Time Crunch? How to Dress for Success to Meet with Professors

By Sarah Warren on October 17, 2016

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Maybe you’ve just managed to squeeze in thirty minutes between classes to meet with your advisor. Or maybe an interview comes just ten minutes after a class and you’re going to have to book it there. While these situations aren’t ideal, they’re the reality of professional life as a college student. The logistics of what to wear to an interview immediately after a chemistry lab – hello, scrubs! – can be tricky, but don’t worry! I’ve been around the block (literally around the block; FSU is huge and I’m bad with directions) enough times to know how to dress for success in a time crunch.

But first – why?
Why go to the effort of putting on a blouse or button down for a meeting with your advisor? Why do you need to be in business attire to go over a problem with your math professor? Simply put, because they notice. Faculty and staff see, teach, and interact with hundreds of students on campus each day and while you may be the most hard-working, dedicated Freshman English student there ever was, your professor has no way of remembering that. The best way to remind them? Show up looking like you planned to come in, not like you just swung by between classes.

This can be tricky – particularly if you actually are swinging by between classes – because most of us don’t wear dress shoes and business wear to class each day. Below are some helpful tips to dress for success on campus.

Wear It To Class
Perhaps most straightforward choice, if you’ve got a meeting with a professor wedged between two classes that you just can’t miss, wear your dress or suit to those classes. It may feel awkward to break the pattern of T-shirts and leggings, but it will pay off during that meeting when you look as organized as you sound.

Layer
If you’re self-conscious about dressing up to class, layering will be your best friend. You can turn jeans and a tank top into professional attire easily with the addition of a jacket and/or nice piece of jewelry. The trick is to wear nice, dark jeans or pants and a well-fitting tank top. Gentlemen, if you wear dark jeans, a shirt, and an open button down to class, you can easily convert it to business attire by buttoning it up and adding a jacket. Little things like this are easy to pack and don’t make you stand out in class, but you will stand out when you meet with your advisor or professor.

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Pack A Bag
Sometimes, classes require a certain kind of dress. If you’re a Fine Arts major with a dance class, in a lab where scrubs are required, or work a position that requires a uniform, your dress code is pretty inflexible. That’s when it’s time to grab a big bag, fold up your clothes, and toss them in.

A word for the wise – always change before you get to the location of your meeting, never after. Some advisors or professors wait by their door when they have meetings scheduled and it’s just as awkward to go inside in your scrubs or uniform than it is to say, “Wait, let me change!”

 

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