hair. I really want to dye my hair a lavender purple color, but I have a lot of doubts.

I really just became a pre-med student this year and am starting to take my pre-requisites this fall so I have a couple of years until I take the MCAT and apply to medical schools, but I will definitely shadow some more physicians and I volunteer at a local hospital during the summer.

Would this really be a bad idea since it is still quite early in the process for me? What are your opinions?

I have never dyed my hair an unnatural color before and I have always wanted to, but I'm still unsure about the repercussions of this decision.


Thank you in advance for all who comment! 🙂

By the way, this is what I want the color to look like:

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[911 Turbo]

Don't do it if you want all your professors to respect you

 

[mariposanegra17]

Don't do it if you want all your professors to respect you

Yeah, that thought did cross my mind! ^^;

 

[PingPongPro]

Whenever I see a girl with unnatural hair color the first thing that crosses my mind is "She's probably likes to get freaky." I really don't know why...

 

[Arkangeloid]

At my medical school it's against the rules to wear such hair, and grounds for disciplinary action.

So don't do it when you're applying to med school, or afterwards.

 

[StephanieZ]

Yea that might be a no-no. What sort of school do you go to? Is it a small liberal-artsy type college or a more conservative place? The issue is you'll need to build rapport with your professors and gain their respect for things such as research opportunities and letters of recommendation. You might be able to get away with this at a liberal arts school, but I'd be careful. You may not realize it, but the connections you make now matter, even though it's only your first semester as a pre-med.

For what it's worth, I think it's pretty 🙂 too bad my opinion doesn't matter.

 

[Gut Shot]

I have never dyed my hair an unnatural color before and I have always wanted to, but I'm still unsure about the repercussions of this decision.

At this point in the game it can only hurt you. Don't do it.

 

[deleted480308]

Pre-med is irrelevant, it just isn't a good color

 

[deleted307836]

Don't do it. Many people won't take you seriously.

Honestly, I have a hard time taking people seriously if they have a solid unnatural color. I only worked with one person in college with such a color, and she actually turned out to be pretty smart, but the initial judgment was still there on my part. I know it's wrong to judge like that, but it's hard to get over those biases. I would imagine adults (non-college aged) would have an even more difficult time not judging you negatively for it. Don't make things more difficult for yourself.

 

[mmmcdowe]

FWIW one of the MD/PhDs in my class has pink and green hair. I say go for it. Why bother requiring a BS before medical school if we don't let people explore and express themselves? For medical school interviews, job interviews, major (not classwork related) presentations, etc, yeah I'd revert to a "professional" hairstyle. If you prove your value, people won't care what color your hair is.

 

[Geebeejay]

Up to you, but you will likely be judged.

 

[cerno]

One of the pieces of advice for interview day was to have a professional looking hairstyling. So no as far as that goes.

While you're in undergrad though, I feel like you should be able to more freely express yourself, since you are not quite in the professional environment that you will eventually be in. That being said, you should know that many may not take you seriously, so there's that trade-off to consider.

 

[milkphlegm]

I got all of this out of my system in high school - purple hair, green hair, pink hair. People look at you differently and people don't treat you the same. Its unfortunate and its aggravating. However, I think that's a good reason to do it. Even if for a week or summer break or any period of time before you starting working in hospitals and interviewing for schools. Just to see how you feel with it and how other people treat you, if anything.

In regards to being taken seriously... Yeah, it is important. But I think it's even more of a compliment to be taken seriously for your work and your intellect, despite your appearance. This won't happen with a lot of people, but when it does, it'll be really great. I have a few big tattoos and some piercings and blah blah - I know some people will probably look at me and dismiss me right away. I can feel it in the way they at me for stare too long. I'm not complaining, I choose to look different. However, I perform to a high standard of work, I am good at what I do, and I know many professors and doctors that I've worked with respect me because of other things beyond my appearance.

 

[Radon XP]

Why would you want to do that? And no, I don't think you should.

 

[ForHumors]

I think its fine! You aren't interviewing now, so it shouldn't be a big deal. In fact, it might make you more memorable, and if you don't estrange people with your behavior, that may be a positive. Just perhaps look for younger doctors to shadow who are likely to be more accepting. A girl at my school, which is a pretty conservative catholic school, had dreads and she used that to her advantage as everybody knew who she was (in a good way).

