How conservatively should you dress?

[smr12]

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I have heard the med schools want everyone to dress conservatively. does that mean you should not wear a watch, as they do not prefer jewelry? i have a plain citizen watch, looks like chrome/simple silver casing with a plain black dial (no numbers or marking). i did not want to wear it just incase, but my dad told me that a watch is a part of professional dress.

as for my suit, i am wearing a nice solid black suit with a striped lavender tie, something like the one below. does this tie count as 'conservative'?

And does that also mean that they do not prefer gelled hair? if i dont gel it, it will look messy once it dries. but i dont want them to think i am too much into my look either.

thanks

 

[MacBookMD]

relax and dress how ever you see fit. I dont understand why you would worry about wearing a stainless steel watch or gelling your hair? Gel your hair if it makes you look better kept.

Good luck.

 

[TheMan21]

I have heard the med schools want everyone to dress conservatively. does that mean you should not wear a watch, as they do not prefer jewelry? i have a plain citizen watch, looks like chrome/simple silver casing with a plain black dial (no numbers or marking). i did not want to wear it just incase, but my dad told me that a watch is a part of professional dress.

as for my suit, i am wearing a nice solid black suit with a striped lavender tie, something like the one below. does this tie count as 'conservative'?

And does that also mean that they do not prefer gelled hair? if i dont gel it, it will look messy once it dries. but i dont want them to think i am too much into my look either.

thanks

That looks fine. Just wear a nice suit. I'd say go ahead and gel your hair, but I would personally avoid styling into anything stupid looking like spikes.
As for the watch, I don't see how that would matter at all - it would hardly be visible anyway since you'd be wearing long sleeves.

Bottom line - look professional and clean. Concentrate more on what you're gonna say rather than how you're gonna look.

 

[BlueElmo]

Check out the men's interview clothing thread.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

I wore a watch and used product in my hair. Not a big deal. Just do what you would normally do when going to a formal event (wedding, etc)

 

[bannie22]

I have never heard of "conservatively."

I went into my interviews with long hair.
Most students seem to wear a white shirt, but I wear a cyan/teal one... its my favourite colour 🙂

I wear a Fossil watch though.

 

[gymtanlaundry]

Just keep it reasonable. I think the "conservative" thing is more directed at the ladies, though there were still some real hawties at the interviews I attended.

Gel? One fratboy type had a big spikey poof at one of my interviews. It was amusing.

Oh yea, and white shirts? That is some 1950s crap. I wore gray, with a black tie. 😎

 

[Longshanks]

Just keep it reasonable. I think the "conservative" thing is more directed at the ladies, though there were still some real hawties at the interviews I attended.

Gel? One fratboy type had a big spikey poof at one of my interviews. It was amusing.

Oh yea, and white shirts? That is some 1950s crap. I wore gray, with a black tie. 😎

everyone is going to the "Madmen" look these days. These people have destroyed the pocket square by making it ubiquitous once again. I feel like to be your own again you need to go squareless now.

 

[mcaj0n]

i would just keep it old school , nice and tight

 

[anfleisch]

I wore a grey suit and received a positive comment at every school for not dressing exactly like everyone else. At Penn, the lady even said why in the world is everyone dressed the same. This isn't military school it is medical school, and most doctor's are social people aka not completely boring.

 

[Law2Doc]

I have heard the med schools want everyone to dress conservatively. does that mean you should not wear a watch, as they do not prefer jewelry? i have a plain citizen watch, looks like chrome/simple silver casing with a plain black dial (no numbers or marking). i did not want to wear it just incase, but my dad told me that a watch is a part of professional dress.

as for my suit, i am wearing a nice solid black suit with a striped lavender tie, something like the one below. does this tie count as 'conservative'?

And does that also mean that they do not prefer gelled hair? if i dont gel it, it will look messy once it dries. but i dont want them to think i am too much into my look either.

thanks

Med schools are conservative, not Amish. Wear a watch. Just don't wear something huge and garish, like the Flav-o-flav clock necklace. Stay away from lots of gold chains or pinky rings etc. As for suits, stick to the black, grey or navy family. Nothing shiny, nothing leather, felt, velvet or courderoy. Ties can add color but try to stay with solids, stripes or geometric patterns. Nothing too loud. Gel your hair if it looks professional -- if you are truly clueless, watch "Wall Street" and try to dress like the folks in that movie and you will be fine (the business look of that decade is still in -- classic never goes really out of style, which is nice because you won't have to update your wardrobe much as a professional).

 

[Nevadanteater]

Wear something that is formal, but make sure that you're also comfortable in whatever it is you are wearing. On interview day you don't want to be fiddling about with something that you're unsure about or that you find annoying.

If you don't normally wear a watch, DON'T WEAR A WATCH.

I wore a grey suit, pink shirt and purple tie to several of my interviews and did just fine. I also brought a bog standard skinny three ring binder (most people had a leather document folder or equivalent) and no one mentioned anything.

Saying that, my application probably stood out a bit ANYWAYS and I'm a bit on the weird side, but this is what was comfortable for me.

You only have to reach a certian standard of dress and then you've got a huge range of freedom within that range.