What’s appropriate when it comes to medical school interview attire? Do you NEED to wear a suit? What colors are okay? Which accessories? Should you cover up tattoos?
You want to be remembered on your medical school interview day, but you don’t want to be remembered for what you wear. Plain and simple. If you go too far out of the norm, you’re going to stand out in a bad way.
'A lot of students want to stand out on their interview day. And unfortunately, some students take that a little bit too far.'Click To Tweet[00:50] Color of Suit
A lot of people wear black suits to their medical school interviews. Well, you don’t have to wear a black suit. You can wear a darker gray suit, a charcoal suit, a navy suit, a dark brown suit, or different-colored suits. But you should wear a suit. And no crazy colors.
“It doesn't have to be black, but you don't want to go too far outright.”Click To TweetYou don’t want to wear a cream-colored suit, or maybe a red suit or a light blue suit. Don’t wear crazy colors. But you should wear a suit.
[01:36] Do’s and Don’ts
Wear a suit.
For women, wear a suit as well. I also get questions from men asking if they can wear a sports coat over some dress pants since they don’t own a suit. However, you should wear a suit regardless. Now, you don’t have to own a suit. You can actually rent a suit these days.
“You can always rent a suit if you don't have one.”Click To TweetHere are some websites where you can rent a suit online:
Wear a tie.
Wear a button-up shirt and wear a tie. You can wear a bow-tie if you prefer as this shows some of your personality. But don’t wear one of those wooden bow ties. Wear a real tie instead.
Accessories
For men, a watch is fine, and an earring is fine if you want. But you might want to take out any nose rings or lip rings. For women, don’t wear super huge hoops and super large earrings.
Tattoos
If you have sleeve tattoos, try to cover them up. Tattoos are not likely to be a problem in your medical training. But for the interview, keep it conservative and cover them up. Then just deal with the medical schools that you get accepted to. Find out what their policies are in terms of having tattoos while you’re doing your rotations and everything else in medical school.
“Wear something comfortable, wear something minimal. That is the name of the game on your interview day.”Click To TweetHair and Makeup
For women, keep your hair and make-up conservative. No bright colored make-up. If your hair is currently dyed, I would try to get it to a natural color for your interview day. Again, keep it conservative.
Wear your hair in a nice, natural, and comfortable way. Get rid of funky colors in your hair before your medical school interview. For men, a full-grown beard is okay. But if you have a five o’clock shadow, shave it off. It doesn’t look good.
Shoes
For women, if you want to wear heels, you can. But keep in mind that there is a lot of walking on interview day. So wear an outfit you will be comfortable walking around a lot with.
Bags
You can bring a purse or a suitcase if you need to because a lot of students are going to go from the hotel to the school to the airport. And so if you need to bring your suitcase, a lot of the admissions officers are fine keeping your bags with them.
Links:
The Premed Playbook: Guide to the Medical School Interview
Here are some websites where you can rent a suit online:
