Re interviews with people in the admission office, and really with anyone who is representing a college to you: Dress nicely. Look as if you care. If you can wear a suit comfortably - not as if it’s a costume - and you like wearing a suit, go for it. If you would feel more comfortable in a jacket and nice pants, do that. Tie or no tie, kind of up to you. The same basic advice applies to girls: If you have a suit and you like to wear it, great. (Pants or skirt doesn’t make an iota of difference.) If you are happy in a nice dress, great - though you might want to follow the add-a-layer code (cardigan or jacket), and you want to make sure you’re comfortable with the length of the dress when you’re sitting down. If you’d rather just wear nice pants or a skirt, with a nice top or sweater, also great.
Overall you want to dress better (or MUCH better, depending on what your school requires) than an average school day, but not necessarily as if you’re giving a speech. And if dealing with the jacket you want to take off after handshakes would add a layer of awkwardness, then maybe rethink the suit.
In most Admission offices, the person you’re going to sit down with is not going to be wearing suit-and-tie level attire, fwiw.
Tl; dr - take care to look as if this matters to you, but don’t stress over wearing something so formal that you don’t feel like yourself.
ETA: Total number of interviews I’ve taken my three kids to or sent them off to is at least a couple dozen. Number of suits worn: One, when my oldest actually had an interview with a college president instead of an admission person. 99% of the time the boys wore/wear khakis+blue blazer, no tie, and D wore skirt/sweater.
@fencingmom Hmm. I don’t see how you can determine that one topic will result in a longer essay than another. Any topic can be addressed within any word limit guidelines. Any. I agree, there needs to be some planning and diligence along the way so that one doesn’t write one’s self into a corner.
@bigmacbeth I think some stories just need more than 650 words to really come alive. Perhaps the writer needs to add more exposition, or the topic is weighty. I think concision is paramount, but some narratives just need negative space to breathe.
More often the problem is the writer is trying to tell too many stories and is feverishly trying to weaving them together. When you can’t tuck in the loose ends nicely, it’s too much. I think simplicity is key, and some things can’t be distilled into something so tidy.
Thanks to all who responded on the dress code. Very helpful.
Oh I forgot to worry about the dress code! S20 is meeting a college rep at a coffee shop, so I can’t tell how formal that would be? It’s a rep from UIUC who is meeting students one on one for coffee here in Queens. What do you think he should wear? Also, he doesn’t have a suit or a jacket that fits, since he hasn’t worn one since bar mitzvah season in middle school! We could go buy one if you think it’s necessary?
My D19 did her interviews in regular clothes. Didn’t seem to matter really.
You don’t need to go out and buy a suit just for this occasion but it is always good to have one. Dress pants and a collared button-down shirt would be perfect. DD interviewed aith an admissions rep and he had on khakis, a white shirt and tie and converse sneakers, she went in her school uniform.
D20 just finished her common app essay last night and did a few small edits based on feedback from friends. So, she is done with the CA essay! 566 words and I think it turned out great. Definitely sounds like her. So many verbs it’s hard to imagine all the tenses are correct, but Grammarly seemed to think it was OK. 
Now a printout and review of six Common App applications and hit submit.
What? No supplementals??? Lucky duck — congrats to her!
Don’t. Worry. About. Clothes. 
Just dress as if you care - the specifics don’t matter even half as much as looking as if it matters to you.
My D has met a couple Adcom’s at coffee shops for interviews. She wore a.nice blouse and non-ripped jeans. She saw a kid leaving before her and twice saw the girls scheduled after her. She said they were all dressed similarly. Adcoms were not in suits/dresses either. We’ve been on a ton of tours and the kids who were doing interviews before/after were typically just in their regular clothes or shorts and a golf shirt or very casual dress or skirt. Maybe because we are looking at more mid-tier schools, kids are less formal.
O. wore dark, non-ripped jeans and a lightweight, breton striped sweater for her off campus in-person interviews. “Smart casual” is how I would probably characterize the look. She wore similar outfits (weather appropriate) for her campus visits and she met with adcoms at each of those visits.
This isn’t a job interview, it is a meeting to get more information regarding a mutual choice (getting into college/choosing to attend college). I think the only requirement is to look better put together than you might on an average day on campus.
I would counsel her to wear a dress or skirt/blouse combo if she has any ‘honors’ interviews (for competitive merit or other such awards). Those would require a dressier outfit (imo).
In the end, what you convey is much more important than what you wear, and if what you wear might interfere with your comfort level, go with the comfort.
DS performs often on stage and has been doing ModulUN for many years, he is very comfortable in suits/tie, so if he is ever going to have interviews, I know he will he in suit/tie.
isn’t MUN great? My DS20 is very involved with it and I see such a difference in his confidence, how he speaks and approaches people. My DS22 and DD22 just joined this year.
I am wondering if we are missing the ball with all of these interviews I am reading about. DS20 hasn’t done any. Should he be approaching schools about this?
Got a response from GC - dress pants and buttoned shirt is good - no suit.
@NYC2018nyc - we are close to you in Westchester!
@mtemmd I would recommend just checking each college’s website to see what admissions requirements are. Some require or recommend interviews and some don’t.
I agree that formal dress isn’t necessary. I would say as long as you look neat and put together, it is fine to have your own style and own it. Like a few other people said, as long as you dress like you care and not like you overslept, rolled out of bed, and ran out the door to get to school, you should be fine.
@mtemmd
Yes, DS really enjoys ModelUN and he has been doing it since 8th grade!
As for interviews, I have thought that most schools don’t require them, even the ones who do interviews, they are not that important on the whole scheme of things, my guess of course.
You can always look at the Common Data Set, to see what weight the college says it places on interviews.
They’re always meant to be a two-way street - an opportunity for the college to learn about the applicant, and for the applicant to learn more about the college.
@amsunshine Oh, the CA supplements (not many…maybe a couple) were already complete. Just waiting to finish that dang CA essay. Needed to get several of these submitted so she can move on to the nursing supplemental apps that require admission before starting/submitting…
7 applications are in here. Focusing on scholarship applications now. A big one is due on Tuesday. Ack.