 

[Arbor Vitae]

Hello everyone!

I was just wondering what all of you thought about pre-med students having dyed, unnaturally colored hair. I really want to dye my hair a lavender purple color, but I have a lot of doubts.

I really just became a pre-med student this year and am starting to take my pre-requisites this fall so I have a couple of years until I take the MCAT and apply to medical schools, but I will definitely shadow some more physicians and I volunteer at a local hospital during the summer.

Would this really be a bad idea since it is still quite early in the process for me? What are your opinions?

I have never dyed my hair an unnatural color before and I have always wanted to, but I'm still unsure about the repercussions of this decision.


Thank you in advance for all who comment! 🙂

By the way, this is what I want the color to look like:

If that's honestly what you are pre-occupied with after becoming a pre-med student, then good luck. Also nobody will take you seriously. It's juvenile, displays lack of maturity and professionalism. I guess college is the time for it, but like I said, if THAT is what you are preoccupied with, get your priorities straight

 

[BABSstudent]

Hello everyone!

I was just wondering what all of you thought about pre-med students having dyed, unnaturally colored hair. I really want to dye my hair a lavender purple color, but I have a lot of doubts.

I really just became a pre-med student this year and am starting to take my pre-requisites this fall so I have a couple of years until I take the MCAT and apply to medical schools, but I will definitely shadow some more physicians and I volunteer at a local hospital during the summer.

Would this really be a bad idea since it is still quite early in the process for me? What are your opinions?

I have never dyed my hair an unnatural color before and I have always wanted to, but I'm still unsure about the repercussions of this decision.


Thank you in advance for all who comment! 🙂

By the way, this is what I want the color to look like:

As long as you are not shadowing or actively trying to get LORs, then go ahead and get the hair color. However, know that making positive first impressions are going to be more difficult and why I think doing the above would be much harder with lavender hair.

 

[Bamfu]

I wouldn't. You never know during your pre-med years when you're meeting someone that will be important to your application process. Most people associate that sort of thing with "wild" and "young" which are not common associations with medical professionals. We all unconsciously assign people to stereotypes based on their characteristics. Some people, after you get to to know them, can break out of that stereotype (or even change it), but there's no reason to put yourself behind an 8-ball with someone when you're in a stage where you can use all the help you can get.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

If you dye your hair you are going to have to change your major to "gender studies," "19th century Eastern African Literature," or something similar. Sorry, but those are the rules.

 

[lmw312]

-

 

[Bamfu]

If you dye your hair you are going to have to change your major to "gender studies," "19th century Eastern African Literature," or something similar. Sorry, but those are the rules.

 

[Long Way to Go]

My two pre-health friends who dyed their hair (bright red and teal blue respectively) are now in vet and med school. They reverted back to their natural hair color for interview season out of an abundance of caution, but I can't imagine think it hurt them during their college years at all.

If someone in my lab showed up with dyed hair, my PI would just be "Hey, that's really cool! Did you do that yourself or did you go to a place?" Maybe it's just my region, but I can't imagine it would be a problem around here at all.

 

[mehc012]

The judgement is strong in this thread...

But seriously, the only people whose opinions even remotely matter are your professors and supervisors. If you're at a school where they wouldn't judge, or you'd get to know them anyway, go for it. If you already know them and the whole initial, superficial stage of acquaintance is through, go for it. If you'd rather only have recs from profs who can gtfover that sort of thing, go for it. If you're going to feel stressed about how people are judging you for your hair and your looks, it's probably a bad/unpleasant idea for you to make drastic changes to it anyway.

FYI, undertones, streaks, tips, etc...all of these look less unnatural than a full dye job, are easier to cover up with a hairdo if needed, easier to do in the first place, cheaper to maintain, and honestly often look far better than a blanket single color. I honestly feel that the part that weirds people out so much isn't the unnatural color, but rather the unnatural uniformity, and for that reason, I feel that the aforementioned styles tend to look better/almost more striking than a full-head dye job. But that's just my opinion...you do whatever YOU are capable of pulling off without it stressing you out.

