Long Hair on a guy, Bad for medschool interviews?

[surftheiop]

I think there was a really old thread about this but it didnt have many replies so here I go...

Im a guy with long,straight hair that comes down to right above my shoulders. I keep it clean, well combed and out of my face. (It gets complimented by middle age women alot so its not like scraggly or anything).

When I came to Cornell I figured I would cut it off seeing as there are almost no guys here with long hair. Then I realized this was an advantage of sorts because I found that my professors learned my name/knew who I was much moreso than they did my friends. I think a large part of this was the fact that my hair made my face standout from the other guys, so I would introduce myself once and they would know me from then on out (and could easily pick me out of a lecture hall).

Over the summer I worked in the chemical engineering industry at a plant. All of the engineers/chem PhD's i worked with didnt seem to think anything of my hair but, the bussinessmen and the plant operators would always give me a sorta strange look.


I was curious if you all thought I should cut it to a normal guys haircut before I start the application process (meeting up with people to ask questions, interviewing, introducing myself to people, etc.)?

I was thinking it could be good to have long hair so interviewers will remember my face and Im so used to having long hair it would be weird not to, but at the same time I don't want them thinking im some unprofessional crackhead or something.

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[spootbat]

Maybe you should comb it a little more. Then you will look like a professional crackhead.

 

[Myuu]

I would think tying it back would be acceptable, but I'm a) female and b) not an adcom member. Standing out is great, but you don't want to stand out in an interviewer's mind for a perceived negative. If that doesn't work out, the good news is that it grows back.👍

 

[funkymunkytoes]

I heard it matters, and this is coming from someone who had VERY long hair. I cut mine and donated it before the interviews, because you never know how conservative your interviewer may be--no reason to risk it for something as trivial as hair (it grows back!).

Before (I never wore it down, always in a sweet tail):


After:


"I be floatin' through the city like cab drivers,
Professional, but still keep it real like Allen Iverson,
I'm more live in the day than Kathy and Regis,
And I've been on more MTV shows than Butthead and Bevis."

 

[chad5871]

but I'm a) female

😱 Why did I assume you were a guy? 😳 My bad...

OP: Cut your hair for the application cycle. That way you don't have to worry about what adcoms might think. Plus, it'll always grow back.

 

[Karees]

I felt kind of the same way about this with my nose ring. I ended up taking it out for all my interviews, because in a way I look at it like, yes the interview is your chance to impress, but it's also a chance to give them a reason to reject you. You never know who your interviewer will be and what their biases are, however unfair that is.

I chose to play it safe, though I think it's a pretty personal decision.

 

[Law2Doc]

I felt kind of the same way about this with my nose ring. I ended up taking it out for all my interviews, because in a way I look at it like, yes the interview is your chance to impress, but it's also a chance to give them a reason to reject you. You never know who your interviewer will be and what their biases are, however unfair that is.

I chose to play it safe, though I think it's a pretty personal decision.

It's not about personal decisions. It's about common sense. Medicine is a very conservative profession. The interviewers will largely be 50ish year old conservative white males, with short hair and no piercings. And that is who is going to evaluate you as to whether you will be a good fit for their medical school. You want them to look at you and be able to easily picture you as the kind of practicing physician they would send their family members to, or would be happy to introduce as a colleague. So long hair and certain piercings, visible tattoos etc won't help your cause. Once you get to the point where you are your own boss and nobody is judging you, you can feel free to express yourself in this way. But prior to that, you are making it harder on yourself. I'd get the haircut, remove the piercings and get yourself into med school. You have to choose your battles and this is a silly place to draw that line in the stand.

 

[NotAndrew]

!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?????!!!!?!?!

 

[Karees]

It's not about personal decisions. It's about common sense. Medicine is a very conservative profession. The interviewers will largely be 50ish year old conservative white males, with short hair and no piercings. And that is who is going to evaluate you as to whether you will be a good fit for their medical school. You want them to look at you and be able to easily picture you as the kind of practicing physician they would send their family members to, or would be happy to introduce as a colleague. So long hair and certain piercings, visible tattoos etc won't help your cause. Once you get to the point where you are your own boss and nobody is judging you, you can feel free to express yourself in this way. But prior to that, you are making it harder on yourself. I'd get the haircut, remove the piercings and get yourself into med school. You have to choose your battles and this is a silly place to draw that line in the stand.

Agreed. But it's up to you if you want to take the risk of an adcom taking issue to you if you feel it's an integral part of you. Therefore...a personal decision.

 

[chessodoc]

.

 

[Karees]

It does make you look younger...but in a refined "I'm ready for med school" kind of way. 🙂

 

[Surferboy]

It's not about personal decisions. It's about common sense. Medicine is a very conservative profession. The interviewers will largely be 50ish year old conservative white males, with short hair and no piercings. And that is who is going to evaluate you as to whether you will be a good fit for their medical school. You want them to look at you and be able to easily picture you as the kind of practicing physician they would send their family members to, or would be happy to introduce as a colleague. So long hair and certain piercings, visible tattoos etc won't help your cause. Once you get to the point where you are your own boss and nobody is judging you, you can feel free to express yourself in this way. But prior to that, you are making it harder on yourself. I'd get the haircut, remove the piercings and get yourself into med school. You have to choose your battles and this is a silly place to draw that line in the stand.

Law2Doc gives the best advice. Don't give them something to focus on other than your personality, stats, drive, and ECs.

My hair was never as long as funkymunky, but I did trim it a little for my picture.
My picture was similar to this length:

Now my hair is short, but I think this length was ok. Either way, I'd play it safe and go short.

 

[surftheiop]

sounds good, ill probaly cut it before i start volunteering this summer.

Now i just need to figure out how to wear it, been so used to this for so long I dont even know what would look good.

 

[funkymunkytoes]

Don't get this the wrong way but is this transformation recent (i.e. within this year) or are you 12? (which would totally rock)

Ha. That's great. No, I just look very young for my age. I think it will be great when I walk into the OR during my surgery rotation. Poor, poor patient will think I'm some precocious young prodigy, when in fact I'll be another scared, helpless medical student. I can't wait.

 

[Surferboy]

Hey if you really like your long hair you can keep it for volunteering and such. I would just suggest cutting it shorter for the application process when that comes around. Enjoy your life but the app season is your time to do whatever it takes to make it to the next level. I had long hair for most of my research/volunteering in the OR and didn't get any bad looks. However, the doctors did make numerous good comments when I cut it short and had a little facial hair to make me look older.

 

[Surferboy]

Ha. That's great. No, I just look very young for my age. I think it will be great when I walk into the OR during my surgery rotation. Poor, poor patient will think I'm some precocious young prodigy, when in fact I'll be another scared, helpless medical student. I can't wait.

Funkymunky...let's just say we will all will be jealous by the time we are at that stage. Because of the stress of medical school, we will all look 10 years older while you will look perfect haha. Argh.

 

[Druzie]

I have to agree that going short is safest for a male. However, if you keep it long, I say keep it neat and long enough to pull back (but not as long as funkymunky's used to be). The in-between shaggy thing--while very sexy on some--tends to look messy and really adolescent.

Just my opinion.

 

[funkydrmonkey]

Ha. That's great. No, I just look very young for my age. I think it will be great when I walk into the OR during my surgery rotation. Poor, poor patient will think I'm some precocious young prodigy, when in fact I'll be another scared, helpless medical student. I can't wait.

to the other funkymunky:You are lucky... the TSA people at the airport thought my 13 year old brother was my son... I am only 21, but apparently I look old enough to be the father of a 13 year old...🙁

 

[Surferboy]

to the other funkymunky:You are lucky... the TSA people at the airport thought my 13 year old brother was my son... I am only 21, but apparently I look old enough to be the father of a 13 year old...🙁

haha no wayyyyyyy. that happened to me but at a high school football game this year. I have 2 13 year old bros and their peewee football coach totally i thought i was the father. i didnt know what to think.

 

[chad5871]

Ha ha, when I was 17 I went to the state fair with my best friend (who was 21) with out other friend who was 14. One of the carnies thought that she (the 14 year old) was our daughter. 😱

People I meet assume I'm either 25 or I just graduated high school. No one guesses that I'm actually 22.

 

[koffein]

The safest thing to do as far as personal appearance is concerned is to always assume that you are presenting yourself to a crowd reminiscent of those who gave Patch Adams a hard time...

 

[Dr Lyss]

to the other funkymunky:You are lucky... the TSA people at the airport thought my 13 year old brother was my son... I am only 21, but apparently I look old enough to be the father of a 13 year old...🙁

this has happened to me like 3 or 4 times... except my brother is 17 😱 I was so traumatized I died my hair really light so I'd look younger

 

[DrGonz]

yea, the hair becomes a part of you haha... i grew mine out the end of my sophmore yr in highschool and i kept "the shag" ha til just recently and i decided that it needed to be cut for interviews. I did it now so i can get used to it and stuff like that, but i have to say that it feels nice to not have all that hair on my head. If you do decide to cut it, i recommend getting it cut like now so you can get used to it 🙂

 

[surftheiop]

yea, the hair becomes a part of you haha... i grew mine out the end of my sophmore yr in highschool and i kept "the shag" ha til just recently and i decided that it needed to be cut for interviews. I did it now so i can get used to it and stuff like that, but i have to say that it feels nice to not have all that hair on my head. If you do decide to cut it, i recommend getting it cut like now so you can get used to it 🙂

yeah I figure ill cut it before I start volunteering this summer which will be nice because Im probaly going to volunteer at a children's hospital so will probaly save me from hearing

"Mommy, why does that girl have a beard?" from some three year old.

 

[Surferboy]

"Mommy, why does that girl have a beard?" from some three year old.

When I was in Italy with my family, my 13 year old brother was last to order at a restaurant. He had pretty long hair. The waiter goes "and what does she want?" good times

 

[Retsage]

When I came to Cornell I figured I would cut it off seeing as there are almost no guys here with long hair. Then I realized this was an advantage of sorts because I found that my professors learned my name/knew who I was much moreso than they did my friends. I think a large part of this was the fact that my hair made my face standout from the other guys, so I would introduce myself once and they would know me from then on out (and could easily pick me out of a lecture hall).

Wha? Maybe they just remembered you because you introduced yourself and they liked what you had to say. I have short hair and my profs always knew me well. 😛

Long hair on guys always makes me think that they're antisocial weirdos who love death metal. Take that as you will.

 

[Stixman28]

Well,

I cut my hair off for the interview. and was accepted several places. It was totally worth it, and hey, as everyone says, it grow back. (in the beard thread though, I did admit that I left it on at one interview, still accepted though!)

If you do check out the NOVA special that follows around 4 HMS students from approx 1988 until recently, there is one guy, a self described biker, who keeps his hair VERY long, throughout medical school. This often introduces difficulties in the small group learning sessions because the other students dont take him seriously, (he's also twice their age). But a) he got into harvard and b) he graduated, and became a successful ER surgeon.

My plan is to grow it back to medium length during the first two years of school, and keep it somewhere around there.

 

[bluesmd]

yeah just cut it. don't risk it!

 

[virusgirl]

Agreed. Usually when people remember you because of what you looked like, it's because you looked bad. Wear an interesting tie or something 🙂

Not that you have any, but I think it's also good to remove piercings (unless you're a girl and they're in your ears) and cover tattoos... I've seen a bunch of people with things in their nose, and while I have zero problem with this on the street, it really strikes me as weird at a med school interview.

 

[Excelsius]

I think long hair is really a pain. I have come up with a consistent schedule that allows me to have both short hair, long hair, and everything in between. Basically cut your hair short every six months. It's cheaper, less time consuming, and you get to cycle through various lengths and decide exactly how many inches (measure with a scientific, calibrated ruler) looks professional. Come interview time, you go to a good stylist and ask for a continuum that starts at 2.79" +- 2% length at the top and drops down to 0.76" +- 5% at the back.

