Is this conservative enough interview attire?

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dtinker1

dtinker1

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Without the corsage haha. I am mainly concerned with the shirt and tie color, thanks all
 
I think people get too worked up on here about dressing conservatively...
but I'm not the biggest fan of the colors
 
Burla said:
I think people get too worked up on here about dressing conservatively...
but I'm not the biggest fan of the colors
Click to expand...

Just curious. What colors would you choose?
 
Though your shirt is on the bright side (but that might be due to over-saturation in the photo itself), it's not glaringly inappropriate. But I might opt for a darker tie if you decide to stick with your current shirt.
 
IMO the shirt is inappropriately vibrant. Agree with VT on white or light blue.

Edit: Even if the shirt just appears too bright in the picture, a turquoise/teal shirt is not interview attire.
 
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The general rule of thumb for interview attire is if you get remembered for what you are wearing, you are doing something wrong. This can goes many ways in dressing too casually, or dressing too flashy.
 
I like the advice on this site:
http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/health/Applicants/interviewing.html

In there it says:

"MYTH #1: Only applicants dressed in black or navy blue suits and ties will be successful in gaining admission.
REALITY: It is important to dress appropriately, but it is certainly not necessary for everyone to arrive for the interview dressed in the same conservative uniform. I have wondered at times if there is a mail-order catalogue which is selling the medical school interview uniform to our nation's applicants. How is it possible for so many of them, men and women alike, to be dressed so similarly? Be yourself. Dress professionally but do not feel that you have to wear a black suit with a white shirt.I am NOT suggesting jeans, but there is nothing wrong with a gray suit with a pink tie."

I think the bolded sentence is referring to the SDN guidelines that people follow too closely :laugh:
 
QuantumQuark said:
I like the advice on this site:
http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/health/Applicants/interviewing.html

In there it says:

"MYTH #1: Only applicants dressed in black or navy blue suits and ties will be successful in gaining admission.
REALITY: It is important to dress appropriately, but it is certainly not necessary for everyone to arrive for the interview dressed in the same conservative uniform. I have wondered at times if there is a mail-order catalogue which is selling the medical school interview uniform to our nation's applicants. How is it possible for so many of them, men and women alike, to be dressed so similarly? Be yourself. Dress professionally but do not feel that you have to wear a black suit with a white shirt.I am NOT suggesting jeans, but there is nothing wrong with a gray suit with a pink tie."

I think the bolded sentence is referring to the SDN guidelines that people follow too closely :laugh:
Click to expand...

Have you read the clothing thread? Black suits?

For the millionth time, conservative != black suits. Conservative != boring

If you dress according to CBD, you'll look sharp and probably contrast sharply (and favorably) with all the kids wearing black suits, square toe shoes, unmatched jacket and trousers, and so on.
 
I'd go with a pale sky blue or white shirt. Dark blue ties are safe. Don't wear a red or black tie.
 
pyrrion89 said:
I'd go with a pale sky blue or white shirt. Dark blue ties are safe. Don't wear a red or black tie.
Click to expand...

It depends on the shade and amount of red IMO. Strong reds like crimson can be the "pop" of a suit in small doses even though solid crimson wouldn't be appropriate, for example.
 
If I followed everyone's "don't wear ____" advice, I'd be going naked to my interviews.

Everything is a guideline. I've seen terrible grey suit combinations and awesome black suit combinations, and vice versa.

In general, the lighter the shirt, the dressier it is. The lighter the suit, the more casual it is.

Honestly, just check in with a few friends to make sure you didn't pull some godawful color matching.
 
BlueLabel said:
You want to go with a white or a light blue shirt. Keep the tie conservative - I'm partial to the repp stripe, e.g.
SB1320_md_BNT.jpg


Also there is a thread wholly devoted to answering these kinds of questions, you can post there instead of starting a new one each time.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=842733
Click to expand...

👍

That's the idea. If you google "interview suit" there's many good examples as well. IMO, you want to wear a shirt that does not tend to grab attention, making white and the light blue in the picture good options. I would go so far as not choosing a bright tie either.

I've heard that bright shirts tend to be considered party clothes.
 
volcomx said:
If I followed everyone's "don't wear ____" advice, I'd be going naked to my interviews.

Everything is a guideline. I've seen terrible grey suit combinations and awesome black suit combinations, and vice versa.