 

[plumhill]

Go for it, as long as it won't affect research/volunteering/etc. Alternatively, you can dye your hair the summer before med school just for the experience.

 

[mehc012]

Go for it, as long as it won't affect research/volunteering/etc. Alternatively, you can dye your hair the summer before med school just for the experience.

^^ 👍

I never had the guts to do a full dye job, so senior year I let my hair grow really long, and then on spring break I dyed ONLY the portions that I was planning to cut off (~1, 1.5ft below my shoulders). Actually, I had a friend cornrow my hair down to the shoulders and then left the end of each braid loose and dyed each one a different color of the rainbow. It was awesome...when they took out the braids I had a rainbow white girl 'fro, and everyone tried out cool different braiding patterns (fishtail, etc), some of which turned out phenomenal. I left it in until graduation, because even though I thought I'd want it off as quickly as possible, most of my profs even thought it was pretty cool!

 

[NontradCA]

Go for it. If your professors are going to judge you based on that you don't want to be associated with them in the first place. It's not like you're applying with it or anything. Notice how you said "as a premed"- No one expects anything of you. Seriously.

 

[prado]

Go for it. If your professors are going to judge you based on that you don't want to be associated with them in the first place. It's not like you're applying with it or anything. Notice how you said "as a premed"- No one expects anything of you. Seriously.

This is a phrase that is often overused on this forum. As in this case, so many people say this for all the wrong reasons.

 

[mehc012]

This is a phrase that is often overused on this forum. As in this case, so many people say this for all the wrong reasons.

How about looking at it this way: if they're a prof/supervisor who is so strongly biased against hair dying, and you're a person who is into that sort of thing and has the personality that tends to it, you're not likely to mesh well anyway, and would likely get a meh LOR from them either way.

 

[NontradCA]

This is a phrase that is often overused on this forum. As in this case, so many people say this for all the wrong reasons.

How do you figure?

 

[NontradCA]

How about looking at it this way: if they're a prof/supervisor who is so strongly biased against hair dying, and you're a person who is into that sort of thing and has the personality that tends to it, you're not likely to mesh well anyway, and would likely get a meh LOR from them either way.

This is not at all what I was getting at. I was speaking on people who would readily judge others based on looks; if someone is going to cast you out based on them, that is a closed minded individual- and you really can not learn much from someone that is stuck in a box. These people don't challenge students to think on their own and facilitate the growing that needs to take place during undergraduate education (which can be argued to be the whole point) .

It's essential for students to enter their college with an open mind. Respect in education is not one person's to give. It must be mutual, and earned by student and teacher. You're statement is also ironic, because you yourself are putting dyed hair individuals in a box. 👎

 

[Pacna]

How about looking at it this way: if they're a prof/supervisor who is so strongly biased against hair dying, and you're a person who is into that sort of thing and has the personality that tends to it, you're not likely to mesh well anyway, and would likely get a meh LOR from them either way.

You need to get writers to like you. Just like a medical school, they're not going to like to because your mom tells them you're so great. You have to look the part. Nobody in the real world accepts you "for who you are" the instant they meet you. I tried shaving my head totally bald once. Professors treated me WAY worse.

If something doesn't help you and COULD potentially hurt your chances, don't do it. I'm not a girl, so I guess I may not fully understand your compulsion to dye your hair, but it seems like a stupid thing to gamble for no real gain.

 

[NontradCA]

You need to get writers to like you. Just like a medical school, they're not going to like to because your mom tells them you're so great. You have to look the part. Nobody in the real world accepts you "for who you are" the instant they meet you. I tried shaving my head totally bald once. Professors treated me WAY worse.

If something doesn't help you and COULD potentially hurt your chances, don't do it. I'm not a girl, so I guess I may not fully understand your compulsion to dye your hair, but it seems like a stupid thing to gamble for no real gain.

The real world? Really? People look the part in the real world? People will treat you how you let them in the real world, son.