P.S.: " = inches, not parsecs. But if your barber insists, here is the measurement in parsecs: 6.26x10^(-19) by 2.30x10^(-18). Let me know if you need this in light years.

 

[funkymunkytoes]

Light years, please.

 

[Myuu]

to the other funkymunky:You are lucky... the TSA people at the airport thought my 13 year old brother was my son... I am only 21, but apparently I look old enough to be the father of a 13 year old...🙁

That's not so bad. Last year in St. Louis, the TSA guy walks up to me and says "are your parents really going to let you go to our nation's capital all by yourself😱??

I'm 24. I think I'm big enough to ride the airplane now.

 

[Excelsius]

Light years, please.

By popular demand: 2.04x10^(-18) by 7.49x10^(-18) light years.

(When barbers are so demanding, you know that medschool woes are justified.)

 

[dr zaius]

I'd cut it. Western cultures generally won't fault you for having short hair, but the same isn't true for long hair. Also, I'm jealous because my hair never looked good long 😡

 

[dr zaius]

Wha? Maybe they just remembered you because you introduced yourself and they liked what you had to say. I have short hair and my profs always knew me well. 😛

Long hair on guys always makes me think that they're antisocial weirdos who love death metal. Take that as you will.

What's wrong with death metal, eh??

 

[Myuu]

What's wrong with death metal, eh??

I don't think my Vandy interviewer was a fan, sadly.🙁

 

[metaldoc]

What's wrong with death metal, eh??

I will second that question!

What about "medium" hair? People seem to be pretty extreme on their opinions of shortness. What about a well maintained head of medium hair?

 

[LostLost]

I am a guy and my hair was medium long and kind of hippie-ish, but I combed and gel it nice. At the interview the interviewer was like so " you seem to be very discipline with what you do and everthing, what did you do to grow out ur hair like that?" I was like "what? did u just ask me why I have long hair?" and he seemed flusterd that i confronted him that way and he just asked me a second question totally unrelated to my hair. Anyway, i got accepted.

 

[Excelsius]

I am a guy and my hair was medium long and kind of hippie-ish, but I combed and gel it nice. At the interview the interviewer was like so " you seem to be very discipline with what you do and everthing, what did you do to grow out ur hair like that?" I was like "what? did u just ask me why I have long hair?" and he seemed flusterd that i confronted him that way and he just asked me a second question totally unrelated to my hair. Anyway, i got accepted.

Because of the stress interviews, you can never really know whether your interviewer really objected your hair or was trying to gauge your persistence and response to stress. Plus when you gel medium length hair (above the neck), it doesn't look any longer than short hair, but at least you can get a sharp look since it's easier to comb.

Here is the similar thread in the allo: Need Advice: Long Hair in med school!

 

[AtheGre]

I would not accept a male with long hair. No offense to OP. Pretend, for a second, that you're interviewing for a high-profile job on Wall Street. Would you keep your long hair then ? Take the same approach for med school interviews. I myself am somewhat of a fan of the slightly grown facial hair look, but I still shave it for interviews because I don't think it looks professional in business attire. I would see some kids on interviews that would be all 'prim and proper', but with a 5 o'clock shadow--not a good combination. The same goes with long hair and a suit--not a good combo when you're trying to present yourself professionally.


AtG

 

[cyclin M]

Cut it off and get short hair.

The interview is about fitting into a mold and if you deviate too much from that mold in a bad or awkward way, then you will get shafted.

 

[ProteinChemist]

Oh my god long hair is so hot. If I were an adcom I'd totally accept you. Just kidding.

Cut your hair short. The interview process is all about lying and fitting into the mold as previously said. I'd say it is not worth the risk.

 

[surftheiop]

Im definately planning on cutting it like i've said a couple posts ago, we can let this thing die.

I had already made up my mind before I posted, I was just posting to convince myself has definately happened so this thread doesnt have much point anymore.