In general, the lighter the shirt, the dressier it is. The lighter the suit, the more casual it is.

Honestly, just check in with a few friends to make sure you didn't pull some godawful color matching.
Click to expand...

G78XZZN.gif
 
jaybird117 said:
it depends on the shade and amount of red imo. Strong reds like crimson can be the "pop" of a suit in small doses even though solid crimson wouldn't be appropriate, for example.
Click to expand...

+1
 
volcomx said:
If I followed everyone's "don't wear ____" advice, I'd be going naked to my interviews.

Everything is a guideline. I've seen terrible grey suit combinations and awesome black suit combinations, and vice versa.

In general, the lighter the shirt, the dressier it is. The lighter the suit, the more casual it is.

Honestly, just check in with a few friends to make sure you didn't pull some godawful color matching.
Click to expand...

The first day of interviews happened today at my school and all the med students that saw the interviewees commented on half the guys wearing black. Lots of negative things were said because black is formal attire. One guy even wore a black suit with a black tie.

For medical school interviews, wear a gray, charcoal or blue suit. When you go to a wedding or funeral, wear a black one. Like others said, you would rather have nobody remember what you wore than to have it stick out in their memory.
 
QuantumQuark said:
I like the advice on this site:
http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/health/Applicants/interviewing.html

In there it says:

"MYTH #1: Only applicants dressed in black or navy blue suits and ties will be successful in gaining admission.
REALITY: It is important to dress appropriately, but it is certainly not necessary for everyone to arrive for the interview dressed in the same conservative uniform. I have wondered at times if there is a mail-order catalogue which is selling the medical school interview uniform to our nation's applicants. How is it possible for so many of them, men and women alike, to be dressed so similarly? Be yourself. Dress professionally but do not feel that you have to wear a black suit with a white shirt.I am NOT suggesting jeans, but there is nothing wrong with a gray suit with a pink tie."

I think the bolded sentence is referring to the SDN guidelines that people follow too closely :laugh:
Click to expand...

It's not referring to SDN. It's common advice for interview candidates (job, school, or otherwise) to wear a navy, gray, or charcoal suit with a white or light blue dress shirt. Usually this advice follows up with a claim that breaking those rules will spell disaster. It also helps that a lot of interviewees don't know much about fashion or interview apparel, don't care, and just want to know what's safe to wear so they can turn their energy and attention to more important matters. So those types of suits tend to be the most commonly worn. The exception is black which despite being recommended against for interviews is still commonly worn because a lot of people aren't aware that black is too formal.
 
BABSstudent said:
The first day of interviews happened today at my school and all the med students that saw the interviewees commented on half the guys wearing black. Lots of negative things were said because black is formal attire. One guy even wore a black suit with a black tie.

For medical school interviews, wear a gray, charcoal or blue suit. When you go to a wedding or funeral, wear a black one. Like others said, you would rather have nobody remember what you wore than to have it stick out in their memory.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've seen black on black....so bad.

Idk, I know black suits are formal and are not recommended for interviews, but I've seen some nice color combinations that lightened it up. I'll just stick to charcoal.
 
volcomx said:
Yeah I've seen black on black....so bad.

Idk, I know black suits are formal and are not recommended for interviews, but I've seen some nice color combinations that lightened it up. I'll just stick to charcoal.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, if you want to wear black for an interview then just pick a dark charcoal suit. Yes, black can look slick and cool but black can come also off as intimidating. This is not a trait that is wanted in doctors.
 
:laugh: I never understood why everyone freaks out so much over a black suit. Maybe it's because I'm female, but I honestly don't care about what the person is wearing as long as it's a suit and the person looks clean and put together. I know I've interviewed people in black suits, heck I wore a black pantsuit when I was interviewing. I understand that black might not be the most appropriate color for the interview suit, but it's also not a big deal. It's not going to make or break you at all.
 
As long as your attire falls within the huge range of "acceptable," exactly zero people will care about what you're wearing. Put on a suit and tie, don't bring your mom, don't overdo it with the fragrances and you'll be just fine.
 
Ismet said:
:laugh: I never understood why everyone freaks out so much over a black suit. Maybe it's because I'm female, but I honestly don't care about what the person is wearing as long as it's a suit and the person looks clean and put together. I know I've interviewed people in black suits, heck I wore a black pantsuit when I was interviewing. I understand that black might not be the most appropriate color for the interview suit, but it's also not a big deal. It's not going to make or break you at all.
Click to expand...