 

[mehc012]

This is not at all what I was getting at. I was speaking on people who would readily judge others based on looks; if someone is going to cast you out based on them, that is a closed minded individual- and you really can not learn much from someone that is stuck in a box. These people don't challenge students to think on their own and facilitate the growing that needs to take place during undergraduate education (which can be argued to be the whole point) .

It's essential for students to enter their college with an open mind. Respect in education is not one person's to give. It must be mutual, and earned by student and teacher. You're statement is also ironic, because you yourself are putting dyed hair individuals in a box. 👎

I'm not putting them in a box so much as stating that they are willing to try things outside of "the box" (the box in this case being traditional professional attire/grooming). That's not really judging them or stating anything other than that they're willing to dye their hair. Yes, that's grouping people, but whether you phrase it as "putting dyed hair individuals in a box" or "putting professors who can't stand dyed hair in a box" is inconsequential; the two are essentially equivalent.

And honestly, saying that you should have nothing to do with uptight, old-fashioned, close-minded, or inflexible profs is naive. Sometimes you have to work with the people who are there in the system you have. So if your statement is really as you've explained it above, then I am forced to agree with prado...that's a shortsighted statement that doesn't really help OP figure out the pros and cons of choosing to make such a drastic change.

 

[Pacna]

The real world? Really? People look the part in the real world?

Ever had a doctor with bright blue hair? Or a lawyer? Or a medical school interviewer? I'll bet some art profs have different colored hair, but YES. People conform to be professional and expect you to do the same. They will treat you poorly if you don't.

 

[NontradCA]

I'm not putting them in a box so much as stating that they are willing to try things outside of "the box" (the box in this case being traditional professional attire/grooming). That's not really judging them or stating anything other than that they're willing to dye their hair. Yes, that's grouping people, but whether you phrase it as "putting dyed hair individuals in a box" or "putting professors who can't stand dyed hair in a box" is inconsequential; the two are essentially equivalent.

And honestly, saying that you should have nothing to do with uptight, old-fashioned, close-minded, or inflexible profs is naive. Sometimes you have to work with the people who are there in the system you have. So if your statement is really as you've explained it above, then I am forced to agree with prado...that's a shortsighted statement that doesn't really help OP figure out the pros and cons of choosing to make such a drastic change.

You don't have to have anything to do with inflexible profs outside of requirements on the class syllabus. I'm almost 100% sure no syllabus in a undergrad class today mentions anything about hair color.

 

[NontradCA]

Ever had a doctor with bright blue hair? Or a lawyer? Or a medical school interviewer? I'll bet some art profs have different colored hair, but YES. People conform to be professional and expect you to do the same. They will treat you poorly if you don't.

No but I'd prefer a pretty one with blue hair over an ugly one with natural hair. But that's just me (and most likely a lot of people). Aesthetics will trump "professionalism" everytime.

 

[La Presse]

Whenever I see a girl with unnatural hair color the first thing that crosses my mind is "She's probably likes to get freaky." I really don't know why...

I get that vibe as well.

By now, op should know the correct answer to her question.

 

[Pacna]

No but I'd prefer a pretty one with blue hair over an ugly one with natural hair. But that's just me (and most likely a lot of people). Aesthetics will trump "professionalism" everytime.

Most people do not care about how attractive their doctor is. Medical schools (and most professors) will not care how "pretty" you are. They care if you are genuine and seem serious. I, personally, would not give 2 sh*ts if the person I interviewed was covered in tattoos, swore like a sailor, and had lavender hair, but the fact is that some people do care; especially old people. It just so happens that old people are just the sort of people that are professors, doctors, adcoms, etc.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

This thread has inspired me. I'm thinking of cutting my hair like Skrillex. Good idea?

 

[deleted307836]

This thread has inspired me. I'm thinking of cutting my hair like Skrillex. Good idea?

I would be closed-minded to not encourage this.

 

[gimghoul]

One of my fellow residents dyes her hair with a streak of a similar color.

You're a pre-med. Do what you want and enjoy college. Keep it conservative and professional when you interview for medical school, but you don't have to be a robot to want to go to medical school.

 

[gimghoul]

One of my fellow residents dyes her hair with a streak of a similar color.

You're a pre-med. Do what you want and enjoy college. Keep it conservative and professional when you interview for medical school, but you don't have to be a robot to want to go to medical school.

 

[Gauss44]

Hello everyone!

I was just wondering what all of you thought about pre-med students having dyed, unnaturally colored hair. I really want to dye my hair a lavender purple color, but I have a lot of doubts.

I really just became a pre-med student this year and am starting to take my pre-requisites this fall so I have a couple of years until I take the MCAT and apply to medical schools, but I will definitely shadow some more physicians and I volunteer at a local hospital during the summer.

Would this really be a bad idea since it is still quite early in the process for me? What are your opinions?

I have never dyed my hair an unnatural color before and I have always wanted to, but I'm still unsure about the repercussions of this decision.


Thank you in advance for all who comment! 🙂

By the way, this is what I want the color to look like:

I volunteer at a Harvard teaching hospital and one of the nurses has blue hair. There's also a guy in psychiatry that wears leather pants to work. How your hair color will be received probably depends on 2 main things: 1. Your OVERALL appearance (ex. if you still look neat, reasonably professional, and blend in other ways); 2. Whether or not your appearance stands out as "odd" outside of the hospital in your city. For example, if you went to the local mall, would most people stare at you. If not, you are probably fine.

I believe the appearances described above are good for the hospital over here. For one thing, it sends the message that the hospital supports diversity and is open to serving those with similar appearances (dyed hair and leather are not uncommon in this city).

 

[kanzeon]

I dyed my hair purple the first half of senior year and I'm a guy. Nobody cared. Well, I mean I'm sure some people did. But, the people that matter for med school purposes should know you well enough not to make rash judgements. If they don't know you that well, then you probably shouldn't be asking them for a LOR anyways.

So yes, if you're wanting to make a good first impression then dyeing your hair MIGHT be an issue depending on the person (although honestly I don't think any professors I had in undergrad would've cared) but when it comes to people in undergrad that actually matter for med school purposes (which all I can really think of is who you get your LORs from) then you should be way past a "first impression" basis with them anyways so that they judge you on your merits and not a first impression.

 

[mehc012]

I dyed my hair purple the first half of senior year and I'm a guy. Nobody cared. Well, I mean I'm sure some people did. But, the people that matter for med school purposes should know you well enough not to make rash judgements. If they don't know you that well, then you probably shouldn't be asking them for a LOR anyways.

So yes, if you're wanting to make a good first impression then dyeing your hair MIGHT be an issue depending on the person (although honestly I don't think any professors I had in undergrad would've cared) but when it comes to people in undergrad that actually matter for med school purposes (which all I can really think of is who you get your LORs from) then you should be way past a "first impression" basis with them anyways so that they judge you on your merits and not a first impression.

EXACTLY what I was trying to say. 👍👍👍

 

[Chrys]

Do it! As long as you don't have it during interviews it shouldn't be a problem. This is the time when you should be living it up and doing things you won't be able to do as easily later.

I wouldn't worry about profs reacting in a negative way unless you have some really uptight profs or live somewhere that is ultra conservative in dress code or something. My hair is an unnatural color and I've had overwhelmingly positive responses, including from profs, my boss, coworkers, classmates, etc. it's honestly not a big deal at all and it's your hair! Experiment now and enjoy so you can get it out of your system before interview time.

 

[KnuxNole]

One of my fellow residents dyes her hair with a streak of a similar color.

You're a pre-med. Do what you want and enjoy college. Keep it conservative and professional when you interview for medical school, but you don't have to be a robot to want to go to medical school.

This.

Remember, not every prof in undergrad is gonna be a LOR writer. If you want to do it for a semester in college, go ahead.

 

[KindofBlue]

Go for it.
If it is not during interview season, I don't see a reason why not.
Unless you know for a fact any of the possible LOR writers are very sensitive to such matters and you want to impress them, I think it should be fine.
If anything, it will make it easier for you to stand out, just as long as you perform well in class.

 

[A7X]

Go for it.

 

[ZezKaiEll]

This.

Remember, not every prof in undergrad is gonna be a LOR writer. If you want to do it for a semester in college, go ahead.

Truth here. I don't see any issue with doing it just for a semester. It's not like it will show up in your background check or anything.