+1. I don't wear black to interviews, but I don't see how it matters. I'd say about half the kids at interviews wear black. Not like they're all getting axed. :laugh:
 
pyrrion89 said:
+1. I don't wear black to interviews, but I don't see how it matters. I'd say about half the kids at interviews wear black. Not like they're all getting axed. :laugh:
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter for women. I don't think anyone has said you can't get in wearing a black suit. I'm just trying to raise awareness of the fact that it is inappropriate and untoward to do so, for men. As other posters have mentioned, it does get commented on. Not a make or break thing, but there are significantly more ideal options. Isn't this forum generally about making the most optimal decisions when it comes to the admissions process?

"I don't see what the big deal is with wanting a 35 MCAT. Plenty of people get in with 32s. Heck I got in with a 32. Half the kids I interview with have 32s or lower and they do just fine."

":laugh:"
 
That shirt looks straight up out of Express from like '10-'11
 
Although the black suit thing doesn't really matter, it's probably more of a social understanding kind of thing where people who do know that black is supposed to be formal may judge or take note that the interviewee didn't realize this. For example, the med students at BABStudent's school. I'm sure there are some adcoms that may think like this too. While likely not a make or break thing, it could set a subconscious judgmental tone to the interview.

(context: not that I know what adcoms think or anything as an applicant myself 😛 just theorizing)
 
If you show up in black and white, they won't hate you, and they won't axe you.

I think you're more comfortable if you go in something that doesn't resemble your funeral clothes.

I'm a big fan of the navy suit, light/powder blue shirt. I've always heard wear a tie with a little bit of red for some "power"/confidence
 
Regarding the whole 'red tie' thing -- Where oh where did that myth come from? That red is 'too intimidating' a tie color for a medical school interview?

Dark reds with a texture or pattern are time-honored traditional ties. You won't go wrong with those. Rep stripes, pin-dot, richly-textured weave, small repetitive pattern -- great choice.

Bright red solid-colored satin? Yuck. Wrong. Prom anyone?

Most 22-25 year old men will not and cannot look intimidating in these types of circumstances unless they look and dress like a bouncer or pimp.

And this is what's wrong with the black suits. When paired with a white shirt and conservative tie, they look much too formal. With a dark or brightly colored shirt, they go 'night club' or 'hood'. And with a powder blue shirt they just send a mixed-up 'don't know who I am' look.
 
DokterMom said:
Regarding the whole 'red tie' thing -- Where oh where did that myth come from? That red is 'too intimidating' a tie color for a medical school interview?

Dark reds with a texture or pattern are time-honored traditional ties. You won't go wrong with those. Rep stripes, pin-dot, richly-textured weave, small repetitive pattern -- great choice.

Bright red solid-colored satin? Yuck. Wrong. Prom anyone?

Most 22-25 year old men will not and cannot look intimidating in these types of circumstances unless they look and dress like a bouncer or pimp.

And this is what's wrong with the black suits. When paired with a white shirt and conservative tie, they look much too formal. With a dark or brightly colored shirt, they go 'night club' or 'hood'. And with a powder blue shirt they just send a mixed-up 'don't know who I am' look.
Click to expand...

+1 across the board, 5 star post.
 
DokterMom said:
Regarding the whole 'red tie' thing -- Where oh where did that myth come from? That red is 'too intimidating' a tie color for a medical school interview?

Dark reds with a texture or pattern are time-honored traditional ties. You won't go wrong with those. Rep stripes, pin-dot, richly-textured weave, small repetitive pattern -- great choice.

Bright red solid-colored satin? Yuck. Wrong. Prom anyone?

Most 22-25 year old men will not and cannot look intimidating in these types of circumstances unless they look and dress like a bouncer or pimp.

And this is what's wrong with the black suits. When paired with a white shirt and conservative tie, they look much too formal. With a dark or brightly colored shirt, they go 'night club' or 'hood'. And with a powder blue shirt they just send a mixed-up 'don't know who I am' look.
Click to expand...

I was told it was GOOD to wear red to any sort of interview. Obviously you wouldn't wear a solid red tie as you'd stick out like a sore thumb.
 
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